Page 4 January 2018
Kankakee Valley Publishing
What are employers looking for? BY WENDY DAVIS Reporter wdavis@intranix.com
Jobs are available but it takes effort put forth to get one. Mark Anderson, director of manufacturing technology at Kankakee Community College in Illinois, has some advice. Employers are looking for individuals who have experience, he said, or background in the field. This experience isn’t always previously having a job in the area. He said it can be education classes with both book and lab work, or there are stackable credentials and certifications. “Experience in lab work does qualify as experience,” stated Anderson. He said those who are working toward their associate’s degree are looked favorably upon, but one with a completed degree is
often chosen. Local employers want to stay in the area because they’ve already made an investment, but if they are to grow they have to make sure there is a workforce available to them, Anderson said. This is also true in getting new employers to the area; workers — from welders to accountants — need to be available. They ask “Do we have enough people here we can staff from,” Anderson said. It starts with a resume, and there are individuals who are available to go over it before submission. “When there’s a hiring blitz what gets your foot in the door?” Anderson recommends having more than just fast food jobs on the resume; it would be nice to see things like certification within the field on it. If someone is taking
“A lousy interview can courses at college, earning ruin it all,” said Anderson. a degree, add a certifica“Manufacturing is the tion class while there, he said. “That all builds on a resume. That can be the foot, leg, and arm in the door.” Then, once a resume is built, there’s the interview process. There are also individuals who can help with that.
second largest industry in Kankakee County, between the health indus-
try and education, and we need to keep the industry growing.”
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