Sergio at Work.

Sergio Rivera came into RochesterWorks! looking to get a little help with his job search. He was referred to come down to the career center through a family member that has worked with RochesterWorks! career center youth services in the past and recommended the services.  Rivera came in open minded and with a great work ethic. He had two part time jobs, but not a specific idea of what his career goals were. Sitting with Youth Career Services Specialist, Caridad Sosa-Blackwell, they discussed what his interests were and all his options. Rivera mentioned that he loved working with his hands, but wasn’t sure where to go with that passion. As they met, working in a trade seemed to be a great fit, especially with Rivera’s passion for fixing things. Rivera had talked about fixing things with his father, mainly electrical, and how much he enjoyed that.

Rivera and Sosa-Blackwell looked into the different unions in the area and electrical companies. They zeroed in on a few and started to come up with a plan of action for Rivera to start applying to them. Rivera started to get a good idea of what his options really were, “In high school, sometimes they don’t tell you too much about what’s really out there, working with Caridad I was able to learn about all my options.” They discussed how to apply, what to expect from employers, and how to market Rivera’s skills to those businesses he was interested in, like putting together a resume and talking about interviewing tactics.

Armed with all of these new skills, along with his already stand out work ethic and outstanding personality, Rivera set forth on his job search much more confident and with a purpose. As he was applying for positions, one large and successful electrical company was on his list. Rivera went and filled out the application and handed in his resume to the person at the front desk and was told to wait for a few minutes. Little did he know that the person at the front desk was the president of the company and a few hours later, Rivera had a job complete with on the job training, tuition assistance to a local college, and full benefits! Rivera credits Sosa-Blackwell and RochesterWorks! in helping him narrow down his career search and helping prepare him for what to expect. “If it wasn’t for RochesterWorks, I’d probably be going to MCC, getting a degree that was a waste of my time. Now I’m going to MCC for classes that are related to what my interests are and I have a career.”