How agencies help jobseekers 'be proactive' during pandemic

Nonprofit and federally funded career assistance centers are preparing themselves - and their online resources - for a surge of jobseekers newly laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Those looking for jobs can benefit from preparations made by facilities such as the Job Center of Lake County in Waukegan, the North Suburban Cook County American Job Center in Arlington Heights, WorkNet DuPage in Lisle and the Career & Networking Center in Naperville.

These centers and others are offering free webinars, some of them targeted for the pandemic and others more broadly focused on topics such as Excel skills, LinkedIn use and job search planning.

People in need can log on from anywhere to access the "5 Steps to Your Next Job" framework from the Job Center of Lake County or the "From Layoff to Launch" webpage from WorkNet DuPage.

The job center in Arlington Heights offers resources for jobseekers affected by the COVID-19 virus, while the nonprofit Career & Networking Center in Naperville has webinars on topics such as job search branding and "staying relevant in a chaotic environment."

"This is not the time to stop" searching for a job, said Kimberly White, executive director of the Career & Networking Center. "It's the time to still be proactive."

Job agencies encourage people newly laid off not only to apply for unemployment insurance benefits, but also to reach out for help navigating a digital search for a new job.

"We are preparing for individuals who maybe are going to take this opportunity to transition careers or who may discover that their employer is no longer in business," said Eva Locke, job center supervisor at the Job Center of Lake County. "I consider us to be the transition experts."

Transitioning requires a focus on broad skills instead of on particular job duties. For example, White said, workers laid off from hospitality positions likely have strong customer service skills, which can be applied in business, sales and a variety of job options.

"You're going to be competing with a number of people, so it's really focusing on skills," White said.

The pool of people looking for jobs is large, including many of the 513,173 who filed initial unemployment claims in Illinois during the five weeks from March 1 to April 4.

The North Suburban Cook County American Job Center in Arlington Heights was helping roughly 1,000 jobseekers before the pandemic set in, Executive Director Al Saulys said. He expects that population to "explode."

The center is part of a network of workforce development agencies throughout the nation, as are the Job Center of Lake County and WorkNet DuPage. All of these centers are local administrators of a federal program called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which gives jobseekers who qualify up to $10,000 in grant funding to pursue training, professional development or certifications.

"There's a lot of people that are hurting out there and a lot of people who are going to need these services," Saulys said.

Despite the pandemic, some companies are still looking to fill positions, White said.

Jobseekers who can master virtual "coffees" with recruiters and interviews via video conference have the chance to impress hiring managers, who may have more time these days to carefully review resumes, White said.

"This is a time," she said, "when you might actually have more luck in connecting."