Twice a year, UNMC employees Sandra McKenzie and Marlene Schneider visit the employability class at Girls and Boys Town to spread the word about UNMC and to offer tips for joining the workforce. 
Judging from the students’ behavior in class, they’re already on the right track.
As the juniors and seniors enter the classroom, many walk up to McKenzie and Schneider, look them in the eye and introduce themselves. Then, during a game on how to write an effective resume, the students actively discuss and debate answers.
“Our presentation fits so well with what the employability class is all about,” Schneider said. “The students can bring skills they practice in the classroom into the workplace.”
Schneider, a counselor in the Faculty Employee Assistance Program, and McKenzie, a staffing consultant in Human Resources, Strategic Staffing/Compensation, have brought their presentation to Girls and Boys Town for four years. Prior to that, Schneider did the presentation alone for three years.
The presentation is divided into two parts. Schneider tells the students about work ethics, ways the workplace has changed over time, and employer expectations; McKenzie tells about the educational and employment opportunities at UNMC, the current job market and offers tips on constructing that first resume.
To teach the students what makes an effective resume, Schneider and McKenzie play a game called “Who Wants to Be Employed?” — an adaptation of the popular TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” — designed by McKenzie and her son, Mitch. Students are asked questions about the purpose of resumes, what to include in a resume and how to use the resume effectively. Students can poll the class or ask a classmate as their lifelines if they are uncertain about their answers.
“They perk up when the game begins,” McKenzie said. “You can tell they’re really focused on getting the right answer. It’s great that they can learn while having fun.”
The information McKenzie and Schneider bring to the students is becoming increasingly more important to have, they said. In the past, people stayed in the same job their entire lives. Now, people change careers several times before they retire, making it more important to have a wide range of social and communication skills in addition to technical skills.
The presentations also serve as a possible recruiting tool for UNMC. McKenzie and Schneider say that their visits are a great chance to expose the fresh faces in their audience to employment opportunities at UNMC.
“You never know who’s sitting there or what their future’s going to be,” McKenzie said.
Photo: Sandra McKenzie, left, and Marlene Schneider.