slideshow

Special To The Enterprise

Hundreds of Eastern Kentuckians have experienced the fact that “people lead people to jobs” by attending Job Clubs of eastern Kentucky.

Chasity Turner is one of the many eastern Kentuckians who have benefitted from job clubs. Turner found a good job as a medical assistant with help from the Harlan County Job Club. A new Harlan County Job Club will begin May 9 and meet every Wednesday from 1- 2 p.m. at the Depot in Harlan.

“I’m working, thanks to job club. It’s very helpful and if you stick with it you will find a job,” Turner said.

The free job club is sponsored by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP), the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training (OET), and the Harlan County Community Action Agency (HCCAA). It draws on the sponsors’ expertise and contacts to provide the job club’s members with information, job search skills, job leads, networking and chances to meet with and learn from local employers.

Last year Turner lost her job as a radiologist. Finding a new job to support her family was tough. She felt fortunate to discover the job club, she said.

“You get a lot of support from the other job club members and the staff at the job club meetings. They say ‘Don’t give up!” Turner said with a smile. This supportive and sharing environment makes job hunting less lonely and stressful, she added.

“Just having the meeting to go to every week helps you,” Turner said.

But Turner found more than emotional support at the job club. She worked with job club staff, including Jill Blevins, a Workforce Investment Act (WIA) career advisor at HCCAA, to create a winning resume and polish her interviewing skills through mock interviews. She received weekly leads about job openings from job club staff and fellow job club members and attended presentations from local employers, who talked about what they look for in employees.

Her mock interview experience and improved understanding of employers’ needs came in handy when Chasity interviewed for her current job. She was better prepared for tricky interview questions and it helped her get hired, she said.

Turner enjoys her new job.

“I love working here. I work in both the clinical and the office part so I get to know the patients more. And everyone’s nice,” Turner said.

Blevins said the job club staff and job club members are always pleased to see one of the club members “graduate” into a job.

“I’m just thrilled for her,” Blevins said. “She was very persistent and I think she’s a great example of what job club is supposed to do.”

To contact the Harlan County Job Club, call 589-3260.

To find out more about Job Clubs of Eastern Kentucky or to find the job club nearest you, call 877/512-WORK or on Facebook at facebook.com/jobclubseky.