If unemployment is declining in Queens, you couldn’t tell from September’s Community District 12 meeting. Within moments of taking the podium, Economic Development Committee Chairperson Edith Thomas rattled off a list of stores that recently closed – two KFCs and a butcher shop on Baisly Blvd within a matter of weeks.
These losses not only contribute to local unemployment, but they also lead to outsourcing. As Thomas explained, new businesses slowly come in to the area, but instead of hiring locals, they bring employees from other neighborhoods with them.
But while locals can rely less on local businesses for employment opportunities, there’s one Jamaica establishment that will always have their back: the Queens Library on Merrick Blvd. Several years ago the library opened its Job Information Center, offering services and advice on job hunting.
“Our most popular program is learning how to write resumes,” explained Tara Lannen-Staton, outreach librarian for the New York City Connected Community Project.
In July, Jamaica’s job information center had almost 950 visits, a number that Lannen-Staton said has been steadily increasing. As people come in for job hunting advice, she said that the biggest mistake she sees is the size and scope of a person’s search.
“People often just look for jobs on the big websites, like Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com. They tend to presume that all jobs are listed there,” she explained. “I encourage a more targeted and systematic way to job search. Looking at specific industries and finding out what jobs are in those industries.”
Job searching is an art in and of itself. While many pitfalls can be made in the process, what do you think is the most common mistake job hunters are making today? And, more importantly, what can they do to fix it?