Transcript
Welcome to Pivot Point. Success is a Journey.
Pivot Point is a podcast of Tailored for Success, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower job seekers to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
The goal of this podcast is to provide listeners with stories of individuals who have made life-changing pivots leading to personal and professional success, and to provide practical career and personal development strategies to inspire action to allow you to begin your own success journey.
If this is your first time listening, I'd like to thank you. Make sure, if you like this podcast, to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss a new episode. If you've been listening for a while, thank you for coming back and welcome again to Pivot Point Success is a Journey.
Welcome to Pivot Point Success is a Journey. Over the next several episodes, I thought I would take you behind the scenes of Tailored for Success to give you a glimpse of the work that we do. My name is Elizabeth Hart and I'm the founder and executive director of Tailored for Success. Tailored for Success was founded in 2000, and for 24 years we have served over 10,000 job seekers ranging from opportunity youth, ages 16 to 21, men and women in different ages and process of career transition.
Our services include our career closet program where we distribute free of charge, new and gently used business suits and business casual clothing to women and men and youth, all individuals in active job search. To build a professional image and help career development of job seekers, we also offer Reimagine Your Career Program, which consists of monthly virtual and in person workshops on various personal and career development topics. Lastly, to help our veterans transitioning from military to civilian careers, we offer a Boots to Suits program. All of these services would not be possible without the help of our sponsors and volunteers.
In this episode, I'd like to start off by giving you a glimpse into our career closet program. Imagine being out of work for several years and not having the extra income to purchase clothing for an upcoming interview. In today's economy, it would take $200 to $300 to purchase enough clothing and accessories to present a polished, professional appearance. But there's another benefit that goes beyond the monetary cost. Many job seekers lack the confidence and self-esteem they need to succeed in an interview, even with the best education, work experience and qualifications. Interviews can be scary.
Through a long-standing partnership with MassHire Metro North Career Center, we have career closets in both Cambridge and Woburn, Massachusetts. Clients are seen on an employment-only basis, unless they are at MassHire conducting job search. Then they are seen on a walk-in basis through the amazing career support navigators of MassHire. Each client is served individually by a trained stylist in a boutique-like setting where they are able to shop for clothing and can take up to five items. For example, a job seeker might choose a two-piece business suit, a blouse, a dress shirt and two pairs of pants. What three blouses and two pairs of pants?
All clothing that is distributed is free of charge and clients can keep what they take. Clients can come in twice a calendar year for clothing, and if they are starting a new job or internship, they can take up to 10 items of clothing. The clothing we distribute comes from clothing drives conducted by our corporate partners. These socially responsible companies hold drives that typically last a week or two, and a large amount of clothing and accessories are collected. Tailored for Success also takes donations from the public once a month, and all clothing and corporate and public donations are only accepted on hangers or neatly folded in shopping bags or boxes. We don't accept clothing and trash bags. Why? Because as soon as the donations come in, they are quality checked so we can get our clothing to our clients right away. We want to be sure that our clients receive the best quality clothing, and in this way, we can leave our career closet with a sense of dignity and respect as they attempt to enter or re-enter the workforce.
Although distributing clothing to job seekers seems like a simple process, it takes many volunteer hours to sort, hang, and inventory the clothing. It also gives job seekers a boost of confidence that they need to enter an ever-changing workforce landscape. Having an appointment with a trained stylist who is there not only to help you pick out clothing, but also give you encouragement is very empowering for the job seekers we help.
Did you know that the average length of time a person is unemployed after a layoff is three months? Imagine what that time can do to your self-confidence and self-esteem.
In the next episode, I will discuss the Reimagine Your Career Program and the importance of fostering lifelong learning in job seekers.
Thank you for listening to PivotPoint Success is a Journey. Thank you again for listening to PivotPoint Success is a Journey, a podcast of Tailored for Success. If you want to learn more about Tailored for Success, please visit our website at www.tailoredforssuccess.org. You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Thank you again for listening to PivotPoint. Thank you.
