Small Business Is Our Only Business
Summer Knowles: Hundreds of women, dozens of corporations—
Kim Conley: Do you ever considered a current sale?
Summer Knowles: One Goal.
What are you looking for?
Marlena Garrison: I love to meet new people so I’m looking forward to meeting, making contact with these different companies and specific ones that I’m interested in.
Summer Knowles: Marlena Garrison participated in the Women for Higher Career Expo for the first time.
Marlena Garrison: Hi! I’m Marlena, nice to meet you.
Female 2: Nice to meet you.
Marlena Garrison: Well I’ve had some work in the past.
Summer Knowles: Garrison is temporarily working for a law firm but that job will be up in a few weeks. That’s why the expo was perfect timing for an event she says was well put together.
Marlena Garrison: I think it’s well organized that’s what we were in the line and about women. Yes they connect kind of the extra step of giving us kind of made me a little more security.
Tory Johnson: I want each person to walk away with hope, possibility, a sense of opportunity that’s available for them.
Summer Knowles: Tory Johnson is the CEO of Women for Higher. Among other things her company produces career fairs throughout the country focusing on connecting professional women with employers looking to hire.
Tory Johnson: Everything from government agencies to Fortune 500, companies in a wide range industries.
Kim Conley: What are you looking for today Angela?
Summer Knowles: Kim Conley is the Director of recruiting for MetLife, a corporation that deals in face-to-face distribution of insurance and financial services products. MetLife was one of several event sponsors.
Kim Conley: I don’t participate in a lot of career fairs. I typically think that it’s a waste of my time and my money.
Summer Knowles: But Conley said this career fair was different.
Kim Conley: As in a monster search it wasn’t something I had to hear for the great line. These people researched it and brought the right caliber of people of that I was looking for so one spot for me.
Tory Johnson: When you get hundreds of women together on an event like this, they each have the ability to help one another to work with one another, to inspire one another and that often doesn’t happen at events that aren’t specifically for women.
Marlena Garrison: Moms, daughters, sisters, girlfriends and everything, I think that helps a lot.
Summer Knowles: The Women for Higher Career Expo isn’t just about networking and trying to find a job, it’s also an opportunity for a professional makeover and a resume critique.
Tory Johnson: Having a fresh set of eyes, take a look at your resume and tell you’re totally on track. You’re doing the right thing or have them say, “You know what? This resume is not going to get you where you need to go, let me make some changes for you” and sometimes that’s the light bulb moment where someone says, “Wow, I’ve been using this document for the last six months and hasn’t gotten me anywhere, now I know why.”
Marlena Garrison: Along with Johnson’s sponsors like MetLife offer one message to the women who came.
Kim Conley: I think more than anything is that you don’t have to any longer be a part of corporate downside ring. You can be a successful as you want to be by partnering with our organization to take you to unlimited success, whatever that success means to you.
Summer Knowles: I’m Summer Knowles with SBTV.com where small business is our only business.
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