COLUMBIA, S.C. — If you’re looking for a job, organizations are here to help Midlands residents. From resume reviews to interview practice and beyond, there are a variety of free resources to help land that next job opportunity.
The Richland County Public Library offers free career counseling sessions to anyone looking for some help.
Kris Dempster, Business and Careers Librarian and Career Coach, says the information the department teaches can be helpful.
"A lot of businesses or organizations are trying to find those right people, and we think it’s important for the community to have a robust community and for this information to get out there," he said. "People really need to know this."
Resume reviews are one of the services the library provides.
"One of the biggest things with resumes is you have to tailor and customize that resume to the job you’re applying for. That’s the top tip. You really have to do that," he said.
Elizabeth Cook with SC Works agrees.
Go back, edit your resume for each job. Use the keywords that you see in the job posting in your resume," she said.
In addition, she says adding a "clear objective statement so the employer knows what you’re looking for, what your own career goals are" can be helpful on resumes.
SC Works also provides free career counseling to people. It hosts workshops on resumes, social media etiquette, dressing professionally and more.
Cook, a business solutions consultant, says the organization has seen an increase of people utilizing its services in the past few months.
"It’s so important to empower our community," she said. "I think it all starts with motivation, empowering them, having someone to give one-on-one counseling and motivation and it honestly strengthens our community."
Interviewing is also a service that both organizations focus on.
"We have a technique here at the Richland County Library that we use called the STAR method," Dempster said. "It’s an acronym for Situation, Task, Action and Result. And that means tell us what happened, the action that you took and the positive result of that action."
People interested in career counseling from the library can walk-in or can call to make an appointment. For SC Works, Cook says August workshop calendar will be posted to its website Thursday morning.