Metropolitan Ministries Lends A Hand To Job Seekers

With homes in foreclosure, the economy stagnant and the state's unemployment rate the highest in 13 years, more people than ever are in need.

So when organizers at Metropolitan Ministries - a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping poor and homeless people - created an employment center, they opened it to everyone, not just the agency's clients.

"Anyone in the community can come here," said Josie Ballard, an employment services coordinator at the new employment lab at 2301 N. Tampa St.

A small side room features eight Dell computers. Notebooks and pens are placed beside each monitor. People can search for jobs, post resumes and check e-mail.

There's a copy machine and fax machine, two telephone lines and a message board. Volunteers will teach classes on resume writing and dressing for success, and offer mock interviews.

The center is the brainchild of a local professional group, the Society for Human Resource Management in Tampa. The group donated about $30,000 toward the center, said member Kim Boulahanis, and members will teach some of the classes.

Prospective employees need to learn how to present themselves positively - not complain about their previous boss, said Bill Fries, president of ATS Staffing and one of eight company donors. "Some people bring guests to their interviews," Fries said. "They bring cell phones."

The center also will help educate employers about labor and hiring practices, he said.

Mike Kelly, his wife and their two children fell on hard times in Ohio. They moved to Florida last year and live separately at friends' houses. Kelly's wife works, but the former restaurant cook has struggled to find employment.

With gas teetering at $3.59 a gallon, it doesn't make sense to hop in his Jeep Cherokee and run around looking for work. Now he can hunt for jobs online and submit resumes immediately.

"It will be cool coming in and doing it right here," he said.

For information about the lab, call (813) 209-1000.