SPN, housed in an EDD building at 5007 Broadway, is staffed by a full-time employment department liaison, Dollie Hamilton, and a team of volunteers who are required to put in at least four hours a week on various committees as well as attend a weekly membership meeting. They also provide valuable professional and emotional support to each other. To join, professionals enroll in four days of classes covering job-search strategies, interviewing, rsum writing and business dress. After graduation, they can tap into the center's resources, gaining access to a large collection of government and private job listings, the Internet, personal computers, laser printers, photocopiers, fax machines, a message center and telephones for free local and long distance calls in the continental United States. Yniguez said older workers face some of the biggest challenges.
Age discrimination is rampant.
Nearly all have bachelor's or graduate degrees. The average stay is 16 weeks. However, many alumni keep in touch by providing job leads and referring prospective members to the group. People are here because they want to be. On any business day, the Sacramento office is abuzz with men and women in business dress pounding on computers, practicing interviews, searching job binders and swapping job leads.