Comcast Employees Pass on Career Tips to Young People

Michigan's Comcast headquarters in Plymouth had about 70 extra people walking its halls Friday, as young people from City Year Detroit came through to learn skills for entering the workforce.

City Year is a national nonprofit organization that gives young people ages 17 to 24 the chance to do full-time community service in inner-city schools for 10 months.

In addition to helping underachieving students succeed in school, City Year's goal is to help its corps members learn skills to succeed in future careers.

"We want to develop this group of young people to be lifelong leaders," said Allison McElroy, a City Year employee who attended the Comcast workshop on Friday with the corps members.

Comcast recruiters worked with the corps members on skills such as resume writing and tips for effective interviewing.

"In the past, the corps members have told us that the Comcast day is the most valuable training they get all year, in terms of the business side of things," McElroy said.

This is the seventh year Comcast has hosted the young people for the workshop.

Brandon Graves, 19, of Westland works with seventh-graders at Warren E. Bow Elementary-Middle School in Detroit as part of his commitment with City Year.

After his year with the program, he plans to start classes at Schoolcraft College, then move on to Central Michigan University, where he plans to major in communications or social work.

He said the resume workshop at Comcast taught him some things that will help him as he progresses through college and into the workforce.

"I learned a lot of logistical things, like how you should format a resume, which I didn't know about," Graves said.

Wafaa Al-Hachamil, 21, of Dearborn Heights said the best advice she got from the resume workshop was about targeting resumes and cover letters to the job she's applying for.

Al-Hachamil graduated with a degree in psychology from Wayne State University last year and plans to go to graduate school for social work after her time with City Year is up.

She said the most rewarding part of the year so far is seeing the progress with the students she works with.

"It's been a little challenging, but I know I'm helping these seventh-graders understand that what they do now affects their whole future," she said.