Harper College will be closed Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day.
Harper College will host Career Forward, an annual event that provides inspiration, support and resources for adults looking to restart or refresh their careers.
The free event will take place 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, December 3, at Harper’s Wojcik Conference Center, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.
Career Forward will offer participants the opportunity to hear from experts and learn about a variety of programs including Harper’s University Center, Continuing Professional Education program and apprenticeships. Two mini-seminars will provide tips on leveraging prior education and experience for credit, exploring new career paths and effective resume writing. Attendees can also participate in mock interviews, take a professional headshot and apply to Harper with the application fee waived.
Reigstration is required at harpercollege.edu/careerforward.
Career Forward, now in its fourth year, is a reflection of Harper’s mission and new Strategic Plan to be community focused and provide support and resources, according to Director of Admissions Outreach Nicci Cisarik DeJesus.
“We said more is best because then it provides the community and participants with
a wide variety of topics and ways to engage where they can come in and do one thing
or they can come in and do all of it,” she said. “That’s the nice part about the event.
They can really make it their own. If they want to come and just do the keynote and
maybe do a headshot and head out, we welcome that. We really are there to help them
in whatever stage of the journey that they’re in.”
TEDx speaker, leadership development facilitator and corporate educator Dr. Kate Webster will deliver the event’s keynote address. Her keynote presentation, titled “The 3 Cs of Redefining Success: Confidence, Clarity and Connection,” will share tips and tools for embracing career and life transitions and navigating them with confidence.
Webster said the 3Cs were inspired by unexpected shifts in her personal and professional life and the realization that, while she couldn’t control the unexpected shifts, she could control how she faced them.
“I realized that what I do have control over is myself and how I show up to these changes,” she said. “It’s really about learning self-leadership, so that people can start realizing, ‘I can be a leader too, even if I’m not a CEO of a company. I can be a leader of my own career change and my own transition.’”
When faced with a transition, Webster said doing a self-assessment, creating a plan and getting moving are essential to success. Though this is true, she said many people struggle with taking the first step because of the negative things they say to themselves.
“It’s those internal self-defeating messages and fearing what other people say about you, especially if you’re older and don’t know how to navigate changes in the workplace, such as AI and technology,” she said. "You can’t control what others are going to think about you, but you can control how you do the best to learn, to know, to understand the situation and show up to it fully and completely so that you know you’ve given your best.”
Two tips Webster has for adult learners who are interested in restarting or refreshing their careers are to ask for help and lean into artificial intelligence.
“Connect with AI and say, ‘Here are my skills. Here’s my dream job. What would you suggest my next five steps be?’ Use AI as a career coach and research helpful prompts,” she said. “It’s asking for help and baby steps, figuring out where that help is.”
Visit harpercollege.edu/careerforward for more information.