Matt Warzel's Interview with the Wilmington Star News Newspaper

Below is the entire article from the Star News Newspaper when they interviewed the President of MJW Careers, Matt Warzel. It was published on Friday, March 19, 2010.

Job search tips shared at New Hanover libraries
By Cece Nunn
Cece.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com

Published: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 9:24 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 9:24 a.m.

People looking for work should take every opportunity they can find to learn new skills or get advice on the best way to continue their search, says Matt Warzel of MJW Careers, a business based in Wilmington that provides services for job seekers.

“If you're unemployed, looking for a job is a job,” said Warzel, who has spent 10 years in the fields of human resources and staffing.

Warzel will be providing two free opportunities for job seekers to improve their chances this month, one at the Northeast Regional Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road, and another at the downtown New Hanover County Public Library, 201 Chestnut St.

At the Northeast session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, Warzel's talk will target an audience of job seekers who have some job experience but were downsized or may be re-entering the workforce after retirement. For them, knowing their way around the Internet, from looking at company Web sites to using job sites like simplyhired.com or indeed.com, is key, Warzel said. Understanding social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, along with finding opportunities for face-to-face meetings, will boost a job seeker's chances, he said.

Also, using numbers in your resume is more important now than ever before because employers want to know how a worker improved the bottom line at his or her last company, Warzel said, adding that employers don't care as much about the responsibilities a worker had as they do about the numbers.

“Present yourself as if you're a company,” he said. “You've got to make yourself more marketable.”

At the downtown session at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 25, Warzel will address the basics of a job search for people looking for lower paying or entry level positions, including setting up an e-mail address, filling out paper and online applications and interview skills. He'll also talk about what to wear when meeting with a potential boss.

“Dress sharp,” he said. “Wear one level up,” which means if you're vying for a job as an employee at a coffee shop, dress like the manager of the shop.

In those situations, first impressions may mean everything.

“Nine times out of 10, they're going to hire you based on the initial conversation,” Warzel said.

Warzel's sessions come at a time when the unemployment rate in Wilmington in December 2009, the most recent rate available, was 10.1 percent compared to 8.2 percent the previous year. For New Hanover County, the rate that month was 9.7 percent, compared to 7.3 percent.

In the past two years, more people have been using New Hanover County Public Library computers, in many cases to aid job searches, said Dorothy Hodder, public services librarian.

Warzel's sessions will help the library as well as its users.

“Right now we are so short staffed that we are not able to offer classes ourselves,” Hodder said. “This is a great opportunity for us to give library users somebody with real experiences who they can come to with questions and maybe get some places to look for jobs that they aren't aware of.”

You can view the original article online here: Star News Article