By Cassie McClure
Published in Las Cruces Bulletin on 1.14.22
As of January 3, 2022, there are 66 positions to be filled at Las Cruces Utilities (LCU). Some of those positions will be filled by internal employees who have grown their skills and are ready to take on new challenges, just like LCU Interim Staffing Specialist Valerie Marrs.
Marrs has been with LCU since 2013 in Customer Central but was drawn to being able to help others in her department by reconfiguring training and standard operating procedures.
“Not everyone learns in the same way, and I made it my personal mission to figure out ways to get people to understand situations and scenarios better,” said Marrs.
She estimated that over the years she’s trained over 30 people. “I enjoy seeing employees learn, especially when they develop better communication skills,” she said. “It’s important that employees know the why behind what they are doing to be more effective at their role.”
In her new role as staffing specialist, Marrs sees how being adaptable to new challenges and showing how she overcame those challenges in her career can bring success to herself and others.
“I’d recommend taking the time to reevaluate if there are different skills or things that you’ve achieved that should be highlighted for the job for which you’re applying each time you submit an application, even if there is a single, reusable profile available,” she said. “For example, if there has been a leadership moment that you can share for a job that might have a supervisory role, a situation that might catch the eye of those who review the applications, put it higher up on your resume or list it in a revised cover letter. Experience can align better for one job than it might for another.”
Marrs explained too that some positions have more than one position to fill, and even if those positions get filled, the applications to that job get stored in an applicant pool where LCU could reach out to the same group of people within six months.
To find out what jobs are currently open at LCU (all positions start at $15 per hour), check out: https://www.las-cruces.org/2001/Work-For-Us
LCU Customer Central can be reached at 575-541-2111 from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides clean, safe, and reliable services to Las Cruces residents and businesses. Learn more at: las-cruces.org/180/Utilities For emergencies, call Dispatch at 526-0500.
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PHOTO 1: LCU Interim Staffing Specialist Valerie Marrs stands in front of the City of Las Cruces posted jobs that you can find at locations like City Hall and the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.