Smart Works Reading

Smart Works is a UK charity that exists to empower all women who need help getting into work. This is achieved through the power of free high-quality clothing and one-to-one coaching. Smart Works gives women the confidence, the self-belief and the practical tools they require to succeed at finding employment and starting a new chapter of their life. Since 2013, the charity has helped over 35,000 women across 11 centres in the UK.

What does Smart Works do?

Smart Works helps unemployed women get back into work with free career coaching, interview preparation, and high-quality workwear. 63% of women who use our services are successful in finding work within one month. We offer several services, including:

Career Coaching – this is for women who are wanting to get an interview. A coach supports them to identify steps to help them secure an interview. This hour-long session is tailored around the client’s needs, and it could focus upon anything from CVs to cover letters to specific job applications.

Interview Dressing and Preparation Service – this is for women with a confirmed interview. It involves an hour-long dressing appointment and an hour of one-to-one interview coaching. In the dressing consultation, our trained volunteers work with women to find a high-quality interview outfit that they feel comfortable and confident in so that they can feel their best walking into their interview. They are given the clothes for free, and the clothes are theirs to keep. The interview coaching session then focuses on increasing the awareness of the individual’s strengths, building their confidence, helping them answer questions effectively and explaining to them what is expected of them at interview. This allows them to show off their best self at interview.

Second Dressing – once clients get the job, they are invited back to receive a capsule working wardrobe of around six to eight items to last them until their first pay cheque.

Our high-quality coaches have years of experience in various industries and are highly aware of the recruitment process. This means that we can help women no matter what job they are going for and what level or seniority the role is.

If you would like to know more about what we do, please visit our website.

How do I get a referral?

If you meet the eligibility criteria below and would like to make an appointment with Smart Works, please complete their short online form.

Once submitted, the form will be checked by a member of the Careers Team and then sent to Smart Works, who will then contact you to arrange a date for your appointment.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the service, a client must:

• Be a woman, or non-binary person who feels their gender expression connects with the Smart Works service and wardrobe.

• Be aged 16 or above.

• Be unemployed or on a zero-hours contract.

Submit your referral form