Hi,
Last January my company was let go because they filed bankruptcy and closed the business. I searched for a few months without any luck, then someone at re-employment services brought me up to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitational Services department & told them they might be able to help me. I signed up (had never heard of them before) and after giving them my medical records, which they checked into, they called and said I was accepted. So I met with a counselor and he asked if I wanted to update my skills or get more training. So, since it was free to me, of course I accepted. So I went back to school for over 6 months and decided to learn some new skills. I've since graduated and have been looking for work. However, I just spoke to my counselor again because I'm not getting many bites for interviews (only had 2 or 3 in all this time and my resume was redone in school and is very good)....but he just said well, the economy and job market are not good right now so it may take some time. So apparently it seems they do not help with the job search, which I had thought they would. They only thing he did help with was....I had emailed him because some companies have this insert in with their job applications that asks several questions like: are you a veteran? are you a disabled veteran? do you have any handicaps or disabilities? Well, I don't want to tell a potential employer that I have some disabilities (though one can tell by seeing my walk). So I emailed him about it and he said they cannot ask you that and I don't have to fill it out, so I didn't. They only time you can answer is if you would need some sort of on-the-job accomodations. I might need some, though I am not sure yet..it depends on the job and what's available to me already.
But, if anything, they can get you a grant for vocation/technical training, if you wanted to. And they can help with job accomodations, but they don't actually help you get a job. At least that is my experience. I am happy and grateful, though, that I got the education. Problem is, though, that the jobs I learned, most of those jobs require several years experience to be hired. But I guess once in a while someone might be willing to hire entry-level. And the job market is downright awful right now. I had applied to one job, and an agency recruits for them, so I had to go to the agency. They said they had over 450 applications for that one job. Plus i've heard that other jobs have at least 200 applicants and many places do not look through all the resumes. So you can have a great resume and great skills, but your resume may never even get a glance, which is a shame. Thankfully, Bush finally decided to sign the most recent unemployment extension, which will help me for a few more weeks. But it is so tough out there right now, it's unbelievable. You really have to stand out in the crowds and be able to give an exceptional interview. The worst thign is, many companies are only hiring part-time....and they pay is pretty low. I even signed up with some agencies and only got one job sent to me, which was too far away. I cant' even just go to some stores and work in the mean time because I can't stand up more than 5 minutes or so. I just hope I don't end up getting depressed or down over all this. I have a problem driving more than 10-15 minutes because my toes and feet get numb, but I may have to suck it up and look farther away anyway.