By Ken Koerner
Register Staff

3-25-2008

All things job-seeking related will be the focus of a multiple-day series of seminars this week, capped by a job fair at week’s end.

Three days of workshops, addressing a myriad of areas dedicated to assisting anyone seeking employment, are being held starting today at Cerro Coso Community College.
Sponsored by the Bishop Sunrise Rotary, City of Bishop Police and Community Services and Cerro Coso Community College, the seminars kick off this morning at 9 a.m.
“This all got started during a casual conversation between Bishop Police Chief Kathleen Sheehan and Sierra Employment Service’s Monica Allen at one of our breakfast meetings not long ago,” Sunrise Rotary Club President Tom Hardy said. “These two ladies deserve all the brain-storming credit for breathing life into this worthwhile endeavor.”

Bishop Police Chief Kathleen Sheehan displays a drawing made by two department cadets that symbolizes the goal for this week’s career seminars and job fair being held at Cerro Coso Community College. The concept grew from a conversation between Sheehan and fellow Sunrise Rotary Club member Monica Allen during one of the club’s breakfast meetings. Photo by Ken Koerner

The conversation the two Rotarians were having related to their desire to find ways to help local youths improve their job skills and career options.
“When I first came to Bishop I was, of course, pleased to discover that many of the gang-related and drug problems I’d been seeing daily during my time on the force in Los Angeles were not reflected on a similar scale among the young people here,” Bishop Police Chief Kathleen Sheehan said, “which raised the question for me, what can I do next, what could the community do to help give our kids better life-skills that could translate into helping them grow into productive and successful adults – and this career project is a perfect example of how that goal could be approached.”
Given Allen’s professional experience, she also saw how this type of outreach could prove very useful.
“From the employment side, I see young people coming into our office all the time that would really benefit from a few tips and insights on how to approach first getting and then excelling in a job,” employment counselor Allen said. “I see a lot of people that have had so many jobs they left quickly because it wasn’t really what they like doing. We want to help ensure job-seekers gain some perspective on how to avoid putting themselves – and employers – into that situation.”
Allen explained that most of the young people she’s been working with really don’t understand how costly it can be for an employer when someone is hired and begins being trained, and then decides to leave the job soon after being hired.
“My intention is to help both the employees and the employers make a better match early on,” said Allen. “That way a person doesn’t end up with a sketchy work history, leaving a job after only a short time, and the company that hired them isn’t feeling short-changed when they leave so quickly.”
As the seminars get under way this morning, first up on the schedule will be a “Welcome and Orientation” presented by Bishop Police Chief Kathleen Sheehan from 9-10 a.m.
“What I want to share is really about leadership, about being a leader in your own life,” said Sheehan. “So, I’ll be letting those I speak with know they’ve taken a first great step simply by availing themselves of the opportunity being offered this week.”
Other sessions on the first day will touch upon making career choices. Learning about “Career Assessments and Education Opportunities” is scheduled from 10:30 a.m.-noon. That will be followed by a one-hour break for a no-cost lunch for those present, before the two afternoon sessions are offered, each designed to further explore career options
“The community support for this effort has been terrific,” Allen said. “Lunch is being provided for free on each of the three days of seminars thanks to the generosity of four Bishop companies: Domino’s Pizza, the Meat House, Subway and Taco Bell.”
The Eastern Sierra Transit Authority is also lending its support, Allen explained, by offering transportation from town to the Cerro Coso campus and back at no charge for attendees.
“Eastern Sierra Transit’s shuttle service will be picking up anyone coming to the career seminars for free,” said Allen. “The morning shuttle will pick up passengers at the Bishop Union High School at 8:30 a.m. and at Manor Market at  8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then they’ll be providing transportation back to those locations following the last afternoon session at Cerro Coso each day.”
The second day of career workshops on Wednesday, March 26 also begins at 9 a.m. Though day two and day three’s schedules follow the timetable from day one, there will be new topics presented each day to aid those wishing to find their first job, find a needed new job – or perhaps desiring to change their current career path altogether.
Among Wednesday’s seminar options will be tips on how best to handle job applications and resumes, “dressing for success,” oral interview skills, and more.
“The resume writing workshop will be held in Cerro Coso’s computer lab,” Allen said, “so even someone that doesn’t have access to a computer at home will be able to walk out of that seminar with a copy of a resume to take along with them.”
The third and final day of the seminars on Thursday will feature expert advice dealing with some of the more nuanced details of a working career.  Things like “effective communication” and a session called “What the Boss Expects” are on tap for participants during the final day.
What’s been learned during the workshops over those three career days should prove valuable to attendees as Friday, March 28 rolls around.
On Friday, a formal “Job Fair” will be held at the Cerro Coso campus between noon and 5 p.m.
At that time, local employers will be available to meet with potential employees to discuss openings that currently exist or perhaps openings that may soon be available. General questions about work options will be happily answered by those staffing the different employer tables.
Represented at the Job Fair will be Alta One, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Inyo Hospital, the Paiute Palace Casino, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Caltrans, Wachovia Financial Services, the U.S. Coast Guard and Sierra Employment Services.
“Even if the people attending the Career Seminars and the Job Fair don’t end up being offered a position right away,” said Allen, “they’ll be very well-prepared to continue seeking career options with any of those employers – or any employer – from that point forward. They’ll be much more ready to walk into that next job interview and really knock the socks off a future boss.”
There is no cost for attending one or all of the career seminars. The sponsors of these four days of job information and access are doing so in the hope that this collective effort will assist Bishop residents, young and not-as-young, in finding their way to a productive and rewarding career path.
“When Chief Sheehan and I first began talking about this idea, we were thinking about it as a ‘youth project,’” Allen said, “but as we began to get further involved, we recognized that this truly is a ‘community project.’ We want to open doors for Eastern Sierra residents of all ages during this week.”
No pre-registration is required and anyone wishing to attend is welcome. For a complete schedule of the seminars, or for any additional information, contact Monica Allen at (760) 873-8599 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The complete seminar schedule can be found online at www.sierraemployment.com.