Job Seekers: High school students have job fair at WMU, Glen Oaks workshop offers interview skills

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, April 17, 2014

High school job seekers have an event tailored for them at the this year’s Education for Employment Job Fair, April 17 at Bernhard Center on the Western Michigan University campus.

More than 60 local employers will meet with more than 450 high school juniors and seniors from Kalamazoo County Schools.

The annual Education for Employment Job Fair is presented by Kalamazoo RESA’s EFE program. The event gives employers the chance to meet with those seeking full-time, part-time or summer employment.

The job fairs is from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 17. Participating high school students also will have the opportunity to take the 30-minute online assessment, StrengthsQuest.

Using Clifton StrengthsFinder the assessment creates a customized report that lists the respondent’s top five talent themes, along with action items for development and suggestions on using one’s talents to achieve academic, career and personal success.

Upcoming in Centreville

A second event for job seekers takes place from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday, April 21, at the Dresser Business Development Auditorium on the campus of Glen Oaks Community College at 62249 Shimmel Rd., in Centreville.

The event takes place in advance of a job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m Thursday, April 24 and it is intended to give job seekers tips on how to do their best at the job fair.

More than 45 businesses are registered to be at the job fair, typically the largest job fair in St. Joseph County.

"We have 46 employers registered for the event, with limited space for a few more," says Val Juergens, of Glen Oaks Community College. "Businesses participating in the job fair either have current openings or anticipate openings. Employers may be planning on filling one position or 100 positions--these positions may be full-time or part-time, and they could be permanent, temporary or seasonal."

So job seekers are encouraged to ready themselves by attending the workshop on interview skills.

"Attendees of the workshop will receive targeted advice for developing a sales pitch, creating a game plan for the event, fine-tuning their soft skills, as well as following up with employers after the event," says Bronwyn Drost, manager of the Michigan WORKS! Service Center in Three Rivers. "This workshop was developed specifically for the Job Fair at Glen Oaks based upon local employer demand, and is designed to successfully take participants from job fair to job offer."

More information regarding the pre-event workshop, the job fair and other events in the area can be found online.

Source: KRESA, Michigan Works!