KidsMatter hosted the annual Student Job Fair on Thursday, March 19th from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Merner Field House on the campus of North Central College. The KidsMatter Job Fair was endorsed by the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Illinois Energy Windows & Siding.
KidsMatter’s goal is two-fold: to help our community’s youth get connected to local employment
opportunities that will help them learn valuable life skills while earning money, and to provide a
convenient and cost efficient venue for local businesses to secure part-time employees.
A wide variety of employers who hire teens and young adults for part-time employment participated in this year’s Fair, including Belgio’s Catering, Portillo’s, the Heritage YMCA, Chicagoland Pool Management, Holiday Inn Select, and Girl Scouts Prairie Winds, to name just a few.
Each student who attended the Fair received a free Resource Booklet summarizing the opportunities available at each participating business along with the business’s contact information. The booklet also included a section that provides tips and tactics students can refer to in order to increase their odds of securing a job and answers questions such as:
- “How do I prepare for an interview?”
- “Who should I use as a reference?”
- “What qualities are employers looking for?”
In addition to the Resource Booklet, representatives from several local businesses who have worked with hundreds of teen employees through the years were on-hand at the KidsMatter Job Seekers Help Station to assist students with applications and answer questions as well as recruit new employees at their own booths.
Parents were welcome to meet and mingle while enjoying refreshments at the KidsMatter Parent Lounge, sponsored by Whole Foods.
This event was free to all students. Although this Job Fair generally targets youth age 16+, there were limited opportunities for 14-and 15-year-olds. Information concerning work permits was also available at the Fair.
For more information about this event, please contact Karen Brothers, Program Manager, at kidsmatter2us@aol.com or call 630.527.6562.
KidsMatter, formerly known as The Naperville Youth Development Coalition, is a not-for-profit corporation
organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
