Community Corner

Need a Job? Just Give us Your Blood

In an effort to attract more blood donors, the Stanford Blood Center is offering an exclusive chance Sept. 13 to meet Bay Area employers, career advisers from Foothill College and elsewhere to get their resumés critiqued. All you have to give is your bloo

These days, those who have been unemployed for a while may be willing to do just about anything for a job.

Stanford Blood Center is ready to offer those people a deal—give us your blood, and we’ll help you find a job.

Starting Thursday, Sept. 1, the Stanford Blood Center (SBC) is bringing back its popular program “Giving Blood Works” for the second year in a row. The program offers anyone who donates blood between Sept. 1 and 13 at one of three locations in Palo Alto and Mountain View the chance to come back the evening of Sept. 13 for an exclusive career event. It will feature career networking workshops, as well as the chance to chat face-to-face with top Bay Area employers who are looking to hire, and to sign up for a free resumé critique.

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If you already have a job, but still want to help out, blood donors can also send an unemployed person—or someone looking to make a career change—to the Sept. 13 event in your place, in exchange for donating blood.

John Williams, marketing manager for SBC, called the program a “win-win.”

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“The donor gets really good networking techniques, face-to-face time, resumé critiques, and meeting employers from the community," he said. "The employers get motivated candidates; and the patients and local hospitals get the blood."

At the Sept. 13 event, career counselors Lisa Stotlar and Ellen Shulman of CareerGenerations will be on hand to teach a workshop entitled “Cut Your Search Time in Half by Leveraging a High-Touch Approach in this High-Tech Valley.”

“We’ll offer the donors—or the person they send to the event—strategies they can employ right away to make a difference in their job search," said Stotlar. "Attendees will also be given the opportunity to sign up for a future free consultation to get their resumé reviewed or to have their individual job search questions answered. From a networking perspective, the event will be a friendly and energizing experience where people will make real connections.”

Stotlar said SBC’s cause is one the staff of CareerGenerations passionately supports, for many reasons.

“We were drawn to it because it’s a wonderful way to make a double contribution in the community—we help bring donors in, and we help job seekers,” she said.

Representatives from several Bay Area companies will be participating in the Sept. 13 event, offering face-to-face time with job seekers, including 4Info.comOption 1 StaffingTibcoStanford Blood Center,Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) and VMWare.

“We’re trying to cover a number of industries,” said Williams.

Joan Logan, a regional recruitment manager for PAMF, said not only does the event help her eye potential recruits, but the blood drive ties in well with the organization’s vision.

“The Palo Alto Medical Foundation is committed to making our community a healthy, positive place,” she said. “We welcome the opportunity to discuss job opportunities with Stanford Blood Center donors who, in turn, are doing something positive for our community.”

In addition to the workshop by CareerGenerations, representatives from Boston Reed CollegeFoothill College and the Palo Alto Adult School will be on hand offering valuable advice to job seekers and talking about the various career counseling and training programs they offer.

Williams and Stotlar said they not only hope the program will bring in a lot of valuable blood donations from people that otherwise may not have donated, but they hope it will help make a difference for local unemployed or under-employed, as well.

"Giving Blood Works will be a valuable experience at this particular time, because so many unemployed people have been out of work for years," said Williams. “Especially with the threat of a double-digit recession looming right now.”

“Only a very small percentage of eligible donors donate blood, so the Center is always looking for unique ways to engage the community in its noble effort,” Stotlar said. “So we hope people will come out and give this incredible gift to humanity, and get even more connected in the process.”

The career event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the SBC location at 3373 Hillview Ave. in Palo Alto. It's open to anyone who donates blood between Sept. 1 and Sept. 13 at one of three locations: the Hillview location in Palo Alto; the Palo Alto location at 780 Welch Road, Suite 100; or the Mountain View location at 515 South Dr., Suite 20.

The blood donation process takes an hour, on average. Donors should eat a good meal before donating, be healthy with no cold or flu symptoms, and be prepared to show identification. For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate, call 888-723-7831 or visit bloodcenter.stanford.edu.


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