Our boys and girls were tested on their professional knowledge and skills at our annual Job Skills Workshop—and they passed with flying colors.

Hosted by Mercy Home’s Leader Council, the Job Skills Workshop is a fantastic opportunity for our kids to demonstrate their potential as leaders in the professional world. Our young men and women had been preparing for this exciting day by practicing with our Career Resources team in weekly Job Lab sessions, honing their interviewing, handshaking, and pitch-making talents.

Vice President of Advancement Joe Wronka welcomed all of the volunteers who would be working with our kids before leading them to join our boys and girls, where Director of Career Resources Steve Ritzema greeted our youth and prepped them for the day ahead. Our boys and girls were excited to learn that one of the volunteers was a recruiter from Jimmy Johns who had been known to hire our boys and girls in the past!

Leader Council member and workshop organizer Katina Panagopoulos then kicked off the first session with a conversation about professional interviews. Two volunteers acted out skits demonstrating both a good and bad interview, and our kids were asked to weigh in on what the interviewee had done correctly or incorrectly. Hands shot up throughout the room as our young people were eager to share their expertise, identifying important interview aspects ranging from body language and availability to punctuality and hygiene.

Our kids then split up into groups to attend different stations, where they worked on job applications and elevator pitches, watched videos, and participated in mock interviews. In each station, our boys and girls had to be ready for every variable of the professional environment, including what do when a company isn’t hiring, the countless pitfalls to avoid in email and internet etiquette, how to identify and share your personal strengths, and more.