Our Westside Service Center is one of three places job seekers can visit in Kent County. We’d like to introduce you to the service center manager, Juan Rosario.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is our intentionality with being part of the community. We are more than just workshops; we are a helping hand and a friendly face. We try to be the neighborhood know-it-all so we can always connect job seekers to resources.
Insider tip: when’s the best time for job seekers to come to the service center?
The best time for job seekers to come to the service center may sometimes be their worst time. We will help guide and alleviate frustrations that come with struggling to navigate through systems on their own.
But if you think the “best time” means when we are the least busy, I would say early morning and late in the day.
What is something we offer that you wish more job seekers knew about?
I wish more job seekers attended our Career Exploration and Employability Skills workshops. These two workshops set the framework for identifying interests and skills and how to align them with a high demand career. These workshops are helpful for everyone, regardless of industry or position.
What energizes you?
My family, and hope for humanity. Among the chaos and conflict all over the world there are acts of kindness being performed but not by people of different races, not by people of different religions, and not by people of different countries, but by one being the Human Being.
What skill would you like to master?
I would like to master carpentry; the ability to build your own home or “tiny” home would be extremely gratifying. That, or speaking every language in the world.
What could you give a 40-minute presentation on without any preparation?
How my 9 year old son’s obsession with FORTNITE (video game) affects his ability to do chores, or I could present on TACOS but who can’t talk about tacos for 40 minutes.
Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.
