From her front-row seat on the recession, Sac State career expert Cici Mattiuzzi has seen the increasing frustration of job-seeking college grads.
This summer she's doing something about it.
After 31 years in career advising, Mattiuzzi is rewriting her job-hunting book aimed at CSUS engineering/computer science students and turning it into a how-to manual for any job seeker.
Better yet, she's posting the book online – for free – at www.seriousjobseeker.com.
Putting it online will cost her some book royalties. She doesn't mind.
"Will it really make a difference in my life? No," she says. "But could it make a difference in some kid's life? Yes."
The online book, called "The Ultimate Career Planning Manual for the Serious Job Seeker," is not yet finished. But Mattiuzzi is posting chapters and sections as she completes them.
It's filled with personalized features, starting with an "IQ" test to determine if job seekers are really serious – and self-assessment tools to identify their skills and accomplishments.
There's also a personality test to help job hunters determine "who they are" and what jobs best suit them.
By the end of summer, Mattiuzzi will have added résumé templates where "all you have to do is type in your information and it electronically formats this amazing résumé."
Mattiuzzi's advice: Finding a job requires hard work and being prepared to stay at it for months.
"There are jobs out there even in the toughest economy," she says. "You just need to know how to look for them."
Sold out
Developers of the 28-unit Sutter Brownstones complex in midtown have pulled off a coup in the toughest of housing markets: They've sold out the project in just 16 months.
The last two units – priced at $450,000 each – went into escrow last week after sales director Mollie Nelson sent out an e-mail blast offering a $10,000 cut in closing costs.
Aside from that, she said no discounts were ever offered on the brick-covered single-family units that went on sale in April 2008 at prices ranging from $370,000 to $625,000.
"Other (housing developers) discounted; we never did," says Nelson, who represents the LoftWorks partnership that built the three-story project on N Street between 26th and 27th streets. "If I lived there, I'd be happy knowing that none of my neighbors got a better deal than me."
Opening soon …
… is the long-planned Iron Steaks eatery in the former Fuji Japanese restaurant site at 13th and Broadway.
Owner Bill Taylor plans a soft opening next week with a series of cocktail parties to show off nearly $800,000 worth of building renovations, including fir floors, faux-leather booths and aluminum grillwork suspended from the ceiling. Dinner service will start a week later and lunches will be added by the end of August. An upstairs banquet room opens later this year.
Taylor, who also owns the popular Willie's Burgers chain, says Iron will be a Midwest-style steakhouse – specializing in porterhouse cuts – but with some Asian influences on the menu in deference to the former Fuji restaurant and its Japanese-influenced architecture.
In keeping with the new restaurant's name, Taylor plans to dish up his signature steaks on cast-iron plates to boost the "sizzle factor."
Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.
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