With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, every state in the union is eligible to receive federal funds to beef up its One Stop Career Center. These centers, existing in some form in every state and most major metropolitan areas, provide a range of support services for job seekers.
All One Stop resources and classes are free to use. Although services vary by location, typical examples include:
- Computer labs
- Labor market data, including employment reports by industry
- Job search workshops
- Interview and resume-writing workshops
One Stop centers are getting flooded these days, so make an appointment in advance. Click here to locate your nearest One Stop Career Center.
Of course, the best way to get free training is to get a job. In addition to the usual on-the-job training that comes with experience, many positions include formal, paid training and education re0imbursement. If you’re broke, getting a low-level job at a compay with a generous training budget could be a great way to kill two birds with one stone (bills and skillz).
Start with companies known for training: IBM, Sprint, and Pfizer come to mind. Click here to download a PDF of Training Magazine’s top 125 companies for training. Then go about getting yourself a nice low-level position. With companies this big, there will always be entry- and low-level openings.Just be sure to come up with an excellent answer to “Why the career 360 and why do you want to stoop to this level?”
It may have nothing to do with your career, but this move can have everything to do with unlocking doors by delivering critical skills to your quiver and your resume. Just swallow your pride and consider it a hiatus.
