Job Club Journal

Day 4 – Seek and you will find – we hope!

 Class at the Akron Public Library where a member (Dana) of the Business & Government Division gives a presentation concerning the materials available for job seekers and, in particular, mature workers.

She begins by showing us the different tools available to job seekers:  Tests to assess what jobs might be suited to your talents; books, such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, that can assist in finding careers or jobs in which you might be interested; ideas about networking and interviewing techniques (helping to focus on what you need to get across to the prospective employer); information about companies and industries, e.g. the Encyclopedia of Associations, which may help you find out what companies are in a particular industry. 

Follow up:

This presentation also includes information about on-line data bases, such as Reference USA, which anyone with a public library card is able to access.  Anyone with an address in Akron can get a card at the Akron Public Library without paying a fee and this applies to any other town or city where there is a public library.  A library card also will allow you to use a computer at the library and to set up an email account, if you do not have a computer at home.  The library also offers computer classes on a first come, first served basis.  They range from tips on buying a computer and basic computer skills to Advanced Microsoft Excel.  There is no fee for these classes and a Schedule of Classes is available at the Business & Government Desk on the first floor of the library.

Of these sources, www.ReferenceUSA.com  is the one we will use most of the time, especially for the Job Club class.  This serves as a national phonebook for businesses and residential information.  You can look up a company and then go to the company’s website so that you can get information about a company prior to an interview.  Reference USA also can be used to create a targeted contact list of companies you can pursue for employment.