Seminars to provide skills for employment
by Daryl Pollak, reporter

    Students can touch up resumes and spruce up interviewing skills on SE Campus next week.

    Resume and interviewing seminars will be held Tuesday, Feb. 6, followed by free resume assistance on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 7-8.

    Conducted by Darrell E. Whitsell, SE career planning specialist, this service is being provided to help students gear up for the Metro Job Fair March 7 at the Arlington Convention Center.

    The resume/interviewing seminars, in SEE 130, will run from 9 to 11:15 a.m. and be repeated from 4 to 6:15 p.m.

    Each session consists of a 50-minute presentation with a 10-minute  question-answer session over resume writing, a short break and then a presentation and question-answer period on job interviews.

    The resume segment will discuss “what’s hot and what’s not and trends in resume writing,” Whitsell said. “For instance, resumes are now noun-based for a key word search in electronic data bases,” he said.

    The seminar will also discuss the three types of resumes that students should prepare.

    The interview portion will cover the most frequently asked questions, preparation for those and secondary questions and instructions for dealing with illegal or between-the-line questions. Whitsell will also offer advice on dress, timeliness and presentation.
“It’s a neat process that we cover from A to Z,” he said.

    Participants will receive a 42-page booklet that Whitsell co-wrote and that includes 20 pages on resume guidance and other tips.

    The free resume editing assistance will be held in the career and employment services office, SEE 206. Times are 1–5 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday on a first-come, first-served basis. Students should take copies of their resume to the session so Whitsell can critique the document and help them best sell themselves.

    “Students will leave with a lot of good information,” Whitsell said.

    “With preparation, they can go out and wow the employer and walk away with the job,” Whitsell said.

    The career and employment office also helps students find jobs. Whitsell works with the community and tries to match students with jobs, either according to their career goals or to their monetary needs.

    In addition, he maintains a large career library. Students can view videos, access databases and research books and periodicals.

    For more information about the seminars or other career services, call Whitsell at 817-515-3596.