System Benefits for Individuals

Overview

Whether you’re a job seeker looking for employment, a student looking for educational programs or financial assistance, or an individual in need of federal or local programs or services, the system offers a wide variety of features to assist you.

Job Seeker Benefits

Following are the features that the system offers to job seekers:

  • Review and Research Skills– Job seekers can review their current skills, research the skills required for certain jobs, and find places to train for the skills needed. See the topic “Career Explorer” in Chapter 4 – Career Services for details.

  • Assess Your Interests– Job seekers can assess various aspects of work they are interested in to identify the best possible occupations for their interests. See the topic “Career Explorer” in Chapter 4 – Career Services for details.

  • Store Background Information – The system stores information on your skills, work experience, licensing, education, and contact information in your own personal folders. You can use this information to create résumés and letters. This lets you apply for jobs using an online application and create and update your online résumés quickly and efficiently. See the topic “My Individual Profiles” in Chapter 3 – Quick Menu for details on maintaining your personal profile information.

  • Research Industries and Employers– Job seekers can discover which industries and employers have positions of interest to them. This information includes specific details on employers such as name, type of business, and location(s). See Chapter 4 – Career Services for details.

  • Search for Job Openings; Create Résumés– Job seekers can review job openings posted by employers, and build attractive résumés and letters to use in pursuing those jobs. The Résumé Builder simplifies the task of creating and changing résumés. Letter Builder guides you in writing cover letters, follow-up letters, and acceptance letters. See the topics “Job Search” and “Résumé Builder” in Chapter 3 – Quick Menu for details on different kinds of job searches you can do and ways to create and use a résumé in the system.

  • Create Virtual Recruiters– Use the Virtual Recruiter job alert tool to create and store job searches that run automatically at scheduled intervals and get informed of matching job openings. See the topic “Virtual Recruiter” in Chapter 5 – Job Seeker Services for details.

  • Get Advice for Job Interviews– The system offers tips and advice about effective interviewing, successful meetings, and job offer negotiations. See the topic “10 Steps to Find a Job” in Chapter 5 – Job Seeker Services for details.

  • Save Research History– The system retains records of the careers, training programs, employers, and job openings you have researched. See the topic “Search History Profile” in Chapter 3 – Quick Menu for details.

Student Benefits

Students also benefit from the system’s tools and features, some of which are highlighted below:

  • Career Exploration– Students can search for occupations that match their job interests and work values. See Chapter 4 – Career Services for details.

  • Training Programs – Students can find detailed information on training opportunities.

  • Training Requirements – The system will help students discover the length of time needed to train for each program and which schools offer programs that could help them advance.

  • Training Providers– The system includes detailed information about training providers, such as address, location maps, website address, and contact information. The system also includes resource information, such as information on professional organizations.

    See Chapter 6 – Education Services for more information on training programs and providers.

Social Services and Support Benefits

Individuals seeking benefits and social service information can find out what is offered in their area. Details about programs offered in the workforce center, such as veterans’ assistance, child support, food stamps, unemployment compensation, welfare transition, and layoff assistance, are outlined. Eligibility information is summarized along with instructions on how to reach these agencies. Registered users can also send email messages to staff, asking a staff member to contact them.

See Chapter 8 – Community Services for more information.