Dress For Success

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.3
Low-Income Enrollment and Graduation4
Job Acquisition4
Working in College..5
Background and K&Gs Niche5
Initial Project Findings.............................6
Issues Facing UT Dallas Current Program.6
Plan of Action..7
Future Implementation.....8
Why it Would Reflect Well on Our Company.8
Community Benefit..9
Budget..9
Conclusions10
References..11

Executive Summary
There are a large number of students that come into a shop that sells professional attire, and sadly
many of them have to leave empty handed or without all of the items they needed because of the
high cost. College students applying for jobs and internships, especially in the business field,
need suits for their interviews, which are difficult to buy or rent when working with a budget that
can be extremely limited. The average cost of tuition in Texas is over $7,000 annually, and
University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) students specifically pay just over $11,000 annually in
tuition fees (Hamilton, 2012). Our proposal is to help solve the problem of college students being
unable to afford a suit for their interviews for internships and full-time jobs after graduating.
There has been an increasing number low-income students attending college, but many of them
do not have nearly the same chance at graduating with a job secured as the students coming from
a high-income background (Korn, 2015). Companies and individuals today value the first
impression made by interviewees and prospective employees, which can be impacted largely by
an individuals dress attire. There currently is a program in its early stages at UT Dallas that
aims to help students have access to professional wear for interviews. Our proposal is designed
to work with UT Dallas to transition their existing program into one that works more efficiently
with K&G, at which point can be modeled at other colleges and universities in Dallas. This will
be done by utilizing the space available at K&Gs facilities, and even some of their other
resources such as cleaning machinery and employees. Considering we do not expect there to be
an immediate need for additional storage space and personnel, the budget for our proposal is
much lower than similar programs. Within the first year of being in operation, our goal is to be
able to help one hundred college students and expand from there. As students are able to present
themselves professionally in their interviews, we hope to see college graduates in excellent jobs
from all economic backgrounds. K&Gs participation in this outreach program will play a role in
making Dallas a better community by helping out tomorrows young professional today.

Low-income Enrollment and Graduation

There a serious gap in the resources and opportunity between low-income students and
students coming from more well-off backgrounds. According to an article released earlier this
year by The Wall Street Journal, while there has been a surge of low-income enrollment, this rise
does not necessarily equate to an increase in opportunity and quality of life for low-income
students. Many of those students never make it to graduation, with approximately one out of
every five enrolled low-income students actually receiving a degree (Korn, 2015). This amounts
to a nine percent of the low-income level eligible students actually receiving a degree. When
taking into account education opportunities prior to college, its evident that these individuals
struggle more (The White House, 2014). They are often the first in their families to pursue higher
education, with little or no guidance about how to pay for expenses or take advantage of study
resources (Korn, 2015). With the astounding rate of low-income students who dont graduate, its
almost as if they are being taken advantage of, going into debt and then not benefiting from a
degree.

Job Acquisition
The situation is made worse as many of those students who actually do graduate are
unable to find a suitable job for their major upon graduation. As more students enroll in college,
the competition for careers also becomes increasingly difficult. According to the Center for
Economic and Policy Research (2012), the U.S. workforce is substantially older and better
educated than it was 40 years ago. The amount of workers with a college degree went from onefifth of the workforce in 1979 to over one-third by 2010 (Schmitt & Jones, 2012). This results in
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dilemmas where many graduates, who have taken out loans and invested in their future, simply
cannot find a position after graduating. Many that often settle for underpaying positions, as
employers are taking advantage of the increased supply of educated workers. This is evidenced
by the drop of good jobs, defined here to be, a position paying $37,000 dollars per year,
including benefits, which has dropped to 24.6% compared to 27.4% in 1979 (Schmitt & Jones,
2012). Often the acquisition of these positions is not necessarily about what graduates know, but
who they know. This further perpetuates problems as many people who already have the
opportunities and resources have the advantage of already knowing people within the field, while
low-income students must fight for the remaining opportunities (Francis, 2013).
Working in College
Many students often have to work to make it through college. A study by the National
Center for Education Statistics in 2007 showed that 80% of students worked part-time while
going to class, while 8% worked over 35 hours a week (cited from Perna, 2010). Considering
that it is recommended that students should study 3 hours for every hour in class, full-time
students should be spending between 48 and 60 hours a week studying. On top of that they are
spending 15 to 20, and in some cases, over 35 hours working. It is evident that students are
stretched thin with their time. Often they do not have or make time to take full advantage of
resources to help with career building techniques or meet people that could help them get a
position in their field.
Overall, the influx of college graduates has oversaturated the internship and job market.
Because of this, each year there is an increasing number of college graduates who are unable to
find a job after graduation. Numerous studies have shown that statistically, students coming from
low-income families have less opportunity than those from high-income families and ultimately
have a harder time finding an internship or job (U.S. Department of Education, 2000).
Background and K&Gs Niche
There are a multitude of factors that contribute to the success of a student applying for a
job. In order to excel in interviews, students need impressive, perfectly formatted resumes. They
also must be able to possess strong social skills. Interviewees benefit from previous networking
with the companies they are applying for, and need professional attire in order to exude a level of
excellence that contributes to their confidence and overall representation as a future employee.
When examining these different components individually, we found that the majority of
universities have programs to assist students with these aspects. For example, UT Dallas has a
Career Center and Career Management Center that offer resume workshops and critiques,
interview workshops and mock-interviews, and even career events in order to network with
companies interested in hiring college graduates. The one thing missing from these University
programs is assistance in obtaining professional attire, which is a critical component in a
successful interview. Interviewers see numerous candidates for each job posting and rely heavily
on first impressions, much like when reviewing an applicants resume. For this reason it is
imperative that an applicant, especially one representing our community, arrive professionally
and appropriately dressed.

