Career readiness

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EATON — The Preble County Department of Job and Family Services is offering a career readiness course available to women receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits. As opposed to applying, women are assigned to the class by their case workers if they are deemed fit, and are required to do work activities such as job searching, work hours at a job site, or other tasks.

The course runs Monday through Thursday and includes lessons on managing change, goal setting, the pitfalls of social media when job hunting, how to network for employment, ethics in the workplace, and resume and interview coaching, along with a detailed skills assessment test and teamwork activities designed to call on each student’s individual strengths.

Student Melanie Zovak, a mother of three, said after the second day of the course, “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the class. I learned my strengths. I knew I was good at figuring things out, but I didn’t know there was a word for it or that it was considered valuable. Strategy was my number one skill when I took the test. Empathy, communication, competition, and adaptability were my other skills. I can figure my way out of any situation. Whatever life gives me, good or bad, I can roll with it. I didn’t realize how that would be categorized, though, or that it was considered a job skill. I’ve learned what my skills are good for and ways to use them.”

“One thing that’s been stressed,” she said, “is that we all have strengths and weaknesses. But if you give your weaknesses priority, your strengths falter. So find your strengths, work on them, and it makes your weaknesses less noticeable. It’s sinking in and I’m seeing the bigger picture.”

To learn more about the career readiness course, contact Preble County JFS eligibility referral specialist Erin Montgomery at 937-456-6205.

Melanie Zovak left, and classmate Shawnta in a team building activity utilizing their top skills.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2016/06/web1_DSC_0210a-1.jpgMelanie Zovak left, and classmate Shawnta in a team building activity utilizing their top skills.
Program helps women receiving benefits

By Duante Beddingfield

[email protected]

Reach Duante Beddingfield at 937-683-4061 or on Twitter @duanteb_RH.

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