An important part of finding a job is the interview. What do you do when you get the interview and you have nothing to wear?
Dress for Success is a nonprofit that helps low- to moderate-income women by providing them with an interview suit. The organization, founded in 1996, has opened affiliates in 85 cities internationally. One is in Newark, N.J.
Dress for Success Newark is fiscally sponsored and housed by Catholic Charities. As you walk through the building, you smell food and see people eating. There are lockers for the people Catholic Charities assists, and several people holding conversations. It looks like a cross between a shelter and a school gymnasium with its dirty, white walls. When you enter the Dress for Success office, you notice that it looks like a small boutique.
Tina Greene is the director of the Newark location. She has her desk set up in a little corner of the room. To her right is a changing area. Everywhere you see clothes, and some of them look brand-new. There are also shoes, belts and jewelry to complete the outfits.
Dress for Success Newark opened in November 2004. Since then, the site has dressed approximately 4,000 women for interviews, with an average of 100 to 125 women monthly. Greene says, “Many people associate Dress for Success with just providing professional attire, but it’s much more. We provide ongoing support.” This support includes a career corner where women can access the computer, work on their résumés, send faxes and use the telephone.
I spoke with Greene about whether there was an increase in clients due to the current job market. She said that she has noticed a slight decrease recently. Greene says, “I’ve seen a slight decline. But the women we work with, in all honesty, are low-income women, and the women that we service more often than not are coming in without high school diplomas. The jobs they’re getting are jobs that don’t really require college degrees.” Greene says most of the women are interviewing for entry-level jobs, so they typically don’t come back after the initial visit.
I asked her about the success rate. Greene says they do not keep records of the numbers of women who are actually hired. Her site does not do follow-up contact. She wishes she could follow up because not too many women come back. She says that if these women were to come back after obtaining employment they would get more services. If the women came back with proof of employment, they would be supplied with one week’s worth of clothing.
Greene says that initially some women were not thrilled with wearing used clothes. “Women were turned off once they heard the clothes were donated to us.” However, she says the clothes are reviewed and cleaned. No unsavory items are kept. She recalled times when women came in to be suited for an interview that same day. She says, “We’ve had times when women came in and had to go straight to their interviews once they left.”
There are 54 official referral agencies that send clients to Dress for Success. All 54 are agencies located in Newark. Women must come in with a referral. The turnaround time is two weeks from the time the initial referral is sent to her office.
I asked Greene where the clothes come from. She says donations come from stay-at-home moms, weight-loss successes, retired women and just about anyone else who wants to donate. Greene says she’s had donations from as far as Florida. The organization also receives donations from companies. Bank of America, Novartis and Verizon have all held “suit drives” to donate to this cause.
The interview is the most important part of finding a job. It is the chance to wow potential employers with wit, charm and style. Dress for Success has succeeded in helping struggling women with style. And with that style, they take a little confidence too.
Cheryl Lewis is journalism major at Rutgers-Newark. Posted September 2008.
