Whether you're seeking employment for the first time or are looking to hone your job-searching skills, you probably can use a refresher on the basics: perfecting your résumé, practicing your interview skills and refining your business etiquette.
Enter RochesterWorks!, a partnership between the city of Rochester and Monroe County that helps Rochester's potential workforce get into the work world.
RochesterWorks! offers free ongoing workshops that cover everything from career exploration and getting ready for the job-hunting process to résumé fundamentals. In addition, it regularly schedules free informational seminars and hosts networking opportunities. (See sidebar.)
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Antwan Williams, 25, knows the importance of nailing job-search basics. As the Youth Program Monitor at RochesterWorks!, Williams has a career that allows him to be a mentor, advocate and role model. His “if I did it, you can too” mentality comes from landing a job he loves, despite daunting obstacles.
Beating the odds
In second grade Williams found out he had dyslexia and had to enroll in special education classes.
He says, “I knew from the beginning that I didn't want the ‘special ed kid' label, so I really worked to break that barrier.”
By the time Williams hit junior high school, he was able to enroll in more mainstream classes.
He explains, “You could look at some of your hardships or disabilities as a stumbling block, or you can look at it as a stepping stone to something bigger and better.
"That's what I did.”
One of the keys to Williams' success: making use of his resources.
“I had support from a lot of people and really used them to help me out,” he says. “I went from struggling with a learning disability to graduating as a Black Scholar, a member of National Honor Society, voted Most Likely to Succeed.”
Williams believes that the workshops offered by RochesterWorks! provide invaluable support.
“With technology changing and the workforce the way it is,” he points out, “people have got to learn these … skills, and a workshop is a good way to do just that.”
Making the most of workshops
Leticia Serrano, 22, of Rochester is an example of how job-oriented workshops can prepare people.
She participated in a RochesterWorks! program called Successful Futures for Youth, held at the YWCA on North Clinton Avenue a few months ago. After completing the program, she kicked her nervous habit of talking too fast during job interviews.
“They taught me to slow down,” she says.
Serrano has since landed a job at Ibero-American Action League and is enrolled in classes at Rochester Business Institute and says of programs such as the one she participated in, “You really feel like a better person when you're done.”
