Politics & Government

New Lenox Makes an All-Out Assault on Unemployment

At Boot Camp for Job Seekers, the village, library and the business community joined forces to hit unemployment with all the gusto it can.

At Boot Camp for Job Seekers, human resource coaches assembled their forces in the quiet of the New Lenox Public Library. From that strategic location, they worked with job seekers to identify the enemy—poor resumes, awkward cover letters, fear of job interviews and lack of preparation for today's market.

Armed with the kind of ammunition it takes to overcome joblessness, the team of human resource coaches swooped in barely noticed by the patrons who were there to select books, conduct research or study. For three hours Nov. 14, the coaches worked one-on-one with job seekers desperate to abandon the ranks of the unemployed.

Boot Camp for Job Seekers is the brainchild of Village Economic Development Director Nancy Hoehn, who previously coordinated the ShareFest 2012 Job Fair in early September. Having analyzed the results of the ShareFest 2012 Job Fair, which drew a crowd of more than 400, Hoehn asked herself how the program could grow into something bigger.

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The result was the creation of a boot camp to prepare job seekers for the war on unemployment. The program would be offereed twice this year.

At the first of two boot camp sessions, a total of 15 people received individualized attention to the details that made up their resume and cover letter.

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In case you missed it

A second Boot Camp For Job Seekers session is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at New Lenox Library, 120 Veterans Parkway.

During the first session, Hoehn was on the front line, checking in participants and guiding them to their strategic posts on the second floor. Meanwhile, the team of human resource coaches worked closely to assist individuals with ways to capture the attention of hiring companies and how to effectively overcome the hurdles that stand in the way of landing a job.   

The three in-the-trenches volunteer specialists were: Debbie Smetana, human resource director for the Village of New Lenox; Kate Hall, executive director for New Lenox Public Library and Mary Dyer, branch manager for Standard Bank and Trust, 456 Nelson Road.

"I think it went well. I think people were pleased with the effort put forth by the village and the volunteers," said Dyer.

The problems she consistently noticed on resumes were a lack of "action words" and incomplete descriptions of past experiences. "Mostly I saw people not giving themselves credit for the kind of responsibilities they did on their (former) jobs."

Someone might have noted that in the past that they had supervised staff, but they didn't delve into the details that would spark interest in their resumes.

Other people were more concerned that ageism was keeping them from getting hired, she said. While that might be the case in some instances, she said, "it really depends on the company. …Companies looking for loyalty" tend to favor of an older person. Companies looking for youthfulness understand that someone who is 20-something is more than likely to jump ship within two years.

Interested in registering for the Dec. 12 Boot Camp for Job Seekers?

  • Call the New Lenox Public Library at (815)-485-2605 and select either Nov. 14 or Dec. 12.
  • Submit a draft of your resume and sample cover letter to Kate Hall, director of the library, at least one week prior to the session.
  • Answer a questionnaire about your job search.
  • Boot camp coordinators are encouraging attendees to show up a few minutes before their scheduled interview to stay on schedule.

Readers might like:

  • Job Fair Boot Camp
  • Psst! HR Shares Secrets of Job Interview Questions.

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