Career Closest comes to Conway

With many college students beginning or looking into internships, it is important to find professional dress clothes that can work with their budget.

Horry Georgetown Technical College runs a professional clothes closet called The Career Closet on their Conway campus. The Career Closet opened four years ago and allows Coastal Carolina University and HGTC students to shop at the store.

Melinda Paino, a customer service manager at HGTC, has worked in the store for two years.

“[We] provide professional clothing to students who are going to interviews or meetings,” said Paino.

All of the clothing is donated by the community and items that do not get borrowed by students are donated to Goodwill.

Students do not have to pay for any of the clothes and can choose to keep the item or return it once they no longer need it.

Addie Pipkins, a freshman at CCU, went to The Career Closet in hopes of finding an outfit for an upcoming job interview.

“I found out about the store through an email that was sent out and was excited to visit [The Career Closet] since it is free and close to campus,” said Pipkins.

The Career Closet did not meet her expectations though.

“The clothes seemed a little outdated, and it was hard to find things in my size," said Pipkins. "I also thought the store would be bigger and because of the size it was hard to look around with more than one person in there. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.”

Sarah Jordan, a sophomore at HGTC, also commented on The Career Closet.

“I go to tech and have never heard about The Career Closet before today,” said Jordan.

Both students agree that minor changes could be made to make The Career Closet more desirable.

“I would definitely try to make the store more known to students and possibly make the space bigger,” said Jordan.

Pipkins said that a more modern sense of style would also appeal to students, as well as having the space more organized.

“Because it is such a small space, the clothes are all pushed together and there was also office supplies in the same area," said Pipkins. "It would have been easier to find pieces I wanted to wear if I could have been able to have room to look."

The Career Closet is a good alternative to other secondhand stores Pipkins said.

“Even though there wasn’t as many options that other stores would have had, it was cool that everything was free and if you did find something that works for you then you didn’t have to return it,” said Pipkins.

For more information on The Career Closet students can stop by the store during its hours.

The hours of the store run from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. They close at noon on Fridays. It is off of Highway 501 in the D. Kent Sharples Student Complex, building 1100 in room 123.