INSIDE:
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Synagogue Runs
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One Haircut Makes
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107
THE BOOMING ECONOMY CREATED
UNJUSTIFIED GOALS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ENTERING THE WORKFORCE.
LISA BARSON
Special to the Jewish News
n recent years, the newspapers were
filled with stories of 20-something
entrepreneurs who made millions
virtually overnight, often in Internet
businesses. On top of that were all the arti-
cles about recent college graduates paid
more in their first year out of school than
their parents ever earned.
In truth, these stories are prevalent in
the media precisely because they are
unusual — the exception rather than the
norm.
Nonetheless, the abundance of these tales
of youthful wealth have created a climate in
which many college graduates have the high-
est expectations of finding their dream jobs,
when in reality they are best equipped for
moderate-paying entry-level positions.
Debra Silver, a vocational counselor at
Jewish Vocational Service, works daily with
both high school and college students who
are about to enter the job market. In the
past five years, Silver has noticed that
recent college graduates come to her with
expectations of making at least $50,000
their first year out of school.
For those with specialized degrees and
extensive experience, this level of compensa-
tion might not be out of the question. But
the majority of students she works with
have minimal hands-on experience outside
the classroom.
"Being a camp counselor for three years
does not make a person qualified for a
high management position," explains
Silver. "It's just an unrealistic perception of
the experience needed in today's job mar-
ket."
JVS, based in Southfield, works with
people of all ages to identify their job
goals, update their resumes, develop com-
prehensive job search strategies and prac-
tice interviewing skills. After these impor-
tant steps are completed, JVS also helps
clients look for jobs through their own list-
ings of jobs and internships.
Lately, Silver hasn't counseled many
young adults who arrive with specific
career goals. They haven't needed them
— or at least they haven't thought so.
The job marker has been so good that
these young workers have had an easy
time securing employment. What Silver
does see are a lot of resumes of individu-
als who jump from job to job, trying to
determine their career goals on the job
rather than determining in advance what
they want to do.
Helpina
6 Hand
Aaron Schwartz of Grosse Pointe Woods
is taking advantage of JVS to help him
develop his career goals and to find a job
that fits them. After graduating last
spring from the University of Michigan-
Dearborn with a degree in political sci-
ence, the 25-year-old began actively
searching for a job in either politics or
law. He held numerous jobs while in col-
lege, but none of them were compatible
with his career goals.
Schwartz's dream job, he says, would be
to work "behind the scenes in the govern-
ment," but quality political jobs, as distin-
guished from civil service generally, are
harder to come by. Few politicians have
paid staff positions, Schwartz says, and
since he needs to pay the bills, he can't
work on a volunteer basis.
Schwartz recently attended an event
sponsored by JVS, Hillel of Metro Detroit
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2001
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