A job interview may not be enough. How Miami candidates can find the right look

Education admin August 15, 2026 0 Comments

A job interview may not be enough. How Miami candidates can find the right look

For some college students in Miami, snagging a job interview may not be the only challenge in pursuing a career.

“Looking professional, looking nice, looking clean — it gives you confidence,” said Alejandro Fayat, a recent graduate of Miami Dade College, now headed to Princeton University to study economics.

But for families struggling to pay the bills, buying professional clothes could be a challenge. And that’s where the Career Closet comes in.

The Miami Dade College resource helps outfit students so they can look the part on that big interview.

The college’s Career Closet program gives students a chance to select free new clothes for a professional workplace.

The Career Closet is available on five of the eight MDC campuses, and other campuses plan to open their own soon, said Norma Ardila of the college’s office of media relations.

With drawers full of ties and socks, rows of hangers with blazers and blouses, even accessories like purses, shoes and work bags, the room is “beautiful,” said Kesia Vazquez, dean of students at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus.

“All of the clothing that we do collect are new,” Vazquez said. “They aren’t used, because we want students to have the experience of getting new clothes, not hand-me-downs.”

College makes money tight between tuition, textbooks and other school expenses. So, Vazquez says whether it’s providing students with attire they couldn’t otherwise access, or educating them about the appropriate clothes to wear to an interview or internship, the Career Closet can help.

“We want to make sure that besides students earning their degrees here, they feel supported and they have all the right tools,” Vazquez said. “It’s more than just the clothing. It’s what the clothing represents, and it represents opportunity in how you present yourself.”

Fayat said the items he got at the Career Closet twice helped him compete at the Future Business Leaders of America national competition.

“I went to nationals two years back to back, and both years I was wearing the same shoes and the tie that I got at the Career Closet because I thought it was just good luck or something that works for me,” Fayat said. “I still have the shoes and tie. Hopefully I keep using them.”

Fayat, a 19-year-old from Kendall with hopes of becoming an investment banker, and his family came to the United States from Cuba about 2 1/2 years ago. He said that it was “a tough time” for his family.

“We had just moved to a new country,” Fayat said. “So going there and finding all of those opportunities that were just a hand away from me, it was, of course, super helpful, super meaningful to me.

Fayat said appearance, whether it’s perfume or clothes, is important, especially in professional settings.

“Whoever looks at you, that’s the first thing they see. Even before you speak, even before you say a word. They see how professional you are,” Fayat said. “And the first look, I do think it matters.”

The college’s Career Closet program accepts monetary donations and new clothes. It even has fashion shows to promote the initiative to students and donors.

“It’s tied to the heart and soul of the institution,” Vazquez said. “We do believe in preparing our students for the workforce, and we understand that our mission is also to remove these barriers because we see talent and opportunity.”

And for students, it’s a feeling that they matter.

“It was a very welcoming environment inside that place,” Fayat said. “My thoughts were how many resources that we have that many kids don’t even know there is.”