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One-stop career centers: all in one place and everyplace - job hunting resources

Occupational Outlook Quarterly - September 22, 1997

Continued from page 2.

"There's the Eastside Career Center right down the street. That's where my brother Calvin went when he got laid off from his job last winter. Come on."

Ten minutes later, Kerry types her social security number into a career center computer. CareerNet remembers her from when she first logged on back home, and she gains access. She does a search for postsecondary schools that train travel agents in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. She finds two schools near her and prints out their addresses and phone numbers.

"When I go home," Kerry says, "I'll call and ask for more information about these schools."

"I bet you can do that right now," Chauntel says.

"Yeah, but these numbers are long distance from here," Kerry says.

"Just ask. They let my brother call long distance to see about a job last winter."

Kerry asks a nearby staff member and is directed toward a phone.

"I told you so!" says Chauntel.

"You're just jealous, girl," says Kerry.

A College Degree--and Then What?

It's the last spring break of Luisa's college career. Already, she regrets having chosen to spend it here at her parents' new home in California's Napa Valley. She should be with her cousin Ray in New Jersey. That's where she and Ray grew up. That's also where they plan to put their college degrees to work. In a few months, Luisa will earn a bachelor's degree in accounting, and Ray will receive an associate degree in computer science.

Luisa thinks about searching for an entry level job as an accountant, but her hands get cold, her throat tightens up, and dire thoughts come to mind. I'll have to pay my own rent, she thinks. I'll have to pay back all my student loans. How many thousands of dollars is that? And what if I can't find a job, or the job I find can't pay the bills?

The telephone rings. Sighing in relief at the distraction, Luisa scoops up the receiver. "Hello, Raimondo?" she says.

"Yeah," Ray says. "How did you know it was me?"

"Oh, I didn't," she says. "I was just thinking about you, hoping you wouldn't choke in your first job interview--when you get one, I mean."

"Yeah, right," Ray says. "It so happens I do have an interview scheduled for tomorrow, and I'm not really so nervous about it anymore."

"Why not?"

"Last week, I went to that career center I told you about here in New Brunswick," he explains. "I asked about classes on interviewing skills, but I ended up joining their PSG."

"Their what?" Luisa asks.

"PSG," Ray says again. "It stands for Professional Service Group. It's only a small part of the center, but it's great. It's a group of out-of-work professionals who help each other find new jobs. I--"

"But, you're not a professional," she says. "How could you join?"

"They define a professional as anyone seeking a job in a professional manner," he says. "I can see why you'd be confused, though. Anyway, I took a class every morning last week and learned about resumes, networking, interviewing, telephone techniques, Internet job search--everything. And they told us how to use all the resources of the center."

"How much does all that cost?" she asks.

"I don't pay anything," he says. "I only have to work 3 hours a week for the group, plus go to a committee meeting. I'm on the job leads committee, so I call up employers to ask if they have any openings group members would be interested in. It's really good practice."

"Huh!" she says.

"Another good thing is the networking," he continues. "One member is an unemployed personnel manager--he taught one of the classes--and he gave me a contact at the company where he used to work. That's how I set up my informational interview for tomorrow. Of course, it's not for a job, but it could lead to something in the future."

"It's lucky you're only taking two classes your last term," she says.

"Yeah," he says, "otherwise I couldn't have fit this in. But you don't have to join the group to use the center."

"I should have spent this week in New Brunswick," she says. "You were right."

"That's more like it," he says. "Now, I'll help you. There's something called the Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. It's on the Internet. Tomorrow, you can use it from where you are to start looking for a job here in Jersey."

"My parents don't have access from their home computer," she says, "but maybe the public library--"

"Better than that," Ray says. "I did a little research, and there's one of these one-stop career centers right in Napa County. You can talk to an employment development specialist there and get some guidance, besides using the Internet."

"I'm there," she says. "Give me the address."

The next morning, Luisa speaks with an employment development specialist at the Napa County Training and Employment Center. He listens to her plight and puts her at ease right away.

"Not a problem," he says. "Even though it feels like one, it's really more like a challenge--and today is your lucky day."

"Why?" she asks.

"You can do a lot of things right here and now," he says, "to get started toward finding your job. Let's take a quick tour."

First, he shows Luisa some computer terminals with Internet access. "You had a good idea about visiting the New Jersey website," he says, "but remember, the Internet is just one tool out of a whole bunch you can use in your search." Next, he tells her about other resources, including an extensive career reference library and resume writing software. He then invites Luisa to take part in job skills workshops scheduled during the week.

"I have an appointment with another customer," the specialist says, "so I'll leave you to surf the Web. But if you have a question about anything, just flag down any staff member you see, OK?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" she says.

Luisa finds the Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network online. A little browsing reveals that jobs for accountants are projected to grow significantly in New Jersey in the coming years. In fact, accountant is designated as a "demand occupation" in the State, meaning that there will likely be more jobs than qualified people to fill them. Now, Luisa feels a little braver, and she clicks on "jobs."

A menu search yields listings for more than 150 vacant accounting jobs statewide. The jobs are sorted by city, which gives Luisa an idea of how they are concentrated geographically. Luisa then re-sorts the job listings by salary. Starting at the low end, she selects each job that requires a bachelor's degree and no more than 1 year of work experience. Her accounting-related work experience, gained through summer jobs and an internship, totals almost 1 year. Luisa identifies the 20 job listings meeting her criteria. She reads the brief description for each position and notes the application instructions for the ones she thinks she might qualify for.

"Can I find out average salaries for new accountants...," she suddenly wonders out loud.

"Yes," says a staff member who is nearby. "If you go to the career description for accountants in the system.... Here it is. You see, there's some data for New Jersey. If you want national data, try the online version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook."

"Oh, yeah." Luisa says. "I remember that from high school. Thanks!"

"Hi, Ray. It's Luisa. I just got home from the career center, so I'm calling to--"

"How was it?" Ray asks.

"Great. I found five jobs I wanted to apply for," she says. "I updated my resume and wrote my cover letters there and faxed everything where it needs to go. Apply for jobs in Jersey via California! Not bad-speaking of which, how did your interview go?"

"Don't worry about me," he says. "I'm still way ahead of you, cousin."

Trading a Low Wage for a Higher Wage (and Higher Skill)

When Tse-Hsin walks into the JobNet center, he comes in from the cold of a Michigan winter in search of a new job and a different life.

"Good morning," a woman says to him as he takes off his coat. "I'm Mira. How can I help you today?"

"Hi. This is the unemployment office, isn't it?" Tse-Hsin asks.

"We process claims for unemployment compensation," she says, nodding her head, "but we offer lots of other services, too."

"Could you tell me about them?" he asks.

"Sure. Right up front here," she says, "we've got computers you can use to search job listings electronically. If you don't like computers, we've got it on paper, too. See, here are some books of local and regional job leads."

"What kinds of jobs?" he asks.

"From A to Z," she says. "What kind of work have you been doing?"

"I worked as a stock clerk in a store for over 3 years," he says. "But it's closed down, now.'

"I see," she says. "What do you want to do now?"

"Something else," he says, shrugging his shoulders.

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