The winter 2023 series of the Greater Irvine Chamber’s award-winning Career Edge essential soft-skills program hosted approximately 50 participants from Irvine area schools and colleges. Among those, 10 participants earned a certificate of completion for successfully participating in all four sessions.
The sessions offered were: Effective Business Communications, taught by actor and producer Chris Showerman; Successful Business Etiquette & Workplace Behaviors, taught by Lauren Sweeney, vice president of Business Development, and core coach and trainer of Rise Up For You; and Practical Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, taught by Edward De La Torre, Ed.D., assistant director of Operations at Chapman University, and lecturer at CSU Fullerton. The final workshop Resume Writing & Mock Interviews, a culmination of the three prior sessions, was taught by all three instructors.
Volunteer mentors for the winter 2023 Career Edge series were:
- Bob Adamik, D.P.A., Robert J Adamik and Associates, LLC
- David Blair, Boys & Girls Clubs of OC
- Edward De La Torre, Ed.D., Chapman University
- David Donnally, Gecko Hospitality
- Ulises Garcia, Ed.D., Irvine Unified School District
- John Johnson, Kangen Water
- Aurea Lawson, Vital Link
- Elaine Le, Boys & Girls Clubs of OC
- Frank Lojero, Rise Up for You
- Thomas Lotts, The Thomas Lotts Agency
- Carlos Oregon, ThinkBox Group
- Laura Perdew, Greater Irvine Chamber
- Massiel Perez-Calhoon, Ph.D., UMass Global
- Christopher Yco, Tricycle Learning Company
- John Young, CyberDef
On the heels of the successful winter 2023 series, Career Edge is expanding to focus on workforce reentry in spring 2023. The additional programming is designed to help individuals gain or refresh valuable soft skills that help make them marketable to employers as they prepare to return to the workforce. Individuals who have experienced an absence from the workforce that has presented a challenge for reentry may be eligible to participate in the spring Career Edge Reentry program.
The 2023 Career Edge Reentry series will include:
April 15 - Career Management & the Job Search Process
Instructor: Katy Curameng, Ph.D., director, career planning development, University of Massachusetts Global
Participants will learn new ways to craft relevant, targeted resumes reflective of skills and experience; hone job search methodologies and techniques; and learn mindset exercises and current best social media practices.
April 22 - Wellness & Self-Care
Instructor: Massiel Perez-Calhoon, Ph.D. adjunct faculty, University of Massachusetts Global, and CEO of Do Well At Being You
Participants will learn simple but effective ways to activate their personal brand and how to leverage it to put their best self forward.
April 29 - Professional & Personal Assessments
Instructor: Edward De La Torre, Ed.D., assistant director of operations, Chapman University, and lecturer, Cal State Fullerton
Participants will explore various personal and professional assessments and how to leverage personality type, emotional intelligence strengths, and communication style. These personalized findings can be used to help you build effective relationships in the workplace and further your professional career path.
May 6 - Ready, Set, Interview!
Instructors: Dr. Curameng, Dr. Perez-Calhoon, Dr. De La Torre
Participants will participate in interview preparation exercises and practice sessions with individual and panel interview experiences and will receive immediate feedback from H.R. professionals and business mentors.
For more information, contact Pepper Russell.
