Statler Center Hospitality Graduation

(This is a tad late in getting up online, my apologies to the students and the school, but better late than never!)


The Statler Center, in conjunction with Lighthouse Central Florida (a past Community Guide feature) graduated their first class here in Orlando on November 20th. The 15 students all have vision disabilities and very optimistic career opportunities in the Central Florida Hospitality industry. Their program had them working with hoteliers across the area and in the classroom to prepare them for the day-to-day of working in one of the country’s busiest hospitality sectors. Congrats to the first of many successful graduating classes of Statler here in Orlando.

Here is a video interview with the Employment Guide and Mary Ellen Mest, a project manager for the National Statler Center.

For more information on the Statler Center and the hospitality courses offered please visit www.olmstedcenter.org

For more information on Lighthouse Central Florida please visit www.lighthousecentralflorida.org/

Orlando January Job Fair Accomodates Ticket To Work Participants

On Monday, January 19th, the Orlando Employment Guide will host our January Job Fair at the Florida Mall and Conference Center. During the planning stages of this event we have worked with Rehabilitation Services, Inc. to assist in the participation of Social Security Disability Recipients (Ticket to Work program) and getting them involved in not only this job fair, but in looking for employment that will impact their future.

If you have come to this page from a call from Rehabilitation Services, Inc., I welcome you to the Orlando JobSpot, the official blog and job seeking information site for the Orlando Employment Guide. On this site you will find information regarding local events like job fairs and seminars, helpful tips on resumes, cover letters and using the Internet to increase your odds of finding employment.

Information on the January Job Fair
The career fair will be held on Monday, January 19th at the Florida Hotel and Convention Center, located adjacent to the Florida Mall on the corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Rd. A Google Map of the location can be found below.

View Larger Map

The event will take place from 10am - 2pm and will feature over 30 local hiring companies and education institutions. A full list of the companies will be available on this site Wednesday, January 14th. Please bookmark this page to check back in with us then.

Job Fair Tips
A job fair is slightly different that applying for a job online or walking in and filling in an application. Here are a few tips to make the best of your job fair experience.

• Arrive early - While there may be more people to compete with, recruiters are often at their best early in the day and are willing to chat and give you information regarding their organizations.
• Print out a few copies of your resume - Some companies will be accepting resumes at the event. If you run across one of these companies, it is highly recommended that you hand the recruiter the resume at this time.
• Bring a smile and some optimism - A job fair is overwhelming, but remember that your attitude and 1st impressions can go a long way to helping a recruiter remember you when the day is over.
• Have an elevator pitch - You will likely not have a lot of one-on-one time with a hiring manager or HR rep so make the most of the time you do have. Have a 30-45 pitch of yourself, your qualities, relevant experience and goals rehearsed and prepared in the case that you do get to pitch yourself.
• Resist distractions - This can include turning your cell phone off, being organized with papers, folders and hand-outs, not chewing gum or coming up to a table in mid-conversation with a friend. Professionalism goes a long way at these events.
• Dress to impress - This is your shot at a first impression, make it great by dressing up to the position you wish to obtain.

For more information on the January Job Fair, please visit the Orlando Employment Guide.

Update Your Life

With the New Year comes new promise, dreams and opportunities. It is also a time to take what you have learned, accomplished and grown into and put that into your professional life. Take some time in the start of the new year to update your profiles to match your current lifestyle and work accomplishments. Take this approach to your resume, your social networks, your references, reach out to contacts that you made in the past year and see how they have helped you develop.

Here is a quick checklist of things that may need updating in your life, your profiles and for your job search:

Resume

• Objective - make it more direct and personal. Have you changed industries? Can you increase your visibility by brightening this statement up?
• Education - did you take any classes or courses in which you learned something relevant to your career. Are your high school classes and accomplishments still relevant?
• Skill sets and other section of your resume - have you volunteered at an organization, led an event, raised money, tutored or helped someone. There are plenty of areas that can be relevant to th position you are looking for.

Online profiles

• Check Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace or others to see if you need to update your pictures, your bio and description. Is the image you are portraying online, the image you want the public to see?

References and recommendations

• Are your references out of date? If so, find the people in your network that can make you look better brighter and on the winning path to join an organization.
• Have you done any freelance work? Get testimonials and recommendations for your work to showcase your abilities and hard work.

What else can you update in your life to make '09 successful for your career? Let us know how you updated and how it is affecting you in the comments - we wold love to hear from you.

-Greg Rollett