Presentation for the Workforce Development Summit on May 24, 2011 for the Library of Michigan. Focus is on job seeker resources provided by the Capital Area District Library.
Please hold questions till the end. We will also provide contact info and will be at the workshop all day.
Demographics It’s important to understand what types of people are in your community. Are your job seekers older/younger/men/women? Different ethnic backgrounds? Veterans? Is your community blue collar/white collar/mixed? Understanding these variables will help you shape your services. Today’s job seekers are not yesterday’s job seekers… they are from different backgrounds, different ages Partnerships As you identify potential partners, think about what their circumstances are. Our local Michigan works office does a lot of great work, but they are overstaffed and underfunded. They’re also overwhelmed with a large volume of clients. Use your knowledge of your partner’s situation(s) to help you better serve them and the community. Is your partner having trouble managing a large number of clients? Can you help ease that burden? Complement your partner’s offerings…don’t duplicate them. Misperceptions We’ve all heard it a million times…when people think of libraries they seem to automatically think of books. A lot of job seeker outreach involves educating not only patrons, but your community partners. It is very likely that they don’t know the full scope of what a library can offer. And especially if you’re thinking of doing something new or different…education is critical. Fit Service to job-seekers is only one portion of what a library offers. You have to decide how much you can conceivably do given your other responsibilities, resources, and commitments. Consider your goals, priorities and budget. If it’s decided that an effort is going to be made to reach out to job-seekers, how much can you afford to do. Know your limits. Avoid unfulfillable expectations.
We now offer a wider range of services than we used to… Our focus has changed slightly over the years: definitely more geared toward job seekers today (Due to prolonged economic troubles) Even though we are working w/less staff and money, this is a priority so we’re doing as much as we can right now. We started the Lean on Us campaign 3-4 years ago… It was a quiet start and didn’t take off much at first. As the economy worsened, and our service priorities began to shift, we used the Lean On Us campaign more and more. It’s not a campaign that is fully branded yet…but it has given us an umbrella under which we can put all of our job seeker resources…making it easier for job seekers to find what they need.
At CADL, we’ve taught a number of classes over the years to help job seekers. Everything from resume writing to using library databases to help w/job searches. We’ve had varying degrees of success w/this approach and have discovered in the last year, that as the demographics of job seekers has changed, so have their needs. Show Spring Computer Class Guide. This bears repeating: Today’s job seekers are not yesterday’s job seekers… they are from different backgrounds, different ages. Also, they way people find jobs requires different skills and strategies. Not just using the classifieds in the newspaper anymore. Because of services provided by our local MI works office, we don’t really offer resume writing classes anymore. The majority of folks receive help via MI works. But we do need to offer other types of programming that MI works doesn’t have the resources to make available… LinkedIn Networking Resource education Note: CAMW not using Microsoft Office how has this affected what happens at CADL?
Magazines Greater Lansing Business Monthly Greater Lansing Woman County Journal (Eaton county – postings of job seekers) Books How-to resume books How-to interview books How-to cover letter books How to network using Linkedin How to network How to find a job using linkedin/facebook Career advice Career prep/research – what career is right for you Entrepreneurial/small business books
Eunice and Lisa Staff time/Networking/Being a liaison Describe how the networking group works – pros/cons Lisa: for new ideas, talk about Hours of Power – June 22
Databases – repurposing resources ReferenceUSA CBT Nuggets Typing Master Share info about Lean On Your Library Reposting content from Lisa’s blog: Recruiter Uncensored Tiffenator’s blog – toolkit for job seekers Other local resources http://www.therockstarfactory.com
Success Measures Anecdotal feedback – good for supporting grant and funding requests Repeat visits by job seekers Putting a face on the library: requests for other types of materials (non-employment related) Adding to the local economy
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