Helping adult learners find their first job or even their next job can be a daunting task. There are a lot of job search sites, but not all of them are easy to navigate for adult basic and English language learners.
What are your favorite tools, resources, and websites to help adults find a job? Can you share concrete examples of why that resource has worked well with the adult learner population you serve?
One website and tool that I have found to work well together is Indeed.com and the Microsoft Edge browser's immersive reader tool. You can type "read:" before any URL in the Edge browser to trigger the tool OR open the website and right click on the screen to access immersive reader tool options. You can also use this feature on CareerOneStop.org to explore careers. This tool can read text aloud, define words, change text size, color, and background, and you can adjust the speed and voice used for the reading aloud feature.
I'm excited to see what other tools, resources, and websites people are using to help adult learners find jobs.
Chrissie
Comments
The LINCS Reentry Education Toolkit and Fairshake.net has been helpful for some of our adult learners that have a criminal record. They have some resources that can be printed and used in facilities that do not allow internet access.
I have also seen some OneStops do reverse job fairs. They have individuals who are looking for a job set up at a table and have employers come and walk around the tables and visit the individuals they are interested in. Employers find out a little about the individuals ahead of time through emails, local One Stop website, and social media posts. You can find your local OneStop and discuss the possibility of holding a reverse job fair by using CareerOneStop's locator tool.
Some of the higher level adult learners and dislocated workers I worked with had success using LinkedIn to look for jobs, but also to continue to network with people they worked with in the past.
Chrissie
Here is a screenshot of the Immersive Reader Tool activated on CareerOneStop's home page. Notice I changed the background color, had it highlight the nouns yellow, and picked voice options (language, voice tone, speed).
This is a wonderful topic, Chrissie, especially with so many job search tools at the ready these days!
Maybe it is because I live in a small town, but truly one of the best ways for students to find work is through their learning center helping them make connections with employers and partners. The Chamber of Commerce here does a great job of connecting students with employers. I encourage program directors to plug into social organizations like Chamber and Rotary to not only build relationships with employers and partners but to also increase awareness of adult education and the students they serve. Engaged directors are a big boost to a jobseeker!
Susan Roberts,
Teaching and Learning Group Moderator