A Job Hunting Story

Annie wasn't sure what she wanted to do for a living but she knew that she needed a job and fast! As a former stay-at-home mom who had recently become a single parent, Annie had to generate income quickly.

She visited the Texas Workforce Center (see Professional Services) in her city after hearing about it from a friend. There she spoke with a career counselor and took a number of assessment tests to identify jobs that would suit her.

Although she had little employment experience, Annie had plenty of work experience as a mother. Her counselor assured her that her leadership, organizing, communication and planning skills were assets that many employers sought.

Soon afterwards, Annie answered an ad for a waitperson. They were willing to train and she began working immediately. This income gave her some stability so that she could hunt for a more permanent job without wondering how she could pay the rent.

Soon she returned to the workforce center. She used the OSCAR software to identify jobs that matched her skills and interests. She explored several occupations and decided that she wanted to do some kind of office work, but needed to get some computer skills first.

She began taking computer and word processing classes at the local community college. Her workforce center counselor, Faith, helped her find the funding. She studied whenever she could, knowing that an education was her ticket to the kind of job she wanted.

She soon began job hunting in earnest. Waiting tables was exhausting and she was tired of smelling like food all the time. She told everyone she met that she was looking for office work and mentioned her new skills. Her supervisor even allowed her to mention it to the occasional customer. She went to several interviews but got no offers.

Her persistence finally paid off. One of her customers mentioned an opening at the company where he worked. Here was her "in!" He gave her the name of a manager, whom Annie called immediately. She mentioned the customer's name and asked for an interview. She got it!

Once in the interview, Annie put all of her practice and rehearsal to work. Beforehand, she'd identified the skills the job required. For each skill, she'd practiced telling three stories that showed how she'd used that skill in the past. Her preparation made her feel so confident that the interview was more like two coworkers talking than an employer questioning an applicant.

Annie got the job. She immediately began thanking all the people who'd helped her in her search and telling them her good news. She looks forward to helping one of them when they're job hunting!