Career expo being held Thursday in Yarmouth

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Kim Isaacs has found that by helping others achieve their goals, she’s achieved her own goals when it comes to operating a business.

Three years ago Isaacs was unemployed, collecting employment insurance and longing to start her own business. Today she is a consultant and the local franchise owner of Simply for Life, an organization that helps people lose weight and improve their overall health.

With each successful milestone her clients mark, Isaacs knows she made the right decision when she turned to the Career Resource Centre at the Burridge Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.

Isaacs first walked through the centre’s doors on Dec. 1, 2005 and the staff helped her step by step when it came to setting up her own business. Carmella Doucette-Deveau, an employment consultant, guided Isaacs through the process to help her move forward with her venture and come up with a return-to-work action plan before she was able to access other resources. “We are definitely first base,” she says.

Looking to start up your own business comes with a lot of mixed feelings, like uncertainty and excitement.

It also takes a lot of courage. “I think sometimes people may feel intimidated,” says Isaacs. “But it was a very positive process from step one, straight on through. People shouldn’t be afraid.”

Mariette Thibault-Poole, the manager of the Career Resource Centre, says it’s good to see people like Isaacs become financial independent. The centre wants to see this happen for more people.

This week it will be offering its annual career fair. Being held on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Burridge, the fair will feature around 60 organizations and businesses for the public to talk with about possible employment opportunities. A goal of the fair is also to draw attention to the services offered by the Career Resource Centre. “When they come in, a lot of clients, they’ve either lost their job or they want to change jobs,” says Thibault-Poole. “They need a lot of assistance with employment services, how to write a résumé, a cover letter, interview preparation. We do career training as well. “When we see that we can help the clients become self-supporting, independent and we see that we’ve made a difference in someone’s life, that is very special to us,” she says.

For her part, Isaacs, who is surrounded in her workday by the pride and satisfaction of others, credits the Career Resource Centre for where she is in her life. Having previously gone through a health and wellness program, she knew this is what she wanted to offer to others. “I know how much better I felt and I wanted to help people achieve the same thing,” she says. “I just needed the guidance to help other people get there.”

QUICK GLANCE

The Career Resource Centre at the Burridge Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College will be holding a career fair at the campus on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.