In their study of formal clothings effect on cognitive processing, Slepian, et al. (2015)
confirmed that formal clothing increases the perceived relation between the studys participants
as well as perceived inclusion by the wearer of the clothing. An interviewers perception of their
relation to the interviewee can impact their general impression of the candidate, while an
interviewees sense of belonging in the company can affect their confidence in the interview
(Slepian, et al., 2015). Just by dressing professionally, an interviewee has greater confidence and
feels a degree of inclusion with the company they are interviewing with.
At K&G we can implement a program that steps in where these universities fall short. A
free rental service program would be created in order to provide suits and other professional
attire for financially underprivileged students. Through this, a student who is well equipped and
qualified for an employment opportunity would never have to be denied that position based off
of a bad first impression from unprofessional attire. They also would not have to worry about
missing an interview entirely because they didnt have a suit, and did not have the financial
resources on hand to purchase or rent a suit in time. Our goal is to equip struggling students with
the necessary confidence and clothing to do well in interviews and meet the people they need to
so they can get their foot in the door. The importance of first impressions has been proven
repeatedly, and dress is an important factor when coming into an interview.
Initial Project Findings
Initially, the target audience for this project was community colleges or smaller
universities in the Dallas area. The assumption was that these smaller universities would have
less funding, a smaller alumni network, and less resources overall to initiate a program that
assists in the transition from student to employee. In our mind, this placed students of these
universities at a greater risk for having less opportunity present when applying and interviewing
for internships or a full-time career. However, with further investigation it was found that this is
an issue that is not only faced by community colleges, but also larger four-year universities. UT
Dallas is in the process of creating a program called, Comet Closet, which does precisely what
we wanted to do: give struggling students resources to dress professionally for interviews. Seeing
that there was already a university working to create a program like this further proved that this
really is a significant issue in our community that needs a solution.
In order to gain more insight on UT Dallas program, a meeting was arranged with the cofounder of Comet Closet, Nick Hinojosa. Mr. Hinojosa explained how although their program
had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, and from the outside it appears that Comet Closet is
moments away from a complete launch, in truth the program is facing some very significant
hindrances. Specifically they are struggling with tax exemption laws and regulations from
clothing donations, having a dedicated staff, and storage.
Issues Facing UT Dallas Current Program
Room reservations on campus are a complex process. Each week on-campus
organizations can apply for a room online for their club or organization to meet at. While this is a
viable option for a student club, it does not provide the consistency necessary to store a large
number of clothing items for an extended period of time. When speaking with Mr. Hinojosa
about storage solutions on campus, he mentioned that it is nearly impossible to find a reliable

