The Columbia Area Career Center will present a half-day professional development seminar called Landing the Job: A Women’s Workshop for Success.
Recognizing that having been incarcerated, in a shelter, or in a drug- or alcohol-rehabilitation program — or taking time off to raise a family — can create obstacles for women looking to enter or return to the workforce, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce created the Changing the Odds committee as part of its Women’s Network in 1998.
Each year, the Changing the Odds committee plans two half-day seminars, during which participants learn from professional women about such topics as identifying job skills, the dos and don’ts of resume writing and preparing for a job interview. Toward the end of the program, the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri puts on a small fashion show, during which members model work-appropriate outfits that can be purchased at Upscale Resale. Each participant then receives a $75 gift certificate to shop there.
Assistance League member Betsy Baker-Rall said about 30 people attended last year’s seminar and that it’s not unusual to see a few familiar faces in the group.
“Some people have come more than once because they want more information,” Baker-Rall said. “That’s fine with us.”
Baker-Rall said she was moved by the camaraderie she saw among the participants. After shopping for their interview ensembles, several seminar participants asked if they could donate the remaining balances from their gift certificates to another woman so that she could buy more.
