Appearances matter, and how you present yourself is an essential part of getting the job, and getting your career going. If you’re not fashion-inclined, and wonder how to get started, Centennial College has you covered, with help from the students in our Fashion Business and Management program. On Thursday, November 15, from 4-5:30 PM at the CCSAI Event Centre, we’re hosting an event called "Styled for Success," a combination talk show and fashion show that'll teach you all about how to dress for the job you want, be it formal, business casual, or a casual Friday. Anyone can come to the event, but if you register on Experience Centennial, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win prizes. It’s also a collaborative project with Fashion Business and Management students, who helped put together and run the show. You’ll learn to be professional and confident, and present a good image whether working the job or going to your first interview.
Dressing you for success
This event was created to fill a need, says Alice Hsiung, Career Services Coordinator for the College.
"We realized, working in Career Services, that many Centennial students are not aware of the professional attire that is expected of them to wear when they go to job interviews, or when they go to work," Alice says. "For many students, it’s their first time working, period, or working in Canada."
Styled for Success is taking place during International Education Week, so if you’re an international student, it’s a perfect into to Canadian Working Culture. Here’s what’s in store:
"The event is starting at 4:00 PM, and is going to have two hosts, very much like any talk show you see on TV," Alice explains, "one representative from Career Services, and one representative from the Fashion Business and Management program. They’re going to talk about different types of clothing, from corporate-style interview clothes, to more casual for creative industries, to business-casual Fridays and then plus-size fashion for women as well."
"Knowing how to present yourself is very important when it comes to building your career, and that’s how we’re going to help," says Patricia Feitosa, a Fashion Business student serving as project manager. "We’re going to have a lot of fun, but we’re also going to give essential tips on things like what you do if you don’t have enough money, and what you should wear for each industry. It’s not just a fashion show, it’s a career-driven fashion show that’s helping and empowering people."
A team effort
It wasn’t just Career Services that made this event happen. It represented a way for our Fashion Business and Management students to get some practical experience along with their education. In fact, they came up with a lot of the show’s format and content.
"We met together and brainstormed the concept, and we also talked about the types of categories of clothing that we would have," Alice says. "It was a very collaborative approach, and the students volunteered themselves to play roles in this project. Patricia volunteered to be the project manager, and then another student, Nancy, volunteered to be a host and is putting together slides for the show. We had two other students volunteer to be the marketing and tech people for the show, and another who volunteered to be the stylist, and students volunteering to be models. So they’re very, very involved."
"I’m not a stylist. I’m more of an organizer and planner," Patricia says of her job in the show’s creation. "My job is choosing what the models are going to be, what they’re going to wear, figuring out what technical things we need for the day of the fashion show, helping write the script, everything that you need for the event to work."
"Getting people to act, that’s the most difficult thing," Patricia continues. "As a planner, you always have to be there poking people, going hey, did you send me the outfits? Can you do this for me? How’s the script going? Especially because students are so busy, so I also have to manage that with my own agenda. I want to work in marketing, communications and public relations, so that’s great training, being able to communicate with people and get them to take action."
The event was also done in partnership with First Impressions, the CCSAI’s secondhand clothing boutique.
"We did a promo video shoot to open the talk show," Alice says. "We had one of the fashion business students model at First Impressions to show off what’s available there, and then some of the clothing that they’re wearing was donated by First Impressions as well."
Finally, you have a chance to win
Aside from all that you can learn at the event to make yourself career-ready, there’s another reason to go: The chance to win prizes.
"We’re going to have a lot of different prizes we’re going to hand away," says Alice. "I don’t want to give away what the prizes will be, but everyone will walk away with something, and for some of the bigger prizes, raffle draws will be for those who have admission tickets."
To register, go to Experience Centennial, go to the events calendar, and choose the date of November 15. It’ll be listed, and you can sign up.
By Anthony Geremia