Community Corner

Job Tip: Bring a Pen That Works

Dave Herrmann of the Missouri Career Center explains the organizations services and provides advice for job seekers.

With the national unemployment rate rising to just under 10 percent, David Herrmann, veteran's representative at the Missouri Career Center, provides some advice to those seeking employment.

Hermann spoke last week at a Town Hall meeting hosted by Jefferson County Council Chair Renee Reuter

When a job seeker lands an interview with a potential employee, Herrmann said details are important.

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"The biggest gripe of employers is applicants not following instructions on how to apply for the job," he said. "If you can't follow instructions on the simple process of applying for a job, how are you going to follow instructions on the job itself."

More practical tips for the job interview:

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  • Dress appropriately - "No baggy pants," Herrmann said. "Dress like you are going to your grandmother's funeral."
  • Arrive 15 minutes before an job interview.
  • Have a pen that works.
  • Be courteous.
  • Don't ask about pay.
  • Show an interest in the job.
  • Get the name and address of the interviewer and send a Thank You note. Write the name and address on the envelope by hand and don't send it through metered mail.
  • Ask for the job if you want it!  "You're not going to get something unless you ask for it," Herrmann said.

Maida Coleman, a workforce liaison for the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, also spoke to the town hall group, explaining that keeping up with the needs of the unemployed has been a daunting task over the last few years.

"We have 250 people on the phones to assist the unemployed," Coleman said, adding there currently are about 180,000 people collecting unemployment benefits in Missouri, which costs about $25 million per week.

Coleman said there were 5,876 people last week exhausted all of their unemployment benefits, but there were 8,854 new claims. She said the Missouri unemployment rate is 8.9 percent, a full percentage point lower than the 9.9 percent national rate.

Herrmann explained that the Missouri Career Center, 3675 West Outer Road, Arnold, does not address unemployment claims, but instead helps people find a job.

"The Missouri Career Center is designed to get people back to work," he said. "We've all been through the wringer. We all know what it's like."

Herrmann said the center also can provide skills tests and can find more obscure sources of funding for retraining. One of the center's programs is providing incentives to Jefferson County employers to hire people who work through the Career Center to find a job.

To contact Herrmann about the benefits that may be available at the Missouri Career Center, call 636-287-8909, or visit www.MissouriCareerSource.com


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