The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita hosted a job strategy workshop Saturday at the Savia Community Center, where women were offered career advice and workplace strategies.
Saturday’s workshop, part of Zonta’s Life Forward series, went over the importance of a strong resume and how to market your best qualities in order to get a job in today’s job economy.
Susan Reynolds-Buckley, the career development director for the Williams S. Hart Union High School District, and Wendy Amara, a SHIFT 52 executive coach, taught the attendees skills on how to use abilities they’ve gained in their life as tools to make them hireable.
“This is my third or fourth year working with Zonta’s life forward program,” Buckley said. “This is how we can help needful woman that need a hand up to figure out how to move their lives forward.”
Zonta puts on these with workshops sponsored by Single Mother’s outreach, Domestic Violence Center and LA County of Department of Child and Family Services to help women in different and difficult times in their lives. Each workshop focuses on different topics that range from career help to health and wellness.
Kristen Damico joined the workshop when she recently became unemployed after 17 years on the job.
“I’m not new in the workforce, I’ve never not had a job,” Damico said. “The scary thing when you come out of a job for 17 years, is you look online and it’s a scary world. (Zonta) gave me hope and taught me things already.”
Using a resume correctly was emphasised heavily as a big means of appealing to employers. Buckley told a story of a woman who had little real world job experience but was the director of a rose parade float.
“Look at what you bring to the table,” Damico explained. “Think positive things about yourself, I know it’s hard for people to look at themselves and pick out the good things. But there’s good in everybody. You need to be able to express that.”
Only four women turned out for the workshop this weekend, though Buckley says that each workshop is different and attendance can fluctuate depending on the circumstances of the woman’s life.
The next workshop will cover money rules presented by Patti Handy, a mortgage specialist, next month on Mar 17.