When
Career Wardrobe, a small, grass-roots organization that helps unemployed women transition back into the workforce, launched in 1995, the internet was still a relatively new tool in job seeking. Career Wardrobe originally focused mostly on readying women for the corporate world by equipping them with professional attire, coaching them for interviews, providing resume tips and empowering them to embrace new careers.
Over the next 18 years, Career Wardrobe grew and adapted along with the economy, serving more than 75,000 women and opening a satellite location and resale store. Now, the organization prepares to debut its most important innovation yet: Work It!, a workshop that will help attendees cultivate the modern version of a first impression -- their social media presence.
Caitlin Day, program manager at Career Wardrobe, said that as the organization researched job trends and spoke to employers, it became evident that developing an appealing online identity had become an integral part of job seeking.
"We began to see just how important having a professional social media presence is to gaining employment," she says. "With 78 percent of employers hiring through social media in 2013, up from 58 percent in 2010, it is more important now than ever that Career Wardrobe's clients have [internet] access and a good understanding of how to leverage social media for their job search."
On Monday, January 27,
Work It! will bring together up to 30 participants to receive a professional outfit and makeover, one-on-one networking instruction, a professional headshot and assistance in creating or updating a
LinkedIn profile.
Susan Tabor-Kleiman will be the LinkedIn guru for the event. According to Day, she brings "a vast amount of knowledge and experience" in writing and communicating, and has appeared on MSNBC's
Your Business to speak about how to maximize your LinkedIn presence. Volunteers from Comcast will also be present to work one-on-one with attendees.
Work It! is open to any woman looking to build her networking skills and develop a personal social media brand. Women actively seeking employment are encouraged to apply by January 10 at CareerWardrobe.org/WorkIt.
Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Caitlin Day, Career Wardrobe