Career conference preps seniors for working world

Hickory High senior Dametrius Lewis learned how to be confident in an interview, how to improve his resume and what to look for in a job at the career prep conference on Tuesday.

High school seniors at the three school systems in Catawba County participated in the conference, which was hosted by Education Matters. The conference was designed to give the seniors a taste of what the professional world is like and how they should prepare for landing a job.

“Their first impression is made in less than 10 seconds,” Lewis said of employers. “You need to speak out and make eye contact.”

His friend, Elena Lee, said she learned you have to be confident in your job interview.

Tracy Hall is the executive director of Education Matters. She said she created the career prep conference because she thought seniors needed to be exposed to opportunities that would make them more employable.

“We wanted to teach kids employability skills,” she said. “Kids have really gotten into the whole experience. I couldn’t have expected it to go any better.”

Hall said she selected seniors because they are focusing on the next step in their lives, and she hoped the conference would help them.

“Seniors have big decisions to make. They have several directions they could go when they graduate with part-time work or internships. This prepares them to start their lives,” she said.

More than 70 people and businesses volunteered for the career prep conference. Students rotated between two workshops, where they learned how to perfect their resume and got tips on interviews. They also participated in mock interviews, talked with members of Hickory Young Professionals, participated in a career planning session and talked with representatives of area colleges.

In one of the workshops, students were given advice about social media.

“A lot of employers will look at Facebook,” said Sandy Bryant, with Martin, Starnes and Associates.

She said she hired a woman, and friended her on Facebook afterward. The first photo she saw on Facebook was of the woman with a large martini glass.

“She looked like she was having a really good time,” Bryant said. “I thought, ‘oh my, what have I done?’”

She advised the students to not post anything to Facebook they would not want potential employers to see.

Angi Houston, the human resources manager with Lee Industries, advised students to set themselves apart, whether it was with job shadowing opportunities or internships. She said to not discount playing athletics.

“I hired someone based on sports,” she said. “It showed he had to be on time and keep his grades up. It showed he was dependable and was responsible.”

Students said the mock interviews proved to give them the most valuable information.

“They showed me my strengths and weaknesses,” said Challenger High student Nam Le. “And they told me that people are not supposed to ask about my religion or politics.”

Catawba County Fire Marshal Mark Pettit was one of the people conducting the mock interviews. He said he told students if they didn’t know the answer to a question, to take a moment to answer.

“Answer honestly, don’t try to be who you aren’t,” he said. “And some kids didn’t want to brag, but there is some information they needed to tell interviewers.”

Hickory High senior Jalen Byrd said the conference helped him a lot.

“This has been a very informational day,” he said. “They taught me a lot I didn’t know. The mock interview helped. They told me to have a firm handshake. I have 30 seconds and that’s it to make an impression.”

Lindsay Keisler is a member of the Hickory Young Professionals. She talked to Byrd for a little while Tuesday morning. Keisler said she volunteered to come because it was her opportunity to help the region.

“What better way to go on and have a skilled workforce than to encourage them?” she said. “This is a good way for me to set the bar with the county. I can tell them that at least completing high school is necessary for a job. I had mentors, and this is my way of paying it back.”