t's been a lot of years of hard work
to get that diploma, or master's
degree, or doctorate.
Now, the degree hangs on the
wall and life takes on a profes-
sional role.
When the workday is done, the
new graduate is ready to hang.
The trouble is, school friends
have scattered, or the new job
means moving to a different city
and there is no one to hang out
with.
Last summer, Mark Levine,
then new to the Detroit area,
found himself faced with the chal-
lenge of making friends and read-
justing socially.
He didn't have to worry about
finding a job. Chrysler recruited
him out of college to work as an
engineer. He did, however, have
to work on making a social life.
A Connecticut native, he first
visited the area with his mother
and made his first stop in the
B'nai B'rith office. "I was in
BBYO in high school and if you
don't know where to go, you go
back home," he says. "We visited
the office, and Arnie Weiner, the
director, gave me advice on where
to live and invited me to a B'nai
B'rith Young Leadership Net-
work event. I met 30 people in
one night and I am real active in
it now."
Getting
involved in
organizations
helps build
post-college
friendships.
LISA BRODY
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
What An
Lee Hollander, 26, also moved
to the area for a job in the auto
industry. The New York native
is a mechanical engineer with
Ford Motor Co. and lives in Ann
Arbor. He chose the college town,
despite the daily commute to
Dearborn, because of the ease of
meeting people there.
Once a month he attends Uni-
versity of Michigan Hillel's grad
and young adult potluck.
"At U-M so many people are
from out-of town, it's not very
cliquey," Mr. Hollander says.
"Everyone's on the same level
and it's a very open atmosphere."
Michelle Brown, 26, of West
Bloomfield, stresses the impor-
tance of getting involved with dif-
ferent organizations. She also
feels it's a great way to meet new
people.
She made a point of putting
her name on several mailing lists.
Now she is involved with Feder-
ation's Young Adult Division, the
Young Leadership Network of
B'Nai B'rith and a Hadassah
group. She also became active
with a weekly wallyball group at
the Jewish Community Center.
"I called the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, and I
found out about a lot of volunteer
organizations in the area," says
Ms. Brown, an account manager
for a collections agency.
"I also asked my
cousins and my mom's
friends to give me
names of organizations
for single Jews.
Matthew Fenster, a
commercial real estate
broker in West Bloom-
field, joined the JCC so
he could meet people
while working out.
"I got myself really
wrapped up in work
and I'm trying to meet
more people," Mr. Fen-
ster said. "A lot of peo-
ple don't get involved. I
didn't have a choice. Be-
ing new here, if I didn't Laynie Langnas
get involved, I would sit
home watching TV. Instead, I know you'll see people from col-
went to meetings and events. It's lege or high school or someone
you know from someplace."
worked."
Ms. Rosenwasser says there are
Alayna Langnas, 29, also got
involved in several local organi- other venues besides bar nights to
zations. She joined Hadassah and meet people and network. YAD
attended YAD events, particular- has three outreach and education
ly the bar nights held on the last committees, with speakers and
Tuesday of every month at Old volunteer committees. Federation
Woodward Grille in Birmingham. is also sponsoring a singles mis-
YAD Director Jennifer Rosen- sion to Israel in July. "People want
wasser says the bar nights con- to get involved and it's not always
sistently draw about 300 people. easy to go to the bar alone," Ms.
"The bar parties are a safe at- Rosenwasser said. "If you join a
mosphere," Ms. Langnas says. committee, it's social but it is
"It's a captive audience. You something you can do alone."
❑
Interviewer Looks For In A Job Applicant
Joel Jacob M. Jacob & Sons,
Farmington Hills
"I look for the type of work expe-
riences he or she has had, al-
though they may not directly be
related to, but can apply to, our
business. If someone tells me he
worked at Kmart, that's impor-
tant because, even though we're
not retail, I know the applicant
could be
good at
customer
service. I
would en-
courage
young peo-
ple to gain
work expe-
riences.
Get a job
doing any-
thing be-
cause
you'll learn from it and be able to
apply it to your career."
Jim
Safran
Safran
Printing,
Sterling
Heights
"If the ap-
plicant has
been out of
school for a
while, I
look at
the amount of time he or she
has spent at a job. I would
want to know the reasons
people bounced from job to
job, if that is the case. People
in business invest in their
employees and they hope to
get a return on that invest-
ment. I usually like to find
out what the person would
like to do if he or she could
define his or her own job. Do
they have an idea of where they
want to go? Even if they sound
great, I don't want to invest if I
know I cannot satisfy their goals.
No one wants turnover in his
business. Some of the things that
impress me in a prospective
job candidate are self- confi-
dence, a willingness to admit
not knowing it all and someone
who wants to learn and is not
afraid of new challenges or
change."
Michael Egren Foamade In-
dustries,
Auburn Hills
"My hiring is
focused on
high-level exec-
utives. Howev-
er, on any level,
I like people
who are able to
talk about
themselves and
are very objec-
tive about what
they do well, what they don't do
well and what they enjoy or don't
enjoy doing. I get concerned if I
have to pull information out of
people. I prefer people who are
objective and analytical."
Susan Adler
Building
Industry Asso-
ciation of
Southeastern
Michigan,
Farmington
Hills
"I'm currently
looking for
someone to fill
an entry-
level position. Generally
speaking, in the magazine
business, I look for people who
are compulsive about work but
at the same time have an atti-
tude that's relaxed enough
that they can switch gears eas-
ily. I look for those who can
work on different projects,
work with different people and
get their work done and main-
tain their cool in all types of
situations. I'm impressed by
people who have worked on pub-
lications while in school, people
who have had articles published,
and I appreciate it when some-
one sends work samples."
Larry Harwin Century 21 MJL
Corporate Transferee
Service, Farmington Hills
"I look for a reason not to hire
someone. If I cannot find a rea-
son, he or she deserves the op-
portunity. I look for someone
who is properly dressed and on
time for an in-
terview. I don't
rely on re-
sumes because
most are pro-
fessionally
done and, if I
call a refer-
ence, it's rare
someone says
something
negative."
TH B I RSCH ING
Social Adjustment