Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line: Goodwill's Sydney Anderson & Elisabeth Henson talk about the FInd Your Fit Job Fair

Transcript

Talk Line: Goodwill's Sydney Anderson & Elisabeth Henson talk about the FInd Your Fit Job Fair · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Sock Valley, and welcome back to the Waking
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  Speaker 1: crew here on FM ninety five one and AM fourteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty WIXN. It's a sixteen on your Friday morning. We
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  Speaker 1: are right there at the weekend and now you know
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  Speaker 1: what it is, It's time for talk line. I'm joining
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  Speaker 1: the booth for the first time since taking over the
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  Speaker 1: helmet the legendary Steve Marco Studio, Elizabeth Henson and Sidney
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  Speaker 1: Anderson from Goodwill Ladies.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for coming in today.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for having us. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: I love in converse in in person conversation. We're always
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  Speaker 1: able to facilitate these over the phone, but I love
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  Speaker 1: when people come in the booth conversation. It's not quite
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  Speaker 1: the same when you're not in person. So you guys
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  Speaker 1: are here to tell us about a really awesome job
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  Speaker 1: fair going on through you all.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, we're excited to share a lot of information about
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  Speaker 3: an upcoming opportunity for our local job seekers. So Goodwill
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  Speaker 3: Industries of Northern Illinois is hosting the Find Your Fit
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  Speaker 3: Job Fair on Tuesday, July twenty eighth at ten am
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  Speaker 3: to noon. So it's going to be at the Elk
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  Speaker 3: Lodge located at twelve seventy nine Franklin Grove Road and Dixon.
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  Speaker 3: And we're also going to have a Sensory Friendly hour
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  Speaker 3: from eleven am to noon to create a more comfortable
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  Speaker 3: environment for anyone who may benefit from a quieter experience.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I always love hearing about these these century hours they have.
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  Speaker 1: I'm starting to find more and more. Usually it would
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  Speaker 1: be for like some of the like Petunia Fest events
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  Speaker 1: and things like that, but having this at a job
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  Speaker 1: fair is a very cool idea. I know, I can
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  Speaker 1: get over stimulate. I can't walk into a Marshall's Ladies.
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  Speaker 1: I'm in there for like five minutes and I'm like,
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  Speaker 1: I got to get out of here. There's too much
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  Speaker 1: going on.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Also, I mean even Walmart will do it, you know,
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  Speaker 3: for a couple hours in the morning, and it's always
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  Speaker 3: so nice. So I like to get my grocery shopping
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  Speaker 3: done there too, just to I got.
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  Speaker 2: A tunnel vision in and out. It's too much. And
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  Speaker 2: then I'm like, uh uh huh.
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  Speaker 1: Now a lot of folks might be asking why is
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  Speaker 1: Goodwill hosting a job fair, you know, And I really.
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  Speaker 4: Love that question because it's really at the heart of
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  Speaker 4: what we do. We know transportation can be a barrier
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  Speaker 4: when job seekers have to travel to multiple communities to
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  Speaker 4: meet employers. It brings everyone together in one location, allows
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  Speaker 4: people to explore many opportunities in a single morning. And
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  Speaker 4: it's more than just another resume in a stack of applications.
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  Speaker 4: Employers get to meet these candidates base to base. They
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  Speaker 4: can see their personality, enthusiasm, communication skills that really personal
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  Speaker 4: connection can make a difference.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and Elizabeth, I know me and you have talked
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  Speaker 1: before when I was a reporter, and I was just
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  Speaker 1: as surprised. Again, this is why I think that question
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  Speaker 1: is so relevant about why is Goodwill hosting a job fair?
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  Speaker 1: Is that I had no idea the kind of employment
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  Speaker 1: assistance that Goodwill provided the community.
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  Speaker 3: Oh.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely, yep. We're a five oh one C three. We
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  Speaker 4: help individuals with barriers in the community. So employment is
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  Speaker 4: our main focus. I love it. I love it. It's wonderful.
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  Speaker 2: Now, who should be attending this?
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  Speaker 3: So this event is open to anyone really looking for employment,
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  Speaker 3: you know, whether you were searching for your first job,
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  Speaker 3: changing careers, returning to the workforce, or you know, even
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  Speaker 3: looking for part time employment. This we really encourage you
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  Speaker 3: to attend yeah.
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  Speaker 4: And we have multiple opportunities entry level all the way
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  Speaker 4: to professional careers opportunities and manufacturing and healthcare, transportation, social services,
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  Speaker 4: office administration, skills, trades, CDL, engineering, and many other fields.
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  Speaker 4: So it's a great opportunity for job seekers to come out.
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  Speaker 2: I love that.
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  Speaker 1: Do you happen to know any specific employers that are
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  Speaker 1: going to be there?
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  Speaker 2: I do.
