By Elena Walker
Arts & Culture/Social Media Editor
Brookhaven College students will be able to obtain free business attire ahead of the 2018 spring Career Fair through the college’s first Fit2Hire event. Clothing will be provided by Brookhaven’s Professional Support Staff Association, or PSSA. The PSSA’s purpose is to provide a strong organization capable of speaking for the professional support staff employees of the Dallas County Community College District, Georgia Alvarez, Brookhaven’s PSSA president, said in an email to The Courier.
FIT2HIRE
Fit2Hire, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 9-12 in Room T319. “Our goal is to be able to give students a professional outfit to wear [during] interviews or to their new job,” Alvarez, who is in charge of the event, said. PSSA will sponsor Fit2Hire and PSSA members will be available in the pop-up store to help students style their way to success.
Clothes available for students include men’s and women’s jeans, business slacks, shoes and accessories, Alvarez said. “We have received more Brookhaven donations than we had last year,” she said. All of the items were donated by DCCCD faculty, staff and administrators for the first Fit2Hire event July 2017. However, donations were accepted from anyone at Brookhaven.
Alvarez said she planned the Fit2Hire event with the Career Fair in mind. “Brookhaven College PSSA has every intention of continuing to partner with our Career Services to offer this Fit2Hire store in conjunction with our Career Fair each spring and fall,” she said.
Fit2Hire was created by Joe May, Dallas Community County College District chancellor, and the members of the Brookhaven College’s Professional Support Staff Executive Council, or PSSEC, Alvarez said. “DCCCD faculty, staff and administrators throughout the district donated new or slightly used clothes students could wear to a job interview or to their jobs,” she said.
The first Fit2Hire was held at the DCCCD Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development. In addition to receiving business attire, participating students took classes on topics such as résumé building and interviewing.
SPRING 2018 CAREER FAIR
The Career Development Center’s bi-annual Career Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 12 in Room T206. Over 65 local employers will be available to hire students, Adam Clawson, program services coordinator, said. Participating employers will include Brookhaven Country Club, The Home Depot, Medical City McKinney and various local fire and police departments, according to the Brookhaven website. This is the largest event the Career Development Center hosts, Clawson said.
To prepare for the Career Fair, Clawson said he recommends students have several copies of their résumé, dress professionally, prepare to talk to employers and stop by the Career Development Center to see a list of additional employers planning to attend the fair which include Live Nation, Pinstack, Studio Movie Grill and UPS.
PREPARE FOR THE FAIR
The Career Development Center has employees who are there to help students, such as office assistant Stephon Smith. “We offer a career assessment called Do What You Are,” Smith said. “We help with résumés, cover letters, hold mock interviews and can give general career advice.” Students had the opportunity to attend Launch Box workshops available April 3 covering résumé writing and April 5 on how to prepare to for the Career Fair. The workshops are available each semester in the weeks leading up to the Career Fair. Students interested in attending the workshops must pre-register for the Launch Box online with Purple Briefcase, a job-seeking database that constructs a profile and lists job opportunities.
