The Staten Island Career Coaches celebrate a successful second season mentoring local students preparing for entry to the workforce.
Finding a first job is an important milestone in a young adult's life. Thanks to the SI Career Coaches, students at McKee Career Technical High School (CTHS) have a leg up on the competition.
For the second year in a row, SICC returned to McKee CTHS to mentor students on all aspects of the job search from building resumes to preparing for interviews.
In the 3-week series, upperclassmen at McKee CTHS worked with their coaches on the skills required to undergo a job interview. The sessions included hands-on resume writing and discussions on how students can conduct themselves professionally while on an interview.
This interactive program had the students working on MAC computers in their newly updated Graphics Lab, as well as attending mock one-on-one interviews with the business professionals and of course, Q&A sessions with each of the Coaches.
Senior Tyreek Penn Jr., a senior describes the SICC program as being “like boot camp, but not too intense. We start with the basics: how to talk to people, then we continue with how to communicate with potential employers and how to present ourselves.”
“I like hearing the (Coaches) stories, their experience and learning from them to apply to my own future,” says Penn. “Every interview I went on, I was offered the job. I also got accepted to four colleges and to a printing job, thanks to the skills the Coaches taught me! And, I enrolled in this year’s program to refresh all those skills.”
Senior David Cottle, who attended the program last year, shared his success with other students during one of the sessions, “(The program) helped me write my resume and helped to get my first job as a cashier at a local grocery store."
This year Cottle returned to the SICC for help with his interview skills. “The one-on-one interview part was the most enlightening, with focus on attention to details, such as sitting straight, wearing proper attire, giving an appropriate handshake, and of course having a positive attitude makes all the difference.”
Juniors Konrad Orzylowski and Mir Ali, were first-time attendees of the SICC program, and were positive that it would benefit them in their job-hunt. “It is great preparation for our future, helping us to write and to improve our resumes,” stated Orzylowski. “Also knowing what to do and how to conduct oneself during a job interview is crucial”.
“We all realized how valuable this experience was for both us and the students,” said Career Coach, Joelle Grunblatt. “We hope other business professionals will help us expand our reach so we can help more students become successful as they launch their careers.”
Any professional interested in volunteering with the Career Coaches should contact Valarie Contrino at valarie@contrinotravel.com.