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  Speaker 4: So we have a fantastic mix of employers. Some of
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  Speaker 4: these include you know AGVFS as tech but now Industries,
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  Speaker 4: coil Craft, Donaldson, do It Best, Soft, Valley Community College, Sterling,
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  Speaker 4: Steel upm Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Human Services,
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  Speaker 4: reg and Mass Transit, Mississippi Healthcare plus Mid America Carpenters,
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  Speaker 4: Huge Resources, Manpower, US Army, and several others. And some
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  Speaker 4: employers are looking for experienced professionals. Others are willing to
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  Speaker 4: train those who are eager to learn and build a career,
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  Speaker 4: but you know, they're looking for consistency people that are
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  Speaker 4: reliable and that will show up.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, that's a star studded lineup of employers over there.
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  Speaker 1: So you guys are really putting in the work wrangling.
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  Speaker 2: This all together.
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  Speaker 3: We have quite the variety.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, no, I absolutely love that. And what is
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  Speaker 1: it that you're hearing that our employers are looking for
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  Speaker 1: right now? I know you said, you know, reliability, anything
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  Speaker 1: else that people should be thinking of when they're coming
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  Speaker 1: and getting prepared.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, the willingness to learn, how can they
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  Speaker 4: communicate with others, their professionalism, definitely showing up to work.
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  Speaker 4: One piece of advice that iowas show is that attitude
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  Speaker 4: and professionalism always matter. So even if you don't have
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  Speaker 4: that qualification on paper, making that positive impression and having
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  Speaker 4: that conversation with the employer can go a long way
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  Speaker 4: because the job seekers will get to meet those employers
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  Speaker 4: and that face to face is super important.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, And you know, for I guess for me growing up,
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  Speaker 1: I would have thought this was a thing that you
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  Speaker 1: you didn't have to say, But I do think some
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  Speaker 1: people may need to hear. Is that, like you said,
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  Speaker 1: being prepared, dressing up for the interview, coming prepared there.
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  Speaker 1: I have heard from employers in the past about hearing
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  Speaker 1: about some nightmared interviews where folks would come completely just
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  Speaker 1: looking like they rolled out of bed, and they the
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  Speaker 1: candidates were kind of like like what and it's like, no, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: that's not how we show up for these things. You
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  Speaker 1: got to put your best foot forward. So sometimes the
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  Speaker 1: simplest tips are best. Now, a really good question is
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  Speaker 1: what about individuals with criminal backgrounds?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, so, one thing we're specially proud of is that
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  Speaker 4: several employers that are attending are open to hiring individuals
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  Speaker 4: with previous convictions. You know, our employer directory identifies employers
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  Speaker 4: to hire on a case by case basis who may
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  Speaker 4: be open to applicants with certain backgrounds. We believe that
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  Speaker 4: people deserve an opportunity to move forward and find meaningful
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  Speaker 4: community employment, and we want attendees to know that employees
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  Speaker 4: are willing to consider the whole person and not just
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  Speaker 4: their past.
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  Speaker 2: I love that.
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  Speaker 1: Now I had seen something about a work style quiz.
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  Speaker 1: Is this kind of like a love match for employment?
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  Speaker 3: Like kind of yeah? Actually, so, one unique feature of
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  Speaker 3: our event is the work style quiz, And it's pretty
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  Speaker 3: much a quick assessment that helps people identify the type
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  Speaker 3: of work environment that best fits their personality and strengths.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: I like that.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, And each employer has been matched on work styles
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  Speaker 4: that they're seeking, so the quiz can help attendees focus
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  Speaker 4: their time on employers that may be a good fit
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  Speaker 4: for them.
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  Speaker 3: It's right, and it's a simple tool, you know it.
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  Speaker 3: It can help people discover many opportunities that they might
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  Speaker 3: have not considered otherwise.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think a lot of times too often people
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  Speaker 1: will think, when going to get a job, it's really like,
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  Speaker 1: what is the first thing I can find within the
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  Speaker 1: basic parameters of what I'm looking for? They jump in
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  Speaker 1: and then sometimes I think the struggle for a continued
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  Speaker 1: employment can be that you're so unhappy in what you're
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  Speaker 1: doing because you never considered what you were going to
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  Speaker 1: be doing before you started applying. And that's a big
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  Speaker 1: part of looking at that. And I like that this
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  Speaker 1: is a tool that can kind of help people think like, well,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know what that would be. You guys are like,
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  Speaker 1: you know what, let's do this, and I think we
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  Speaker 1: can give you a couple of pointers.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely. We're also offering another unique feature at this job
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  Speaker 4: there so if individuals do not have resumes, we'll actually
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  Speaker 4: have resume experts on site that are able to help
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  Speaker 4: job seekers create resumes, print them out, and then give
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  Speaker 4: them to the employers that they're interested in them.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we really wanted to highlight that this isn't
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  Speaker 3: your typical job here where you walk around, you know,
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  Speaker 3: just handing out resumes. We really wanted to create something
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  Speaker 3: that helps people make meaningful connections with employers and you know,
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  Speaker 3: learn about more opportunities that match their interest and strengths.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and you know, making those connections is really important.