space. Room availability at UT Dallas is so limited that many Teaching Assistants have to share a
single office with four or five other TAs, and there are a number of research professors on
campus who do not have a designated office. All the donations that Comet Closet has received so
far are being stored personally by members of the organization until a permanent storage solution
is available.
Throughout our interview with Mr. Hinojosa, he frequently mentioned that the biggest
setbacks of the implementation of Comet Closet was the underestimation of how large this
project really is. Specifically, the lack of manpower and knowledge it would take to provide
proper documentation for tax exemptions and write-offs when individuals donated suits. Since no
one involved in this project has previous experience with this, it proved extremely difficult to
handle the donations every step of the way. Research had to be done in order to figure out the
proper forms, claims, and documentation for each donated article of clothing. With limited
manpower it was difficult enough to find the time to do these things, let alone find people who
could accurately estimate the actual value of the donated items. Since each individual involved
with the project is a full-time employee, any work done to further Comet Closet must be done in
their respective free time. This leads to a further slowing down of the project as a whole. Overall,
the issues that Comet Closet faces can be solved through assistance in storage, funding, and
manpower.
After our meeting with Nick Hinojosa, we decided to shift our project from creating a
free rental program for surrounding community colleges, to partnering with Comet Closet in
order to provide the necessary resources for their program to thrive.
Plan of Action
When we first analyzed the issues faced by Comet Closet, we came to the conclusion that
there were three different partnership options. We could fund the creation of a storage space on
or near campus, we could create a system that would periodically bring the clothing to campus,
or we could do a hybrid system utilizing parts from each previous option. Looking at our
resources and what we can give, a hybrid system is most viable option.
In order to meet Comet Closets storage needs, we will have a designated portion on site
at the K&G Superstore closest to campus. This section will have all of the donated suits and a
portion of our suits that are free to rent for college students. UT Dallas students can then come
into the store and present a valid student ID, and will have access to a tailor and free rental
options from anything displayed in this section. Depending on the purpose for the suit, a
designated return date will be assigned to each rental at checkout. For students who are unable to
provide their own transportation to K&G, we will have a K&G representative transport a limited
amount of suits to campus twice each semester. These visits will revolve around campus events
such as career fairs, and will consist of an on campus tailor immediately available to students.
Since they will be coordinated in advance, we will be able to reserve a room on campus for
students to select suits and have them tailored.
The lack of manpower on this project will be compensated by current K&G employees
and UT Dallas students. At a K&G Superstore all rental and tailoring processes will be carried

out by K&G employees, eliminating the need to hire individuals to sort, clean, maintain, and rent
out donations. On the UT Dallas side of this project, the founders workload can be alleviated
through the utilization of on campus volunteers. Students will be delegated tasks by Comet
Closet representatives at UT Dallas, and in return will receive services hours which are needed
for clubs, organizations, and to build resumes.
Donations will be accepted in two different formats. In order to assist with associated costs and
further funding, a cash donation can be made directly to the program on campus or delivered to
the K&G Superstore. Clothing donations can be made at the K&G Superstore only, and are
reimbursed with a store credit that can be used by the donor to purchase anything in the store.
The store credit option eliminates the difficulties associated with evaluating the actual value of
each donation, in order to accurately represent a tax write-off.
Future Implementation
As this program transitions from the implementation phase to a stabilized system, we
hope that the apparent benefits will warrant future expansion. We plan on being able to expand
the variety of clothing options available to students, increase the number of times K&G
representatives will be able to visit campus, and eventually expand this program to the
surrounding community colleges in the Dallas area.
Why it would Reflect Well on Our Company
Many companys community outreach programs are fairly generalized and apply to the
same few areas in any given company. Comet Closet offers a unique opportunity that fits well
with K&Gs business scope. According to a recent study in 2015 by Crescent Payroll Solutions,
up to 76% of white-collar workers could choose to leave a company based on a downward trend
or removal of outreach programs (Crescent, 2015). On the other side of this, prospective
employees may choose to work for one company over another simply based on their outreach
programs, making this a competitive area from a recruiting respective as well. With our specific
proposal, the program established at UT Dallas would be created with the intent and ability to be
recreated at other universities and colleges in the area, especially those without as much alumni
funding to support a program on their own.
Should the community see K&G making an effort to give back, they are more likely to
choose K&G. As a consumer, one can appreciate that K&G is helping those around them, not
just looking out for themselves. Consumers generally accept companies who give back to their
communities more often than companies who do not, resulting in a mutually beneficial scenario
(Crescent, 2015). This being said, it is important to remember that community outreach
programs are not an investment for a company to expect a return on; the purpose is to serve those
who need it. The positive impact on a companys image, the attitude of employees, and the
actual improvement of individuals lives are hard to measure, but with this program we aim to
ensure that all of these areas are covered.
Because of the work done by the company in their outreach programs, employees can
feel that their work has an even greater purpose (Crescent, 2015). Employees who help
participate in such programs are more likely to enjoy their jobs as well as exhibit higher

