Volume 17, Number 1, Fall 2006

Eaton County MSUE Launches Career Development Workshop

Jackie Martin

Upon the completion of the MSU Extension statewide issues identification process earlier this year, the Southwest region identified a series of goals that represented the region’s broad themes. The youth development goal focuses on developing skills in leadership, self-esteem, diversity awareness, career development and job preparedness through after-school and summer programs, job shadowing and internships.

With this goal in mind, Eaton County MSU Extension created a new program providing local youth with many career-related skills. Application of those skills results in landing an actual summer job for some of the youth involved in the program.

Nine Eaton County youth attended a resume building and interview preparation workshop on Thursday, May 25, provided by Jackie Martin, 4-H Extension educator. The youth talked about the goal of a resume and its impact on potential employers. They evaluated sample resumes and offered suggestions on areas of improvement. Youth also discussed the basic steps to success in an interview situation and practiced responding to tough interview questions, such as “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and “Tell us about a time you failed; what did you learn?” They also discussed basic interview etiquette and expectations.

This educational opportunity prepared the youth for the real thing: a real application, resume and interview to apply for a job at the MSU Extension office over the summer. Martin, although not involved in the selection of the candidates, sat in the room during interviews and provided written suggestions for improvement for each of the youth. Since 27 youth applied for the two positions, the emphasis was equally focused on the jobs at hand and the learning process in order to improve.

For the two youth selected to hold the part-time positions, the learning process continued. They obtained basic job skills necessary in nearly any type of future job setting, including answering phones, fielding questions from the public and working and coordinating with the rest of the office staff to support their programs. The youth learned the importance of teamwork in an office setting and polished basic computer and phone skills.