How to make sure you are not ‘Unhirable’

(Photo by Mark Burridge/Beacon Staff) Ben Warren and Emily Follin in a mock interview.

Last Thursday, the Women’s Center put on an original production entitled “Unhirable” in Sullivan Lounge.

“Unhirable is ‘edutainment’,” according to Sue Birns, the Women’s Center Director. “It explores the mistakes people make in how they present themselves to the world even before they are actively on the job market.”

The performance was made up of three skits written by adjunct faculty member kelli newby (she uses lower case letters in her name). Each skit was followed by a panel discussion.

The panel was made up of four area employers: Tracey Bourdon from Aflac Insurance, Katherine Myers from MASS MoCA, Darlene McCarthy from Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, and Brian McCarthy from Excelsior Printing.

“The idea for this event surfaced at the Women’s Center’s board of directors’ annual retreat last May,” said Birns, “when concern was expressed that more than a few MCLA students have trouble determining what is and what isn’t appropriate dress and behavior for the job and on the job. We wanted an event that would engage students and not merely preach to them.”

The skits focused on things like what not to do at an interview, what to put on your Facebook page, and how to dress for an interview or job fair. Though the skits were informative, they were also humorous.

“Our goal was to tackle some serious issues from a humorous perspective, “said Birns.

In order to show the importance of being aware of what pictures you are posting to Facebook, students acted out “photos” of a drunken party. The “photos” showed the girl being considered for the job doing shots and dancing belligerently to LMFAO’s song “Shots”.

“Make sure your privacy settings are private,” said Myers, who is director of marketing and PR at Mass MoCA, “Keep it to yourself or talk to your friends in person. All 345 of them.”

Another notable incident acted out in the skit was when Emily Follin, acting as an assistant in a company, called the perspective employee only to be greeted by a rather shocking voicemail saying “You’ve reached Lulu, bitches!”

Darlene McCarthy, a recruiter for Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, commented on the importance of having an appropriate voice mail message, as well as watching out for those callback ringtones.

For more information on the do’s and don’ts of finding a job, students can go to the Career Services website for information on how to write a resume, what to wear to an interview, and how to act at an interview.

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