Resume Boot Camp Teaches Young People Career Readiness Skills

Joan D. Clay, Esq., is the founder of The Village Legal and Community Project. Photo provided by O-street Brand Management + Consulting.
Joan D. Clay, Esq., is the founder of The Village Legal and Community Project. Photo provided by O-street Brand Management + Consulting.

Resume Boot Camp Teaches Young People Career Readiness Skills

By Tia Carol Jones

A workshop is helping young people, ages 14 years old to 21 years old, prepare for careers by providing resume and career readiness resources. The Resume Boot Camp is a partnership between the Village Legal and Community Project and Hey Benji. The boot camp began on July 8th and runs through July 28th.

Joan D. Clay, Esq., founded the Village Legal and Community Project with a mission to empower members of the community with a vision to create communities where people have access to justice. They provide legal services, an economic development program, a life readiness program and Baby B.O.S.S. Program, as well as its resume bootcamp.

It was while doing the Baby B.O.S.S. program in schools that social workers and teachers were figuring out ways to get the students more engaged in career-focused programs.

Clay discovered that while the students wanted assistance with things like resumes, the teachers didn’t really have the time or bandwidth to help them. Clay came up with the idea for the resume bootcamp to prepare young people for their first jobs. The goal is for the young people who participate to learn how to write a resume, apply for jobs, get interviews and start their first jobs.

Clay began last year offering the resume boot camp to the schools where the Village was already doing the Baby B.O.S.S. program. At one point, the organization was doing both programs at the same time, because the need was that great. The summer workshop is a one-hour session every Tuesday and takes place in Englewood, with Hey Benji. Hey Benji is an Englewood-based organization that addresses food scarcity during the summer months and other times when school food programs are not providing food to students. The Village has also hosted record expungement workshops with Hey Benji in the past.

Each week, the young people who participate in the resume bootcamp build upon the skills they learn. They start by learning what to put in their resume as a first-time job seeker. The next week, they come back with a resume they drafted and receive feedback on their resume. The week after that, they participate in mock interviews and learn how to answer questions to show they are the best applicant for the position. During the last week, the participants learn how to keep their jobs, as well as how to advocate for themselves in the workplace.

“We talk about the no call/no show, we talk about arguing with clients, how you request time off in the appropriate fashion, things that are really practical, but nobody is around to tell them about,” Clay said.

Clay said that it is a different time than when she was growing up where there was more access to receive assistance and resources as a first-time job seeker, from teachers to parents to older siblings, which isn’t happening as much now. She said it is important to show young people how to prepare for jobs and careers so they can have those skills for a lifetime. She said it is important for members of the community to pour back into young people so they can excel. Clay and the Village are also bringing in people who are in the careers and industry that the young people are interested in to speak with them.

Clay said the young people who have participated in the resume bootcamp are grateful someone is paying attention to them and willing to help them. A lot of the young people are happy that someone is able to and wants to invest their time into them. She said during the resume bootcamp, the team is gently guiding the young people and listening to them, while making suggestions and giving practical information. Clay said she is overjoyed to receive feedback from the young people that something they have done has positively impacted them.

Clay and the Village are available to facilitate their programs in partnership with other organizations. For more information about the Village Legal and Community Project, visit https://www.tvlcp.org.

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