Economic Empowerment

COVID-19 has uprooted our lives in countless ways, and among them has been a drastic shift towards a digital space. YWCA Southeastern MA now offers digital literacy workshops on the following topics:

• Professional Digital Communication Skills.

  • Communicating in a Digital Workspace. This workshop explores writing skills in a professional, digital workspace, including email etiquette, video communication, and the features of internal versus external communications.
  • Language and Tone in the Workplace. A skilled communicator has the ability to write with proper language directed to a clear audience. In a virtual workplace, these skills are all the more crucial. In this workshop, we will explore the rhetorical concepts of audience awareness and situational writing, define and explore the importance of tone, and discuss strategies to implement anti-racist and anti-gendered practices in your own professional writing.

• Google Workspace

  • The push to remote work has caused an extreme shift in day-to-day work experiences. A heightened level of technical proficiency has been applied to all work tasks seemingly overnight. In this workshop, we will discuss navigating new technologies in order to familiarize you with Google Workspace and Zoom.

• Securing Employment in the Digital Landscape

  • • The Job Application Process. Finding a job is a stressful and overwhelming process, made even more difficult in a virtual setting. There are, however, practices you can develop to help make this process a bit easier. In this workshop, we will learn strategies to selectively read job postings, identify specific qualities sought by employers, and best present yourself as an applicant.
    • Resume and Cover Letter Writing. Few topics are more difficult to write about than yourself, especially when confined to the specific parameters of resumes and cover letters. Together, we will discuss organization strategies for resume writing like formatting, parallel structure, and guided reading practices. We'll also discuss tips for putting together a strong cover letter such as writing to a specific audience, showing rather than telling, and advocating for yourself.
    • Virtual Job Interview Strategies. Interviewing for a job is difficult enough. The reality of interviewing over a virtual platform only adds to that. In this workshop, we will address general interviewing practices to help you prepare for all job interviews, such as what questions to ask, how to honestly discuss gaps in employment, and how to negotiate salaries, as well as specific strategies for navigating the new etiquette of remote interviews.

• Social Media and Digital Literacy in the Modern Age.

  • While social media are an excellent way to stay connected to friends and family, they are platforms that must be used wisely. Technology companies and outlets masquerading as news often attempt to manipulate users. This workshop is designed to teach skills to enhance your digital literacy by showing you ways to read skeptically and to look for credibility in a piece of information.
  • Click here to view the recording.