Job Fair Has Tips for Teens

Several hundred teenagers turned out for Sunday’s second annual South Orange County Youth Career and Job Fair at Mission Viejo Mall.

The fair offered career workshops, mock interview sessions and resume-writing classes. More than 40 local businesses staffed booths.

“It’s been really helpful,” said Lisa Gaitan, 16. “People talked to me about how to dress for a job interview, how to talk to people once you get a job and how to react to different situations.”

The event helped students prepare to enter the work force and to polish their job-finding skills, said Carol Lerman, spokeswoman for Saddleback Valley Unified School District, one of the sponsors.

Exhibitors, ranging from the American Red Cross to Bank of America, were also seeking applicants for summer and part-time positions.

“Last year we were career-oriented,” said Mike Mann, the University of California 4-H representative. “This year we’re job-oriented, and the kids are coming for the jobs.”

This year’s event attracted twice as many students as last year’s, Lerman said, thanks in part to 20,000 fliers distributed at South County high schools.

Bob Temme of Pacific Monarch Resorts Inc., a time-share resort developer in Mission Viejo, was at the fair to recruit students for several summer jobs. “Response has been fantastic,” Temme said. “I am really glad we got involved.”

The event was also sponsored by the South Orange County Community Services Council, the California Employment Development Department, the Capistrano Unified School District, the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, the Coastline and Capistrano-Laguna Regional Occupational Programs and the Professionals in Human Resources Assn.