It’s great having college kids and recent graduates home for Thanksgiving.
You learn all about their interesting lives. Their current relationships.
And their job prospects. From finding someone who can open a door to getting a foot in it, then closing the deal, today’s job market is tough.
Kind of a buzz kill around the turkey and trimmings, right?
Despite the strong headwinds, plenty of people can help.
Lisa Cukier and Katie Gervasio want to connect them to those who need it.
Katie Gervasio and Lisa Cukier
The women are well positioned. Cukier — who runs an HR consulting firm, after 20 years in the field — is the mother of 3 Staples High School graduates. One, now 22, is a paralegal. The others are a college junior and freshman.
Gervasio, a former rehabilitation engineer, now tutors at Huntington Learning Center. She too has 3 children: a college graduate, college student, and Staples senior.
In conversations with themselves and other parents, they recognized the need to give young grads, and people still in college, a way to network with seasoned professionals; to talk about strategies and learn skills, in an informal environment.
Colleges do a bit of this, through career centers. Yet there are few opportunities to practice those skills, with successful men and women who may not be looking to hire someone — but are eager to help connect young people with those who are.
Dave, Matt and Brooke Gervasio …
Westport is filled with “smart, caring go-getters who want to help,” Cukier says. Many are her and Gervasio’s friends and peers.
They want to offer advice, and perhaps shadowing opportunities. They are eager to be mentors.
The first event — a Westport Professional Networking Mixer — is December 17, at VFW Post 399 on Riverside Avenue. The 6:30 p.m. event includes an informational panel, and informal networking.
A broad range of professions is included: business owners, finance, arts, education, healthcare, non-profits and more.
Interested college students and recent graduates should register by email: WPNMixer@gmail.com. The Instagram is @wpnmixer.
Cukier and Gervasio are not stopping after one event. In the works: a Signal app, for continued interactions.
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… and Ethan, Sarah and Ben Cukier. Like many young people, they’re looking to learn networking and job search skills.
