Job Skills Seminar Prepares Youth for Workplace Success

February 20, 2026

On a Saturday morning in February, volunteers from several Chicago-area companies and organizations came to Mercy Home to coach our kids to succeed in job interviews, internships, and employment. The annual Job Skills Seminar provides our young people with the opportunity to learn directly from the experiences of accomplished professionals.  The event is one of the ways we equip youth to succeed long term. 

And the event was not only geared toward those who are of working age. Whether a young person is looking for a job now or has a few years before their first job search, the seminar gave young people of all ages at our Home valuable insights into the process that will serve them throughout their lives. 

“The Job Skills Seminar helps our young people practice skills that will help them be successful to land and do well in an interview and maintain a job,” said Liz Kuhn Tomka, Vice President of Education and Career Resources.

Participants receive job skills classes throughout the year, but the seminar offers the opportunity to put those lessons into practice in a low-stakes, low-pressure environment.

“It’s great that they are able to interact with people they don’t see every day like their career resource coordinators or their advocates, but still within the walls of Mercy Home and people that we have invited,” Kuhn Tomka said, adding that the ultimate goal is for the youth to gain confidence.

“Hopefully, with this practice, they will feel like they can use these skills in the real world,” she said.

The seminar also serves as a timely kickoff to application season for summer internships and jobs. The participants will continue building on these skills in Mercy Home’s Summer Career Institute program while others will land jobs to put them into practice.

Participants came to the Job Skills Seminar dressed in their best business attire and rotated through four sessions led by our visiting volunteers. Topics covered included professional introductions, professional communications, mock interviews, and on-the-job Basics.

Volunteers from across Chicago generously donated their time and expertise.

“There is good exposure to a wide variety of industries from where the volunteers are from,” Kuhn Tomka said.

The volunteers expressed how much they gained from working with our young people as well. Debbie Wright, alum of the Chicago Chapter of the Links, remarked on how eager and knowledgeable our youth were.

“One of the kids I worked with had done this before,” Wright said. “The training that he had was top of the line. I was impressed by the level of expertise that he had. But it’s also cool to see other people walk some of the newer kids through this.” 

Christina Jack, volunteering from UIC Law, shared a similar sentiment. 

“I am really impressed by the preparedness of the young adults,” Jack said. “I don’t know why I was expecting them to be lost about the interview process, but they’re so well prepared already. I don’t know if that speaks to the program they’re in, but they are so respectful and professional.” 

For Trey Austin, who was invited by Faegre Drinker, the experience was meaningful on multiple levels. During the session on professional communications, Austin worked one-on-one with a participant to strengthen email writing skills, showing an example of a good email and explaining how it could have been structured better. 

When asked if he would volunteer again, Austin didn’t hesitate. 

“I would do this every weekend if I could,” he said.  

For the young people themselves, the seminar was both educational and empowering. D’Arvae, a young man living at our home, said that he learned to shake hands and be respectful during an interview.  

“My favorite part was the mock interview because I got to practice what we learned throughout the day,” he said.  

At the conclusion of the seminar, participants were recognized for their effort. 

The event was the successful outcome of months of collaboration within the home. Planning started in the fall with our special events team, Director of Business Development & Strategic Initiatives Jim Marrese, and our post-secondary options team.  

“It’s a true reflection of teamwork and working across several different departments,” Kuhn Tomka said. “It also requires a reliance on volunteers to make this event a success. Everyone’s role is so integral into making the day what it is.” 

The seminar was made possible through the generosity of supporters. Harris Associates underwrote the cost of the event, and Brian Bullington and his wife, Raegan, of First Choice Financial, generously contributed to cover the cost of the professional attire the young people wore during the event. 

Thank you to the volunteers from across Chicago who generously gave their time and expertise, including representatives from alumnae of the Chicago Chapter of the Links, UPS, First Choice Financial, Saint Clement Parish, UIC Law, Faegre Drinker, Harris Associates, Blackrock, Valley Bank, Northern Trust, and Aarete, as well as our Ambassadors of Mercy board and our Board of Regents, and other corporate and community partners.