McCamley leading by example at Arrowhead

Bill McCamley was in Las Cruces Friday to coach high schoolers about how to land jobs.

McCamley is secretary of New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS), but he’s also a former state representative and a former Doña Ana County commissioner. Having sold himself to wary voters on multiple occasions, he came to Arrowhead Park Early College High School to introduce to its students the “Mock It ‘Til You Rock It!” workshop series, through which students learn effective interviewing techniques, interpersonal relationship strategiesg and resume-writing skills that they can use when they enter the job market.

He called The Bulletin ahead of the workshop to talk about why the program is important, and how far-reaching he’s hopeful the impact will be.

“These kids are bright,” McCamley said, “but they’re also too plugged in. We want to teach them that a good resume can’t read like a text message or an Instagram post. They also need to know what to wear to an interview, the importance of eye contact, etc. We have to prepare these kids.”

The program, he said, was developed and launched as part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s initiative to increase youth career and college readiness opportunities, and it’s taking McCamley around the state to work with community leaders to bring real-life, face-to-face opportunities for high schoolers to learn from people who’ve mastered the skills needed by an emergent work force.

In total, he said, 45 schools across New Mexico have registered to host a mock interview event.

“The governor wants every New Mexican as ready as possible to get a job,” McCamley said. “This partnership with Las Cruces Public Schools will give our students a huge boost in being able to find and keep a career.”

According to a press release, NMDWS has provided schools statewide with toolkits to help them plan, prepare, and host mock interview events for their students. Some schools are working in partnership with their local New Mexico Workforce Connection offices and representatives to locate business professionals to be interviewers.  

Schools are encouraged to hold pre-event workshops to prepare the students with resume building activities, interview skill building and professionalism classes.

A list of participating schools can be found at www.dws.state.nm.us/MockItTillYouRockIt.