MHCDO WORFORCE DEVELOPMENT STAFF FEATURED IN THE AUGUST 2012 EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE

MHCDO Staff (l to r) Patrina Swinson (former Job Counselor), Deborah Dews (Director Workforce Development Program, and Carl McAllister (Job Counselor)

Page 28-29 - Article: “Finding Hope Marshall Heights’ Job Readiness Orientation Class Can Help Ward 7 and Ward 8 Residents Find Work.” 

Excerpts from the article: “Ms. Dews talks about MHCDO and its programs promoting home buying and helping homeowners to avoid foreclosures and in providing transitional housing to displaced people. MHCDO also offers GED classes. Too many job seekers, she notes, fail to take advantage of the resources that can provide childcare, health insurance, even clothing suitable for job interviews.”  

“MHCDO counselor, Carl McAllister, discusses problems shared by the people he helps. He states that education is a “direct stem to the unemployment” besetting Wards 7 and 8, with another major problem being a lack of computer skills. Mr. McAllister runs off the top six mistakes job-seekers make including: not researching a company adequately; dressing too casually or flamboyantly for an interview; not arriving on time for an interview; not turning off a cell phone during an interview; failing to bring more than one resume to an interview since several staff members usually participate in interviews; and exposing potential employers to inappropriate voicemail messages (all ringtones are inappropriate).” 

“The majority of our clients take guidance, they follow up, enter into GED or training programs. I drill the point that you not only need a job but you need certification,” says Mr. McAllister. If people accept that and do what it takes,” McAllister says, “there is light at the end of the tunnel.” 

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