First-ever Job Fair Prep Event Launches at SMC
On Thursday, Oct. 12, Santa Monica College’s Career Services Center joined forces with the Fashion Club, Goodwill, and the up-and-coming Career Closet, to host the campus’s first-ever Job Fair Prep Event.
The brainchild of Career Services Advisor Ann-Marie Leahy and Fashion Department head Lorrie Ivas, this prep event presented students with the opportunity to meet department counselors, review their resumes, and discuss how to succeed in interviews and presentations. The college's Fashion Club provided fashion advice for students and managed to create a “pop-up clothing store” that made low-cost, but high-quality professional attire available for SMC students.
Students from the Fashion Club who want to become stylists were able to work hands-on with students, gaining valuable experience while they dressed up their fellow Corsairs. Ivas stressed that the attire they sold were "really quality pieces of merchandise.”
Stephanie Medina, Director of Community Relations for Southern California Goodwill, mentioned how important dress attire was to make a positive first impression on potential employers.
“Students have to understand that sometimes they gotta step into a place they may not be a hundred percent comfortable," Medina said. "[They] have to be open to that."
Leahy said that in image-conscious Southern California, both your wardrobe and resume matters, as it allows students to go into a job fair with confidence. Leahy continued, saying that making a resume and dressing the part are things that aren't common sense to most students. According to organizers, the Job Fair prep event addressed these concerns, and helped them to stand out to potential employers.
"It can be kind of overwhelming to have 60 employers at your fingertips," Leahy said. "How do you tackle that, how do you approach that?"
Leahy added that the Job Fair helps students determine their target careers, set their goals for the event, and find out how they can land the job they want.
The actual SMC Job Fair will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Quad on the main campus.
For more information, contact Ann Marie Leahy at (310)-434-4337, or visit www.smc.edu/careercenter. For the SMC Career Closet, call (310)-434-4295 and ask for Peter Murray regarding donations and student services.