Dress for Success: looking professional doesn't have to be expensive
Blog exclusive, by Evgeniya Kulgina
They all look happy on glossy career magazine covers, those smiling people in gray suits and with perfect hairdos. But let’s face it: buying a professional suit for your first job interview in Canada can be expensive.
You could try looking for more affordable professional outfits in clothing banks and stores like Goodwill or Charity Village. Or you could go to “Dress for Success” boutique in Toronto.
“Dress for Success” is a charity that provides its clients with professional attire they might need to start a career. According to Jessica Roelink, the founder and the executive director of the organization in Toronto, about three quarters of her clients are new Canadians. All the clothing comes via donations from the public, and many times – through corporate suit drives.
However, the boutique isn’t open for everyone off the street. All its clients come via referrals from immigrant, job search or social service agencies, so if you received job training or other services from a Toronto agency, ask them to refer you to “Dress for Success”.
New clients need to pay a 40-dollar one-time fee. However, it is often covered by the referring agency. “The agencies usually either provide the clients with the money upfront, or give them a pre-paid voucher, or reimburse clients after they bring a receipt from 'Dress for Success',” says the programme manager Shahira Wahba. Clients not only receive free clothing, but also participate in a job preparation project that consists of several steps.
Step 1. The Interview Suiting
Come to “Dress for Success” boutique, and you will be partnered with one of their volunteer stylists who will help you find two complete outfits that are appropriate for a job interview.
Step 2. The “Dress Rehearsal”
Once dressed in the outfit chosen at the boutique, you will travel to the workplace of a designated volunteer (from the field you’re trying to find employment in - if possible). The volunteer will do a full rehearsal job interview with you.
“The volunteer will give our client clear feedback on what they did well and what areas need improvement,” notes Wahba.
Step 3. Volunteering
The staff at “Dress for Success” encourages clients to volunteer within your desired field. One of the main benefits of the volunteering is that you gain relevant Canadian experience: if you need a Canadian reference, you are going to get it by volunteering for prospective employers.
Step 4. Employment Suiting
This step is for the clients who found a job. They are invited back to the boutique, and the staff will help them find three to five complete outfits suitable for their new jobs. Out of 698 clients who came to “Dress for Success” this year, 144 – or about 1/5 – got a job.
“It is so exciting for us to see someone come back with a huge smile on their face, because they found a job, they are excited about starting their career, and now we get to help them find some fantastic clothes, so they can go to work looking and feeling like a million bucks,” one of the volunteers at the charity noted.
Step 5. Women’s group meetings
This opportunity is available for women -“graduates” and current clients of “Dress for Success” in Toronto. The charity organizes workshops on different well-being related topics and invites professionals from appropriate fields to conduct them.
Clothing matters
The expression “Don’t judge a book by its cover” unfortunately doesn’t apply when you are looking for a job in Canada, the volunteers at “Dress for Success” agree.
Roelink says that sometimes newcomers to Canada have a rather different idea of what is appropriate to wear for a job interview. That’s why the charity has a group of volunteer-stylists who work one-on-one with clients and help them choose appropriate outfits.
“It’s not that everyone has to look the same…we don’t want to change people’s cultural dress, but it’s all about looking professional, looking corporate,” says Roelink.
“As a newcomer, you might arrive with one suitcase. And you see jobs in newspapers and on the Internet, but you are not going to feel that confident or that aggressive to go after them if you don’t have a proper suit you feel comfortable in.”
And if you are not a “Dress for Success” client, the boutique volunteers have several tips for new Canadians on how to dress better for a job interview:
- Don’t choose bright colours
- Wear clothing that fits you properly (for example, do not wear pants that are a little too tight)
- Make sure the clothing is ironed and that it doesn’t have stains
- Make sure you feel comfortable in what you are wearing
“Dress for Success” is a women’s boutique that serves about 1,000 women in Toronto every year.Its affiliates also dress about 300 men in Toronto every year, and they have recently started a similar program for children. To learn more about the charity and to find out the location of the boutiques, click here