Resources for Unemployment

• Waubonsee’s Career Development page - features a variety of sites and documents highlighting local job opportunities
• Illinois workNet Job Finder
• Career One Stop Job Search
• EMSI Regional Impact Report (pdf) - get a quick sense of the hot companies, careers and skills in Waubonsee’s geographic area
• Get Hired IL is a new state site designed to help job seekers and employers connect by  providing job postings and virtual job fairs.

• Waubonsee’s Career Development page - provides resume and cover letter help, templates and videos, along with Candid Career series videos about virtual interviewing, creating a personal brand and more!
• 12 Steps to a Successful Job Search - available for free through June 30
• Waubonsee’s Jump Start Your Job Search webinars
  Throughout the month, you can sign up for free Zoom webinars on these topics: Career Coach Virtual Tour, Interviewing in 2020, and LinkedIn 2.0.
• Illinois workNet webinars (pdf)
  Another monthly lineup of helpful job search webinars that features such topics as resume best practices, financial wellness while seeking employment, and more.

Career Coach Tool
Free to use, this powerful tool features:

• the ability to create an account so all your info saved and careers favorited 
• Short, medium and long Career Assessments (6, 30 or 60 questions) to determine your interests and how they relate to careers
• Personalized results from the Career Assessment that help you determine which Career Cluster is the best match for you 
• Within your matches, search jobs by such criteria as average salary and education requirements, or simply explore the Waubonsee program that can best prepare you

Watch the Career Coach Tutorial now!

EMSI Regional Impact Report (pdf)
If you want to go right after the careers that are hot right now, read this report. You can also look at the top skills employers are seeking and just focus on some training and education to strengthen those.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act allows certain groups of eligible people, including dislocated/laid off workers, to apply for funding they can use to retrain for in-demand careers. Many of Waubonsee’s credit career programs, along with a few noncredit offerings, serve as training program options.

To get started, contact your local illnoisworknet center to talk through eligibility, training options and application steps. Once things are set with the center, please contact Waubonsee at (630) 466-2356 (voicemails will be returned asap) or email sdwinnells@waubonsee.edu to start the enrollment process at Waubonsee. You will use a WIOA tuition voucher to pay for your courses.

Free online skills courses
Through June 30, sharpen a sought-after skill for free with our online partner ed2go. Choose from Managing Customer Service, Fundamentals of Supervision and Management, Creating Web Pages and more!

Free Topical Webinars 
Access live and recorded webinars from our Education and Workforce Development team that focus on timely topics like COVID-19 and OSHA procedures, stress management, digital portfolios and more.

Adult Education Programs (HSE/GED, ELA)
If you don’t yet have a high school diploma, now is a great time to go after it! Participate in our always-free High School Equivalency (HSE) program and prepare to take the GED or another HSE exam. Now is also a great time to work on improving your English language skills through our free English Language Acquisition (ELA) offerings.

Waubonsee Works
For qualifying individuals between 17-24 years old, the Waubonsee Works Program provides free tuition and books for a High School Equivalency Certificate (GED) or a short-term, career-focused certificate at Waubonsee.

The Illinois workNet® platform
This new online platform from the Illinois Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity – Office of Employment and Training/Illinois workNet is meant to be a one-stop shop for workforce development resources. Look here for important links, such as one to file for unemployment, as well as free online training events, and more.

Get Hired IL
Get Hired IL is another new state site designed to help job seekers and employers connect, along with providing additional info and resources.

Connect to Benefits and Services After a Layoff
For many of you, being laid off is something you’ve never dealt with before. This article from the Illinois workNet outlines some of the key benefits and services you may be seeking, including unemployment insurance, health insurance, housing assistance, local support, money management and student loan assistance.

Tips, Tools and Resources for the Laid Off Worker
Also from the Illinois workNet comes a listing of resources for the laid off worker. These almost 70 articles highlight topics ranging from Budgeting Basics to Building Skills Employers Want to Unemployment Insurance and Taxes and many more.