Celebrating a goal is exciting! For me, planning the celebration for others who have reached their goal doubles that excitement.
It was just a couple of months ago that I was privileged to plan a graduation celebration for five women from Harvest Home and Women’s Day Room. The women had completed all the requirements for the classes in the Career Development program in order to graduate. Having five women graduate at the same time is outstanding, but the credit goes to the graduates. I guide them through the various classes and assignments, but they do the work. They have to make the commitment to themselves to finish what they’ve started.
Another aspect that makes this graduation celebration unlike many others is the fact that some of the women had moved out of the Harvest Home and the Day Room into their own residence. This meant that in order to complete the classes, they had to make the extra effort to come back to the mission to finish the classes. For most of the women, this meant coordinating their schedules and bus routes to be at class every week, and for some, coordinating the schedule of children as well. The great news is they made the commitment and DID IT!
You may be asking… “What’s so important about Career Development?” The Career Development classes taught at Haven of Rest’s Learning Center help men and women determine what jobs are available to them using the skills they already have. It also shows them options as to what they may want to do in the future. We then help them chart a course.
Career Development means preparing to look for work. One step is gathering the information to fill in all blanks on an application. Another important step is creating a resume to sell the skills of the candidate that will invite the employer to interview them, not just listing previous employers. Interview skills are essential; therefore, we spend time going over possible questions and checking answers.
In order to be one of the top contenders for the position, preparation is the key. We discuss how to research a company as well as what to wear for an interview. Practicing various interview questions is one key part of preparation. We want the candidate to be able to sell themself to the employer in a confident manner. Memorizing answers isn’t the goal here, but instead equipping the candidate to sell themself. They must know their strength and weaknesses, skills and abilities so they can show the employer how the candidate will benefit them.
Is Career Development important? I would shout a very loud “YES!” The women who come into our Learning Center have a very low self-esteem. Through our Career Development classes we have the opportunity to show them how valuable they are, not just to themselves, but also to potential employers.
LJ Dalton
Career Development Coordinator
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