Dozens of new-year sessions offered for students, job seekers
After several months of interviews and what she called “Thank you, but…” letters, one unemployed eastern Iowa adult took up an offer from Kirkwood Community College: a free interview skills workshop.
A few weeks later she sent the people in the college’s Career Services office a happy e-mail: “The fourth time was the charm, I got the job! The workshops at Kirkwood were a big help.”
While not every attendee’s results come about that dramatically, the no-cost Career Services programs and services do give hundreds of people essential skills and insights in a sometimes challenging employment market. From personality and interest profiles to mock interviews and resume’ critiques, the workshops provide concrete help for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Kirkwood Career Services Director Danielle Ebaugh says the free services are part of the college’s “big community mission” to boost job awareness and make the employment search more productive for all concerned.
“Our office is really the center of a vital, ongoing search for both the companies and the individuals seeking work. The dialogues are ongoing from our office, with employers sending us new job openings every day and looking at our student and public resumes posted on our website. The people in our workshops are also learning better ways to face job interviews and understand better what is going on in the Corridor job market. It’s a two-way street,” she said.
Kirkwood Career Services sessions run nearly non-stop, with workshops scheduled at various times of day to accommodate family and other work times. Some of the key programs include monthly Career Directions workshops, with open discussion and frank talk about changing jobs and seeking more meaningful careers. The next Career Directions Workshop will be Tuesday, Feb. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. Registrations may be made by calling 319-398-5471.
Dozens of Job Seeking Skills workshops are also held, focusing on better employment interviews, applications, resume writing and mock interview sessions to give attendees insights into more successful job searches.
Kirkwood also offers a series of college credit classes in Job Seeking/Employment Search techniques. The two-session classes are held monthly, and have multiple benefits for current or potential college attendees.
“When you can build up your abilities to seek out a better job, then get an hour’s college credit in the process, we think that’s a win-win for many of our students,” Ebaugh said.
The Job Seeking/Employment Search course costs $118, with no extra fees for books or materials. Successful workshop completers receive an hour of Kirkwood college credit.
A complete and updated list of all the workshops, including dates and times, is available at Kirkwood’s Career Services website: www.kirkwood.edu/careerservices
Assistance is available by calling the Career Services office, (319) 398-5689; or contacting Ebaugh via e-mail: Danielle.ebaugh@kirkwood.edu