Whether it’s for a presentation or a job interview, students of all majors will at some point need access to professional attire, and the University of Utah Career Closet is a resource aimed at meeting that need.
The locker exists as part of U Career Success, a new resource on campus dedicated to helping students with anything they need to successfully pursue their careers.
The center is located in a garret building In room 1300. They offer free resources Professional shots, an interview-ready video studio, and a one-on-one consultation with a career coach And of course the professional wardrobe. U Career Success can also look at your resume or cover letter and provide advice on how to improve it.
These resources can be accessed Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm to any University student with a valid ID.
Diana Woodbury, director of communications and apprentice support at U Career Success, said the Job Locker was started about four years ago by Katie huffman abby. Hoffman Abbey is the director of the Center for Career Success at the U, and also serves as a special advisor to President Taylor Randall.
The clothes filling the closet were donated by the local community.
“It started with donations from local businesses, and when I say businesses, I mean people who worked at local businesses, not the businesses themselves,” Woodbury said. “So, individuals who had professional clothing they could donate and wanted to donate it to other students to help them out.”
Mikael Robb, Director of Marketing and Communications at U Career Success, He said the Career Locker is not a resource students would typically consider when seeking career help in the United States.
““Students will assume that we can help them write their resume and find a job and all that stuff, but the fact that we have a closet full of clothes that they can borrow is probably not something they will assume,” she said.
Robb said she noticed a large number of students using the professional locker and personal photo resource back-to-back.
““People can come in and have their professional photos taken,” she said. “And they can change into professional business attire before they get their professional image.”
Students can check the clothes for a few days and then return them. The checkout process is similar to the library. All students have to do is present their UCard for clothing scanning. U Career Success asks that clothes be returned within three days to be cleaned and put back in the closet so other students can benefit from them.
Rob said the clothes would be cleaned upon return at no additional cost to students using the resource. The closet is maintained by a few student interns who sort newly donated clothes and organize the closet.
Woodbury said the closet is always looking for more clothing donations.
The most important thing Woodbury wants students to know is this resource It is there to build professional confidence, and they should use it whenever possible.
““The main thing is we want them to use it, and they shouldn’t be ashamed to use it,” she said. “It’s there for them. We’re happy to provide it; we want students to feel their best when they go to an interview or a presentation. We want them to feel confident.”
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