Left to right: Paul Syfers and Mailynn Santacruz; Deborah Echoles is seated—friends collaborating on CareerLink.
Sidney Sullivan, Career Center Manager, compares the complex process of job-seeking to a chess match.
“When you don’t know the rules of the game, it’s like going in to a job interview needing skills for chess, but only being equipped with the moves for checkers,” she said. “When you look for and apply for career jobs, you need to know the rules first. Then you learn the finesse part.”
Kelley Wong, Career Specialist agrees.
“Knowing where to search for job openings online can be challenging at first, and then completing Web-based forms may involve many steps,” she said. “Also, LinkedIn is a vital career-seeking tool today and it works somewhat differently from other social media platforms.”
To better help prepare students and alumni for the job market, the staff members of Truckee Meadows Community College Career Center opened a new Job Lab this week.
Students may walk in at any time the Job Lab is open and work on a resume, fill out job applications, or look for jobs online. No appointment is needed. A staff member will be available to answer questions about many job-seeking tasks that need to be done on a computer:
- Guide students and alumni to places where jobs are posted
- Proofread an online application before submission
- Check a resume for style, usage and grammar
- Offer techniques for building a LinkedIn professional page
- Read through and provide tips on cover letters
- Help enter information into CareerLink
The Job Lab will be open five days a week at the Dandini Campus, and one day a week at the William N. Pennington Health Science Center, Meadowood Center and William N. Pennington Applied Technology Center.
- Dandini Campus, Red Mountain Building, room 115, Mon.-Tues.: 2-4 p.m., Wed.-Thurs.: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
and Fri.: noon-2 p.m. - Health Science Center, room 103, Wed.: 9 a.m.-noon
- Applied Technology Center, room 113, Tues.: noon-3 p.m.
- Meadowood Center, Library, Thurs.: 1-5 p.m.
“It’s our job in the Career Center to teach you how to play the game—maybe not chess, but to build confidence with the rules and finesse of landing a job,” Sullivan said.
The Job Lab Is Set Up To Be Convenient
For the past few months, Career Center staff have been brainstorming how to make the daunting process of job applications more approachable for students and alumni. Sullivan said she hopes students will find the Job Lab convenient, welcoming and professional.
“We want to help students and graduates build career-seeking skills, representing that they are the best job candidate in the online materials needed for most jobs today,” Sullivan said. “Today computers screen for key words in resumes before a real person even looks at them.”
Guest specialists are being scheduled to assist with more focused needs of job-seekers.
Valerie Lambert, Financial Aid Program Officer, has visited Job Lab to help students with their Work Study Program applications. A representative from Nevada JobConnect will be scheduled once or twice a month to offer tips using the Nevada Job Bank, applying to U.S. and state jobs, and other employment resources.
For more information about Job Lab, please contact the Career Center.