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  Speaker 1: I think too often people take networking as a buzzword,
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  Speaker 1: and connection is actually a much better word, because when
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  Speaker 1: you make impressions with people, even if you know maybe
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  Speaker 1: that isn't the place you applied for right away, or
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  Speaker 1: you thought it wasn't going to be the job you
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  Speaker 1: were going to get, you make a good connection which
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  Speaker 1: leaves a lasting impression with somebody you really have no
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  Speaker 1: idea how down the road that might unlock some doors
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  Speaker 1: for you and maybe further advancing your career or starting
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  Speaker 1: you off in.
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  Speaker 2: A brand new one.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, so I love that's what you guys are are
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  Speaker 1: trying to facilitate here. Anything else or do people need
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  Speaker 1: or is there anything to sign up for ahead? Do
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  Speaker 1: they can they just show up?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah? So they can just show up to the event,
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  Speaker 4: and we hope that everyone attends, whether they're just looking
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  Speaker 4: around to see what's out there, just kind of scoping.
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  Speaker 4: If they're new to the industry, anyone can show up.
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  Speaker 4: They do not need RSVP.
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  Speaker 1: Love it anything else you wanted to share about this today, ladies.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, actually, on our Facebook page, we do have an
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  Speaker 4: event for our job seekers. So if they find it
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  Speaker 4: on our Facebook through the events, they can put that
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  Speaker 4: they're interested and if they're going, but it's not.
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  Speaker 1: Required, okay, And if anybody is wanting, you know, maybe
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  Speaker 1: more information on this or anything Goodwill has to offer,
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  Speaker 1: what's the best way to go about doing that?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, so they can call our home office. We have
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  Speaker 4: tons of different programs within Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois.
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  Speaker 4: The home office number is eight one, five nine six.
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  Speaker 4: I have three seven ninety five. They'll get connected with
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  Speaker 4: someone from our main office, tell them kind of what
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  Speaker 4: they're looking for, and then they'll they'll find the right
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  Speaker 4: program for them and get them connected with that program.
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  Speaker 2: Wonderful, wonderful anything else, ladies.
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  Speaker 3: You know, whether you're actively searching for a new job, considering,
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  Speaker 3: you know, a career change, or simply just being curious
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  Speaker 3: about what other opportunities exist in our area. This is
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  Speaker 3: going to be a great chance to connect with local employers.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, I mean, do not take these kind of
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  Speaker 1: things for granted, especially like you said, whether you're looking
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  Speaker 1: for a you know, you need a job right now,
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  Speaker 1: or you're looking maybe to make that pivot and switch.
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  Speaker 1: You know, maybe you're unhappy. Just like we were talking about,
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  Speaker 1: you jumped in, you took something, you're doing it. We
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  Speaker 1: all got to make a living. I get it. But
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  Speaker 1: you want to find something that better matches you. At
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  Speaker 1: least go on down, talk to everybody, take the quiz,
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  Speaker 1: you know, start to maybe consider this, and who knows
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  Speaker 1: what will happen. I mean, ladies, I was not supposed
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  Speaker 1: to be here, Okay. I went back to school to
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  Speaker 1: be a physical therapist.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah that's insane. Wow, And I are just in a
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  Speaker 3: studio I love.
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  Speaker 4: It's amazing.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: No.
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  Speaker 1: I had to take some jen Ed's and a couple
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  Speaker 1: of professors like you should do something with writing, and
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  Speaker 1: I was like, I'm not Stephen king Man, what am
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  Speaker 1: I gonna do?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: And I went and I talked to the newspaper and
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  Speaker 1: became a reporter, and I did radio and college loved it.
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  Speaker 1: And when this opened up, I was like, yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: so here I am. Yeah, not stretching anybody out on
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  Speaker 1: a table.
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  Speaker 2: I love it.
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  Speaker 4: I don't think it's ever too late to change careers.
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  Speaker 2: You.
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  Speaker 1: No, absolutely no, it's not. And what I love is
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  Speaker 1: that Goodwill is more than a place to shop. You
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  Speaker 1: have all these resources available to the community. And what
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  Speaker 1: I love is since we've connected now, you guys are
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  Speaker 1: regularly going to be back here to let us know
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  Speaker 1: all about that, because there's so much more to Goodwill
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  Speaker 1: than just what you can buy.
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  Speaker 3: We really want to highlight our mission services. You know,
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  Speaker 3: like you said, we are much more than, you know,
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  Speaker 3: just a shopping experience, you know, we provide so many
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  Speaker 3: resources for the Sock Valley area.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, well, ladies, we're out of time, but I want
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  Speaker 1: to thank you once again for coming in, sharing all
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  Speaker 1: this information and all the hard work that it went
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  Speaker 1: into to organize these kind of events. It really is
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  Speaker 1: going to help some folks change their lives. But you
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  Speaker 1: have to get down there and you have to participate
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  Speaker 1: if you want to take advantage of that change. Elizabeth Sidney,
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  Speaker 1: thank you so much for coming
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  Speaker 3: In, Thanks for having us, for having us a pleasure