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By Raylyn Rollins
With power tools, Chef Robert Baradaran demonstrates some of the advanced skills students can learn at RCC’s Culinary Academy. (Christopher Dietrich)
By Raylyn Rollins
Pounding the pavement looking for applications can be a nerve-wracking, tiring process.
Well, the tables were turned at Riverside City College on March 14 when the Transfer/Career center put together a fair for many businesses from around the community to talk about different career paths with students.
Tables were set up as businesses looked longingly for applicants to approach their booth. Perhaps there is no greater sense of power than when a job-hungry student can feign disinterest to any number of employers. After all, they were searching you out.
Apart from many RCC programs such as cosmetology and automotive, The Press-Enterprise was present along with representatives from Disney.
The firefighters were there with the famous red truck and the paramedic students conducted demonstrations in the hopes of sparking the interest of the students present.
At the fair, people could learn about local jobs and internships that may spark their interest.
The cosmetology program even gave coupons for free hair cuts! If you missed all the fair had to offer and are looking for a job right away, never fear!
The Job Placement center on the Riverside campus is a place where students can look for jobs from all around the community.
Nestled between the Lovekin Field and the upper campus in the hallways of the Applied Technologies building, there is a little office with a lot of potential.
Job placement technician Gregory Ramirez works in that office to give students an opportunity to find work.
Businesses from around the community provide the center with information on positions they need filled and that are available to college students.
“More and more businesses are coming to Job Placement because there are so few qualified candidates in the community,” Ramirez said.
Job Placement may be difficult to find, but it could be well worth the effort. After all, RCC has a roughly 65 percent employment rate, according to Ramirez.
Even many four year universities do not have such a high job placement rate.
To help improve chances of securing jobs, Ramirez, who is specialized in career counseling, also helps students with improving workability skills and resumes.
The resume is the first thing the employer sees, so Ramirez keeps up-to-date on all of the latest information and trends to make sure each student’s resume stands out from the rest in a professional, qualified manner.
About 65 businesses have job information in the center. These business are all over the community and range everywhere from the Home Depot, to the Riverside Sheriff’s office and the city of Los Angeles.
There are plenty of jobs for a variety of interests.
On-campus jobs need a student to have at least a 2.0 grade point average and a minimum of six units.
The Job Placement Center, however, is for everyone.
Anyone in need of work, no matter the GPA or number of classes, is welcome to browse the jobs and look for something that suits their particular interest.
The center is filled with not only a wall filled with potential jobs, but advice on resumes, presentation and other job skills.
The Job Placement center allows students to find jobs around the community that may just be right up their alley. With counselors standing by and dozens of opportunities, finding a job may have just gotten easier.
