Oakland group working to prepare teens for job interviews

Byby Leslie Brinkley KGO logo
Friday, July 15, 2016
Oakland group working to prepare teens for job interviews
The city of Oakland in conjunction with President Obama's My Brothers Keeper Alliance and local community groups are working together trying to break a vicious cycle of violence among youth and young adults.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The city of Oakland in conjunction with President Obama's My Brothers Keeper Alliance and local community groups are working together trying to break a vicious cycle of violence among youth and young adults.

Dequan Taylor, 22, was shot in the shoulder two weeks ago. He has four children to support and needs a job.

The group will help him put a resume together. "You don't got to worry about street violence or worry about anyone harming you. All you got to worry about is getting a job and trying to succeed and progress," job seeker Taylor said.

Next week, at the Boys and Men Career Summit in Oakland, 350 good jobs with major companies will be up for grabs. "These are not summer jobs, these are not temporary jobs. These are career opportunities that are specifically welcoming young men of color," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

Schaff offered encouragement at this career session sponsored by leaders up and BOSS.

A chance to do mock interviews and set up LinkedIn profiles.

Across town, Oakland Unified School District reached out to young high school students on Facebook Live to open up a dialogue about interactions between teenagers and police.

"We have a lot going on in our country right now and we have student voices we think are important to elevate in the national conversation and the local conversation," Oakland Unified School Superintendent Antwan Wilson said.

Here it's about not only teaching teens how to talk with police, but giving them guidance to land a good job.