Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Randomly Noted Profile: Dennis Dunn, director of job development, Atlanta Enterprise Center
Posted by Tammy Vinson on Tue, Sep 4, 2007 at 1:18 PM
Through his work with the Atlanta Enterprise Center, Dennis Dunn helps ex-convicts and homeless find and get employment. In the last five years, AEC has helped more than 2,200 people obtain self-sufficiency through job training and placement. In October, AEC will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Dunn encourages ex-cons to utilize the skills they learned in prison or from their criminal backgrounds to help them in the workforce. “There’s a job for everyone,†Dunn says.
“Just tell them you can handle money in a fast-paced environment and you have great customer-service skills.†That was Dunn’s advice to a former prostitute and stripper interviewing for a cashier position.
“[The advice] was kind of in left field, but the point is everybody has some kind of skills. What we try to do is talk to them about it.â€
“I told this one woman, ‘You couldn’t go [to an interview] dressed the way you are because you’re just way too flashy.’ She said, ‘That’s not fair,’ and I said, ‘Fare is what you pay to get on a bus. There’s nothing fair out there.’â€
The average hourly wage for the jobs obtained by AEC clients is $9.
(Photo by Andisheh Nouraee)
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