On March 21, First Place hosted a career day at our Wilshire Boulevard office. The event was the latest in an series of career-focused activities planned through our ongoing partnership with United. Following the airline’s $1 million dollar grant to First Place, these activities allow their staff to directly engage with and impact youth. Through these interactions — from information sessions to tie tying tutorials — youth develop practical skills and learn about the wide range of careers available in the airline industry.

At this event, 15 First Place youth met guests from United as well as LA Metro, Bixel Exchange, and Teens Exploring Technology. During a panel discussion, youth heard about possible career paths, internships, and training programs, and got answers to specific questions about work experiences.

“I enjoyed the panel,” said one First Place participant, “because it inspired me to work on my goals to become as successful.” For our youth, hearing about the paths others took and difficulties they overcame can be especially helpful as they work on developing their own plans.

Practice makes professional

Youth also tried their hand at “speed networking.” This activity paired First Place participants with volunteers from United in short round-robin conversations. Each round, pairs were asked to answer a different question like “What are your strengths?” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Learning how to present yourself professionally can be a challenge and takes a lot of practice to master. But it’s key to making a good first impression in job interviews and achieving lasting success in the workplace. Speed networking gave youth the chance to think about and practice their answers to common interview questions. They were also able to hear how their partners answered the same questions and get valuable feedback in a low-pressure environment.

We are grateful to all our guests for joining us and helping make the day a success.

Look for more news soon from our next United career day, scheduled for later this month at LAX!

With your support, we can continue to provide our youth with enriching education and employment development opportunities