Annapolis company links college students to careers ; Annapolis company links college students to careers [Capital (Annapolis, MD)]

In Eastport, Billy Glading and Neilye Garrity run a career exploration site that aims to teach students about different professions. To date, it has more than 3,300 video interview clips offered on a subscription basis of three months for $19.99 and one year for $39.99. Three years after its launch, Glading and Garrity are planning to go after a broader marketplace that includes high school students and company profiles.

Billy Glading knows now he was meant for the media business instead of insurance.

He spent five years in the insurance business when he realized it wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Glading began exploring other fields by talking to friends about their jobs and then videotaping those interviews.

Once he realized others might have the same career uncertainty, he connected with Neilye Garrity -- the wife of his lacrosse teammate on the Chesapeake Bayhawks -- and created CandidCareer.com.

Based in Eastport, the career exploration site aims to give students information about different professions. To date, it has more than 3,300 video interview clips offered on a subscription basis of three months for $19.99 and one year for $39.99.

Three years after its launch, Glading and Garrity are planning to go after a broader marketplace that includes high school students and company profiles.

"People are coming up with new ways to make a living all the time. We try to stay on top of that," Glading said. "We stress that it's important for people to think about this stuff earlier rather than later."

The company is not alone in its efforts to connect job seekers with careers. By working with Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corp., clients have access to career centers that help them identify the best fields for them and develop skills in that area.

Even though statistics show there are about 20,000 Anne Arundel residents who are out of work, there are still opportunities to get employed, AAWDC CEO Kirkland Murray said.

"Companies are still hiring, there are still jobs," Murray said. "We found that a lot of our customers haven't interviewed in years. Running them through that and giving them the confidence to answer questions really helps them get the jobs."

At the University of Maryland, students have access to a Web- based career education planning system. Called FOCUS 2, it uses personality testing and assessments to help identify career paths. At the University Career Center and The President's Promise, students often come in with career uncertainty, officials said.

"Students come in expecting to take a linear route to get a job, and they're not necessarily finding what they need when it comes time to walk across the stage," said Michelle Lopez-Mullins, spokeswoman for the college's career center. "You can bounce around to different types of jobs and at the end of the day, that can lead you to the job that you want."

The CandidCareer databases consist of interviews with those in traditional careers -- like engineering and law enforcement -- to the more unique, like the one with the golf ball diver, Glading said. The man interviewed in that piece contracts with golf courses and uses his background in scuba diving to retrieve the balls that fall into lakes. He then refinishes and sells them.

Aside from Glading and Garrity, the company has two employees who work in sales and production. They split up responsibilities such as developing the website, launching accounts and selling subscription packages to clients.

Many colleges already require students to do career interviewing on their own, but many don't do it, Garrity said.

"What happens is they pick a major and don't think about what their options are after graduation," Garrity said.

"I've watched so many of the videos that I think I was meant to be a teacher. I avoided that because that's what my Mom does. ... Down the road, if I make a career change, I'd go back and teach."

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