Education & Employment Program

In Her Own Words: Vianelly’s Story

mary.wadlinger — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 14:05:51 +0000

In Her Own Words: Vianelly’s Story mary.wadlinger Wed, 09/07/2016 - 10:05

Thu, 09/01/2016 - 06:00

We arrived at St. Ann’s in 2014, when my son Jeremiah was 3 months old and my daughter Ariana was 17 months old. We were placed in Grace House and I started attending St. Ann’s High School two weeks after being admitted.

After I got settled into school and got focused on earning good grades, our principal, Ms. Swain, invited me to her office to talk about my career plans. I thought back to the first time I saw Ariana’s picture on the ultrasound screen and told Ms. Swain that I wanted to create moments like that for other pregnant women. I wanted to be an Ultrasound Technician.

I started working with Mr. Justin, the Education and Employment Counselor, to create my resume. Ms. Swain helped me put together a professional portfolio that included my high school report cards and academic awards. They also taught me some important skills that would help me succeed, like how to answer difficult interview questions and how to dress professionally.

When my portfolio and resume were ready, Ms. Swain introduced me to Ms. Smalls, a supervisor at Youth Professional Development (YPD). The program helps young parents in Prince George’s County gain real-world work experience. In my interview I told her about my dream to be an Ultrasound Technician.

Ms. Smalls placed me with the Radiology Department of Providence Hospital for the summer of 2015. My CT Scan Manager always made sure I was learning something new. He showed me how to set up the room for a patient, demonstrated how the CT Scanner worked, taught me how to read the X-ray images, and explained how they scan different parts of the body.

This summer, Ms. Smalls helped me find a position in Providence Hospital’s Ultrasound Department. It was interesting to try out a different position and department. In Radiology, I mostly worked “behind-the-scenes” but in Ultrasound I spent more time greeting and speaking with patients. At the reception desk, I learned that being bilingual is valuable because I can communicate with Spanish-speaking patients.

At the end of my placement period in August, Providence Hospital offered me a part-time job to continue working in the Ultrasound Department! I learned that one of the managers in the hospital gave a recommendation for me. She said that I worked hard, caught on to new tasks quickly, and always acted professionally. It felt great to know that my hard work paid off.

Starting in September, I will attend St. Ann’s High School in the morning and work at Providence in the afternoons. My children, Ariana and Jeremiah, will continue to attend St. Ann’s on-site Child Care Center.

I have always loved working because it gives me something to rely on. It is such a relief to know that I can support my children and save for our future. The love that I get from my children makes it all worth it.

The Phrase Job Seekers Hear the Most

mary.wadlinger — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:41:38 +0000

The Phrase Job Seekers Hear the Most mary.wadlinger Thu, 08/04/2016 - 10:41

Thu, 08/04/2016 - 06:00

Justin Cartagena is St. Ann’s on-site Education and Employment Counselor. Every month, Justin writes and distributes an informative newsletter for his clients. It is always packed with useful employment tips, career advice, and recommended reading.

Below is an excerpt from the August 2016 edition (Volume 2, Issue No. 8) of the Education and Employment Program (EEP) Newsletter. To read this edition in its entirety, click here.

“Tell me a about yourself...”

We’ve spoken about this little phrase before but it’s so important that it needs to be covered multiple times. The truth is: it’s a hard phrase to respond to. There are so many ways to answer it and so many things you could say. We’re all multifaceted people; we like different things, we do different things, and we’ve had so much happen to us in our lives. So how do we effectively combat that daunting phrase? It comes during interviews but it also can make its way into daily networking (and we discussed how important networking is in our last issue).

Scott Ginsberg over at TheLadders.com has a whole list of “10 creative ways to effectively answer the dreaded question...” But, what’s interesting is that Ginsberg suggests that the message is the answer of the question but more in your confidence, enthusiasm, and passion with which you answer it. As an education and employment counselor, I’ve asked people to tell me a little about themselves often and nine times out of ten there is hesitation and uncertainty. In a previous Newsletter we discussed this: no one knows your experiences better than you. Take comfort and be confident in that fact.

Ginsberg says that the, “biggest mistake you could make is pausing, stalling, or fumbling at the onset of your answer, thus demonstrating a lack of self-awareness and self-esteem.” I’m going to agree. That’s why I always suggest preparing a statement beforehand. Don’t read it out like a robot but use it as a guide to help you get your perfect answer.

Check out Scott Ginsberg’s full list and see if it helps!

This was an excerpt from the August 2016 edition of the EEP Newsletter.

Click here to learn more about Justin Cartagena’s work as St. Ann’s Education and Employment Counselor.

Network, Network, Network

mary.wadlinger — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 17:03:01 +0000

Network, Network, Network mary.wadlinger Tue, 07/12/2016 - 13:03

Tue, 07/12/2016 - 08:45

Every month St. Ann's Education and Employment Counselor, Justin Cartagena, writes and distributes an informative newsletter for his clients. It is always packed with useful employment tips, career advice and recommended reading.

Below is an excerpt from the July 2016 edition (Volume 2, Issue No. 7) of the Education and Employment Program (EEP) Newsletter. To read this edition in its entirety, click here.

Networking is by far your most valuable tool in the job search arena. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics and Yale University both say that a whopping 70% of all jobs are found through networking.

That is incredible: 70% of all jobs! That is more than half of all the jobs acquired. So, if networking is how we get employed, then why aren’t we all doing it more frequently?

Well, for starters, as with most things employment search, there are effective and ineffective ways to network. Elizabeth Malatestinic is the senior lecturer in Human Resource Management at Indiana University’s School of Business; she says that going to those massive networking events full of strangers so you can hand out business cards is not the way to go. Instead Malatestinic suggests joining clubs that coincide with your career interests. You can start with your alumni associations or organizations that interest you professionally.

There are many pieces of advice to remember when networking, but the most important is “building relationships”. Relationships are give and take and aren’t built out of convenience. Consider who you are networking with and whether you are constantly asking for things (like job openings) or building trust and showing you would be a good fit for a team through respectful interaction.

Networking is essential and I urge you to read Paige Harden’s article at the Washington Post for information on how to become more effective doing it.

This was an excerpt from the July 2016 edition of the EEP Newsletter.

Click here to learn more about Justin Cartagena’s work as St. Ann’s Education and Employment Counselor.

Education & Employment Program

In Her Own Words: Vianelly’s Story

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The Phrase Job Seekers Hear the Most

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Network, Network, Network

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