700 job seekers attend Career TOOLS Conference



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- For months, Tracey Albergottie has been hunting for a job.

“It’s stressful, very stressful. It’s a job within itself motivating yourself to get up because you don’t want to get up but you have to in order to better yourself in your situation," says Albergottie.

Albergottie is certainly not alone.

That’s why she and about 700 others attended the Career TOOLS Conference.

"This actually equips job seekers with the tools to hone their job search," says Department of Workforce Development Business Service Consultant Kurt Barikmo.

The all day event had 30 educational sessions and workshops, networking opportunities, mock interviews, and resume critiques.

"The first thing you want to do is highlight your skills right away, the first half page is the most important part of the resume," says Cardinal Stritch University Career Counselor Jeremy Tiedt.

This is the second year of the Career TOOLS Conference.

Last year, Sierk Oudemans made such an impression during his mock interview, he got a job out of it.

“It was a real relief. It was exciting. It was really cool," says Oudemans.

Many of those who attended this year’s event say they learned a lot.

“It’s about selling yourself and your capabilities. You have to market yourself,” says Albergottie.

"I went to a networking session, which was really good. It's something that I haven't been doing so I think it's something I need to do more of," says job seeker Martha Loew.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' April 2013 report about 8% of the labor force is unemployed.

It typically takes more than 36 weeks for someone to find gainful employment.