Thursday, November 19, 2015

My Experience at Dress for Success Vancouver

It was the day of my appointment at Dress For Success Vancouver. I was referred by Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House where I volunteer. I attended a Community Connections Workshop and one day they had a guest speaker from Dress For Success come in to talk about their services.

Dress For Success is a non-profit organization that empowers women to look and feel confident for job search by providing them with professional attire and career development tools. It's nice to know that I have help from one of the staff volunteers to help me pick out an outfit for an upcoming interview.

When I arrived, I was greeted with a warm welcome and I was introduced to one of the volunteer staff who was assigned to assist me. I was really excited and a little overwhelmed about the choice of outfits. I wasn't sure what my size was, but now I know. First outfit I tried was a little too dark for me. The 2nd lighter color outfit I like with the skirt was a little loose, so then we chose a size smaller. After 2-3 styles of blazers and shirt, I chose the last one and I loved it. That one has a skirt. I don't have any formal clothing with skirts so this was a nice change. The shoes are nice: the heels aren't too high which I like. I wish I had tried on some boots for the winter weather.

I looked at myself in the mirror and was really surprised. I look and felt like I was a different person, ready to go to work in an office or something like that. I felt more confident and prepared because I look more professional. I'm a shy person, really. I think I have a better chance of getting hired for a job I wanted.

I am really happy with the outfit I got, including shoes, outer coat and accessories (scarf, handbag, necklace, and earrings). The coat was heavy, but it was really cozy. I had a few compliments from my friend and other staff there. The volunteer staff who helped me had really great choices. She was patient and super friendly.