Services for Job Seekers

We know that employers are looking for people who are ready to work. Each person enrolled in one of our programs will be working with a Career Development Specialist who will make sure you are work ready and assist you in reaching your employment goals. We offer assistance, if needed, in helping you to become work ready. We offer some workshops to assist you in putting your best foot forward when applying and interviewing for jobs. This includes mock interviewing, suggestions for completing an application and creating a resume.

Sometimes people come to us not knowing what type of job they want or what kind of job they are able to do. This may be because you haven’t worked in a long time or have never worked. We use an assessment that will help you to figure that out. Upon completing the assessment a list of potential jobs that may be a good fit for you is provided. Your Career Development Specialist will review the results with you to assist you in deciding what type of jobs you want to search for.

Every person who comes to us has their own individual needs. Your Career Development Specialist will work with you to learn about your individual/family needs, work history, skills set, education, and employment goals. Based on this information, together you will create an action plan for helping you to reach your employment goals. This may include any of the services listed here, connecting you with needed resources, placement in a Transitional Work Experience, connecting you with Grand Rapids Community College’s Tassell M-TEC Center, and/or placement in a job.

Many employers post positions on the internet. Our Career Center has computers for your use to create or update your resume, check your email, and to search and apply for jobs. We also post job leads for open positions in our Career Center. In addition, your Career Development Specialist will provide you with job leads relevant to your skills set, experience and interest areas. We have relationships with area businesses and employers who are looking for employees like you.

We provide employment support to help you get the job and keep it. You will work with a Career Development Specialist to help you along the way by referring or connecting you to employers, providing job coaching and connecting you to community resources. Some of the other support services we may be able to help you with include transportation assistance, interview clothing, work tools, and work clothing/boots.

What is a paid Transitional Work Experience? It is a quick attachment to income, offers recent work experience, creates work history, and or connects people to employers who are hiring. We call them TWEs. TWEs are short term temporary placements. Many are with employers who use this time to train you and decide if they want to hire you as a permanent employee. The employer has 90 days to decide if they want to hire you. Many hire after just 30 days. TWEs also give you the chance to see if this is the kind of work you really want. Your Career Development Specialist will provide employment support during the TWE and help you move from the TWE to permanent employment.

The Wheels to Work program has been on the road since 2016 and was launched in the city of Walker to help connect employees with employers. The program utilizes Hope Network’s buses and software to efficiently line up rides for employees in need of transportation. The Rapid helps with rides through the program in some cases.

Wheels to Work assists employees with transportation to and from work for a nominal fee. The program operates through payroll deductions with the employer and employee sharing the cost. The employee portion of the fee is deducted from the employee’s paycheck, and Hope Network bills employers for their total usage. Often, new hires don’t have the money to pay for transportation at the point of hire so many employers have committed to paying the entire transportation fee until the employee receives their first paycheck.