Experts Help Powder Springs Job Seekers

Job seekers in Powder Springs are treating the phrase "spring training" a little differently than baseball players.

Members of the Georgia Labor of Department, Cobb Works, and The Georgia Career Information System teamed up Tuesday for a jobs seminar at the . The session was second of three scheduled for this month at the library. 

Information on the third class, scheduled for March 29 and entitled Recruiting Assistance for Employers, can be found . 

Lisa Davis of Cobb Works said Tuesday that the overall look of resumes isn't nearly as important as keywords on them.

“If you did a certain function at your job, and it’s the same function a prospective employer wants, but it’s not mentioned on the resume, the computer will kick it out instead of moving you on to the interview—even a phone interview.”

Joel Alexis, an employment and training consultant with the labor department, said the screening process will weed out potential employees if their skills don’t match what's needed.

“If they want someone with three years of experience in a certain area and you only have a year and a half, it’s not going to fly," he said.

Markita Grant from the Georgia Career Information Center said job seekers shouldn’t let their fears of inadequacy stop them from applying.

“There are companies where they’ll put a laundry list of requirements down, and find no one is applying (because) they’re too intimidated," she said.

Davis said Cobb Works has a special program to retrain workers who want to change occupations or need additional skill sets for a new job. 

“The key to getting accepted into the program is to get education in what the state has determined to be a demand occupation," she said. "That is an occupation where there’s more demand for workers than there is available workforce.”

Applicants also have to be on unemployment or economically disadvantaged for the program, Davis said. 

The Cobb Works website has an application that can be downloaded. Davis advised, however: “Do some research if you’re making a transition. Know what’s required of the field.”

Grant agreed, adding, “You might find out the job you want wouldn’t be a job you’d like.”

All three trainers agreed that doing an internship, apprenticeship or volunteer program can provide experience and a better feel for certain jobs. 

“There are apprenticeship programs available through the U.S. Department of Labor,” Alexis pointed out. “But they take longer than the Georgia Works programs, because the expertise is more specific. You have to decide if the time investment is worth it.”

Bobbie Crabb is just getting back into the workforce after raising her family. She said the time she spent in the seminar was worth it.

“I found it was helpful," she said. "The Internet links they gave us looked very encouraging.”

Jackie Adams was also heartened by what she heard, “especially when it comes to the keywords and resume information.” 

Cobb Works offers free resume writing assistance and computer training for job seekers.

Some of the links Alexis suggested job seekers investigate were:

• Job Central
• Georgia Career Information Center
• O*Net OnLine
• My Next Move
• My Skills, My Future

Download the movie