VIDEO PRESENTERS SHARE THEIR CAREER JOURNEYS
What do an attorney, singer-songwriter, detective, engineer and casino catering manager have in common? They’re among the current careers of nearly three dozen people featured in a growing video library that RSVP is creating to help high school students p
“The videos can help adults looking for a career change, too,” said Career Presenters coordinator Anabella Tracy. “They’re also useful for summer camp rainy days, grandparent-grandchild discussions and after-school programs.”
Presenters in each 20- to 30-minute video talk about their journey from high school to their current occupation.
“Students can see that careers are rarely linear,” Tracy said. “They can hear people talk about pursuing their personal interests, figuring out how they can translate their skills into a job they really enjoy.”
The free videos are available at rsvpmc.org/career-video-library.
RSVP, a nonprofit volunteer community service organization, began compiling the videos last spring after COVID shut down area schools. A longstanding RSVP program to provide speakers
for career days and classroom discussions had to be shelved.
“So we adapted our program to be an on-demand offering,” Tracy said.
Even as schools reopen in the fall, RSVP plans to continue building the video library.
“We quite likely will provide a combination of in-person presentations, on-demand videos and perhaps live virtual presentations,” Tracy said.
“We’re expanding the breadth of the career pool,” said Janet Murphy, an RSVP coordinator who conducted many of the video interviews. “We’re adding trades and other occupations that don’t require a four-year college education. We’re adding trades and other occupations that don’t require a four-year college education. We’re also seeking to add videos from seniors with a deep career perspective.”
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Insights for students
What do the presenters hope students will learn from the videos?
“Your career is more than one job; it’s a journey,” said Thomas J. Burke, CEO of AOIC, a medical and scientific communications company. “The knowledge and experience you obtain from one job
apply to the next. The further you go along, the more knowledge you can apply to the next job.”
On his video, Ryan McLaughlin, a real estate agent at DRG Philly, described how he worked as a teen at McDonald’s.
“It wasn’t fun, but I learned how to show up on time and stay cool under pressure,” he said. “Those are skills that help you get to a better job.”
McLaughlin progressed to Papa John’s, then to waiting tables at Cracker Barrel. He went back to college while managing the bar at a TGI Fridays.
“Every job that I’ve had prepared me for the job I have now,” he said. “I needed all of them. You keep striving for a higher rung on the ladder. The misconception is that all you have to do is work hard. If that was all it took, I’d still be at McDonald’s. You have to get good at what you do and level up.”
Soft skills and education
Burke said young workers sometimes lack what he called soft skills.
“It’s understanding how to carry yourself at work, how to dress and deal with people,” Burke said. “Those skills can be as important as technical compe