Powerofajob: Veteran sets sights on job at WorkSource — and gets it!

Happy Workforce Wednesday!

As partners in Washington state’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people – unemployed or not – find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job.

Every week, we spotlight a different Power of a Job success story. This week, we bring you Terrie Garcia-Hernandez of WorkSource Wenatchee Valley. A veteran herself, Terrie is passionate about helping fellow veterans connect to jobs, training and other services at WorkSource. In this week’s installment, she shares her employment journey — a story of persistence that eventually paid off!

My name is Terrie and I am a Consolidated Veteran’s Services Representative for WorkSource Wenatchee Valley. I’ve been with the agency for over 12 years. Before my current position, I was an employment specialist. I want to tell you my story and how I came to WorkSource.

I was employed previously in Michigan before moving back to Washington state. When I returned, I found out about WorkSource, and that there were veterans employment representatives who could help me. So I came in and told the veterans employment representative that I wanted to get a job here at WorkSource. I continued to come in and bug him until a position finally became open. I applied, I interviewed and I got the position.

My passion is with veterans and working with customers in general. Being in this position lets me help others get a job, keep a job, grow in their career, and advance in their position.

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#Power of a Job: Older job seeker finds understanding and a new job at WorkSource

Happy Workforce Wednesday!

As partners in Washington state’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people – unemployed or not – find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job.

Every week, we spotlight a different Power of a Job success story. Today we bring you Michael Rivers of WorkSource Lynnwood, who shares how he helped an older job seeker find a new job. Michael and other WorkSource professionals understand that older workers often have difficulty navigating the modern job market. Patience and time help, as Michael’s story illustrates.

Here’s Michael’s story:

In September, Rose came in to WorkSource Lynnwood. She’s a 59-year-old woman who lost her job after working for a long time for an insurance underwriter.  She was very distraught and not used to looking for work. She was totally stressed out over writing her resume and with anything related to her job search. Rose was a very private woman, and getting into financial matters and the things we needed to do made her very uncomfortable.

I approached her with tact and said I would help her go as far as she wanted. I assured her that her comfort zone was OK, and that we could work gradually at whatever pace she was ready go.

By the time we got to October, she was ready to start. She began her job search and we were able to work through her resume issues.

In December, she started working at another insurance company as a commercial account assistant. She’s making $25.64 an hour, which is about $53,000 per year, and she’s very happy. She sent me an email saying she is enjoying her job, and she thanked me for all my help.

I’m just grateful I was able to help somebody. That’s what we do here! We help people. We hope the community around us will take full advantage of the resources provided at Lynnwood’s office.

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#Powerofajob: WorkSource classes turn a life around, setting her on path to success

Welcome to Workforce Wednesday!

As partners in Washington state’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people – unemployed or not – find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job.

Every week, we spotlight a different Power of a Job success story. Today we bring you Vicki Husemoen, a job seeker who found help, inspiration and support at WorkSource. She highlights the value of the classes WorkSource offers. They “changed my life,” she says!

Here’s Vicki’s story:

I worked for a company in the telecommunications industry for 14 years. In March, another company purchased ours, initiating several rounds of layoffs, including mine.

Working there for so long, I didn’t know what my skills were and how they’re marketable in today’s industry. I visited WorkSource to find out what I needed to do. At WorkSource, I attended several classes – Resume Writing and Skills and Abilities, and both were very beneficial. They helped me understand who I was and what I enjoy. I also learned how my skills are transferable to other jobs.

I also took the Strategies for Success series of classes. They are so enlightening and literally changed my life – and so timely! The first week, we discussed our own health, taking care of ourselves and setting boundaries — things we don’t normally think about. I honestly feel every high school should teach this. We learned how to navigate life. It gave us tools to further our success and improve our personal well-being.

While hunting for a new job, I still take classes at WorkSource, and there are more I want to take. I have more confidence, relate better to people in my same position and realize I’m not alone. It’s so easy to feel lost, especially when you’ve done something for so long and are trying to start over.

WorkSource has definitely been very important in my life. I expect to have great success!

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#Powered by jobs: Veteran business owner makes it his mission to hire vets using WorkSource

Happy day before Workforce Wednesday! This week’s blog post comes a day early as we celebrate with a story for the July Fourth holiday and our nation’s veterans.

This week’s post features Jeff Woolever — a U.S. Navy veteran and business owner who looks to WorkSource to help him hire veterans. We caught Jeff on camera after the annual YesVets celebration at the state Capitol last year.

As partners in Washington’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people – unemployed or not – find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job. We also work with businesses to help them find employees because we know they are Powered by Jobs. Today’s post from Jeff is a Powered by Jobs post.

I’m Jeff Woolever, owner of West Coast Training. We’re a school and training center for crane and heavy equipment operators.

We’re veteran owned, and when we hire, we look for veterans to fill our positions. We’re always looking for talent, and have brought many veterans on board by working with WorkSource when we have an open position. When other employers ask me where I find my staff, I recommend they use WorkSource.

We have hired veterans primarily as training instructors and also as administrative staff. The veterans we have brought on board have always been a good addition to the team. We like having veterans on the team because they are mission and task oriented and know how to serve something greater than themselves. We have always had great success with that.

I would recommend any employer try to seek out veterans at their local WorkSource office. Meet your YesVets [Local Veterans Employment Representative] rep and let them find quality folks to work on your team.

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