Sponsored by CDETNO
Dress to Impress
When you’ve been unemployed for a while, it’s hard to invest in business and professional clothing. Especially if you won’t wear it every day. We hear this from a lot of people who are looking for work, or hoping to make a career change. In addition, when you land a new job you’re expected to dress professionally immediately, even though your first paycheque might be another two or three weeks away; and if you’ve been out of work for some time, business clothing probably isn’t the first thing you need to spend it on.
With Dress to Impress, we aim to break down this barrier to employment, and boost a job-seeker’s confidence by giving them the clothes they need, when they need them, for FREE.
The idea for Dress to Impress was born in the NWT Career Centre, operated by CDETNO. A job-seeker was thrilled when she received new clothing from someone in her network to wear to a job interview. She talked about it for days, and it was clear her new professional outfits boosted her confidence, and that likely showed in her interview. She got the job! After asking others we work with, it was evident there was a need for business clothing among other job-seekers.
In Yellowknife we are lucky to have a compassionate and engaged community, so when we advertised for people to donate their gently used business clothing to us, we were quickly inundated with tons of slick, modern and high-quality pieces. We have lots of choices in every style and size – many of which still have the tags on them!
How it Works
People contact us when they have a job interview scheduled or are starting a new job and are in need of a professional outfit. Then we make an appointment with them, and let them pick out an outfit from the wide selection we have in stock. The outfit is theirs to keep at no charge.
Appointments are pretty casual. Our clients get to try on different things, we give tips on how to make a good impression with employers, and go through potential interview questions. Most of all, they are fun and relaxed affairs.
Expanding the Program: Safety Boots
So far, the feedback on the program has been very positive, and it wasn’t until long before people started asking if we offered clothing for those looking for employment in fields such as construction. Safety boots are also a big investment, and the requirement to have them first day on site is a definite a barrier to employment for some. Thanks to the Anti-Poverty Funding of the Health and Social Services Department of the GNWT, we’re able to address this need. We teamed up with Pioneer Supply House to offer eligible job-seekers brand new pairs of safety boots.
So how do job-seekers get these safety boots? It’s simple, just come see us with a letter of offer for a new job, and we will hook you up with a brand new pair from Pioneer Supply House. It’s that easy!
Dress to Impress is an initiative by the Conseil de développement économique des TNO (CDETNO). The program is run out of the NWT Career Centre, a resource centre in Yellowknife providing jobseekers with tools and resources to find employment. Services at the NWT Career Centre include a computer lab with access to internet, phone, printer, fax and scanner; resume and cover letter building; a resource library; job boards and interview skills training.
The NWT Career Centre, operated by CDETNO, is an initiative that is created and funded under the Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) by the Government of the NWT, Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
For more information, contact the Career Centre staff at (867) 873 8790 or career_manager@cdetno.com.