commitment and productivity. Employees also gain skills that can be translated to use on the
job, and leave customers and students alike with a more positive image of the company. Without
a doubt, K&G will benefit in a variety of ways from implementing a community outreach
program in the Dallas area.
Community Benefit
Our goal is that by the time the program is up and running in August of 2016, we are
prepared to help 100 students per semester. This hopefully gives many students the opportunity
to make a good first impression on a job or internship interview that they would not have
otherwise had. After the first year of our program being implemented, we hope to be able to
expand to help students at other colleges and universities here in the Dallas area. In time, our
vision is that students across Dallas will have the opportunity to have a quality job after
graduation, one suit at a time.
Budget
The four separate components that make up our budget are on-site storage costs, wages
and transportation of designated employees, usage of cleaning equipment, and the opportunity
cost of suits not available for sale. On-site storage costs are budgeted at $5,000. This allocation
is intended to cover all of the warehouse costs acquired from the permanent storage of suits at
K&G facilities. While rent for the K&G warehouse is a recurring cost, we believe that a
budgeted $5,000 will cover the portion of the store designated to Comet Closet storage for the
first year of this program. Twice a semester K&G will send representatives and clothing to UT
Dallas to cater to students who are unable to find transportation to K&Gs warehouse. The
$2,000 are used to pay K&G employees for their work on campus, and the overall transportation
costs. All of the donated articles of clothing and rented suits need to be cleaned by steamers.
Fortunately, the Comet Closet program, and K&G already own the necessary equipment for this
task. Therefore, the $1,000 cleaning costs go to the actually process of cleaning, and the
maintenance of the steamers. Finally, we have a budgeted $30,000 for opportunity cost. This is
intended to cover the profit lost from not using the Comet Closet area in our warehouse for
selling or renting our clothing for profit. Overall, the entire budget totals to $38,000.

The graph below illustrates the allocations of the total budget.

Conclusion
Through research, we have found that there is a definite need in the Dallas community for
low-income students to have access to professional attire in order for them to have equal
opportunity at getting a quality job. The students that qualify as low-income have lower
graduation rates, and income post-graduation than their higher-income counterparts. Considering
tuition and student loans are only growing larger each year, we have developed a proposal to
help give all students a more equal chance at a success in their career fields. The project itself
aims to impact the lives of hundreds of these college students in the Dallas area early after
implementation. K&G has an opportunity to better the lives of many of our young professionals,
and can expect to see the program at UT Dallas develop into a success within a few short
months. We hope to see our impact go far beyond UT Dallas and the surrounding community,
and to show others a great way to help one another with many of the resources we already have.

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References
Crescent Payroll Solutions. (2015). Should your business have a community outreach program?
Retrieved from http://www.crescent-payroll.com/community-outreachprogram/
Francis, C. M. (2013). What we know about workforce development for low-income workers:
Evidence, background and ideas for the future (Working paper No. 13-09). National
Poverty Center. http://npc.umich.edu/publications/u/2013-09-npc-workingpaper.pdf
Hamilton, Reeve. (2012, May 18). How does tuition compare at Texas public universities? The
Texas Tribune. Retrieved from
http://www.texastribune.org/2012/05/18/texplainer-how-much-dotexas-public-universities-c/
Korn, Melissa. (2015, Feb 3). Big gap in college graduation rates for rich and poor, study finds.
The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-gap-incollege-graduation-rates-for-rich-and-poor-study-finds-1422997677
National Center of Education Statistics. (2015). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov
Perna, L. W. (2010). Understanding the working college student. Academe, 96. Retrieved from
http://www.aaup.org/article/understanding-working-collegestudent#.VjOlnYfF_ww
Schmitt, J., & Jones, J. (2012). Where have all the good jobs gone? Center for Economic and
Policy Research. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from
http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/good-jobs-2012-07.pdf
Slepian, M., Ferber, S.N., Gold, J.M., & Rutchick, A.M. (2014, Jan). The cognitive consequences
of formal clothing. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 5, 1-8. DOI:
10.1177/1948550615579462
U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Learning without limits: An agenda for The Office of
Postsecondary Education. Retrieved from
https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OPE/AgenProj/report/AgendaProjectReport.pdf
The White House. (2014). Increasing college opportunity for low-income students: Promising
models and a call to action. Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/white_house_report_on_increasing_c
ollege_opportunity_for_low-income_students.pdf

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