The University of New Orleans Office of Career Services has opened a career closet that contains business attire for students to use for interviews, career fairs or other professional networking events.

The clothing is free and students get to keep the items, career services director Celyn Boykin said Tuesday during a ribbon cutting to celebrate the “Suited for Success Career Closet” opening.

“We just want to make sure they have what they need so that they feel comfortable,” Boykin said. “We hope that this will bring some much needed resources to students.”

The career closet, which is located in Room 250 in the University Center, has men’s and women’s clothing and shoes. Students can make an appointment to shop at the closet through the career services Handshake app.

“Right now, we’re going with one complete outfit per academic year,” Boykin said. “That may change based on the inventory we have. Eventually we want to be able to provide more clothing and more services for the students, like getting an Uber to and from an interview, or pay for a haircut.”

Boykin said they are still accepting donations for the closet and hope to expand the clothing offerings.

“We have a nice presentable start,” Boykin said. “We have a nice variety of things, but it’s not going to meet every need at this point. But we’ll do our best to work toward building it so that it will.”

The career closet opening is part of the Office of Career Services inaugural “Career Week,” which started Monday and extends through Friday. The week includes a series of events geared toward helping students prepare for the workforce.

“Spread the word to students, especially those in need of professional business attire for any type of interviews, any type of professional or recruiting events,” Boykin said during the ceremony. “We definitely want to help them meet those needs and feel confident about going into those situations.”

Other Career Week events include:

•    An Afternoon with Employers, Wednesday 2-5 p.m. UC Gallery. Representatives from Nike, Ochsner Health System and Entergy will be on hand, Boykin said.
•    Hamburgers, Headshots, & Handshake, Thursday 12-2 p.m. Merrick/Latter & Blum Patio. Students can get photographs taken and complete their profiles for Handshake, the career services app.
•    Career Week Mixer with Alumni; Friday 4-6 p.m. Homer Hitt Alumni Center.

On Sept. 29, Career Services has joined with JC Penney to offer a private shopping event exclusively for University of New Orleans students from 5-8 p.m. at Lakeside Mall in Metairie.

Students can get up to 60% off select men’s and women’s career dress apparel, shoes and accessories when used with the extra 30% off “Suit-Up” coupon available at the event. Student ID is required.

For more information about career services events, including a career fair scheduled for Oct. 3, visit the Office of Career Services website.