The Career Expert

The Career Expert

The Career Center

Library Career Center


Searching for a new job or career?  Our Career Center's free career counseling services can help.

The Career Center, based in Cuyahoga County Public Library's Maple Heights Branch and formerly known as InfoPLACE, is a nationally recognized Adult Career Planning Resource Center.  We also have a mini-career center at the Brook Park Library Branch where a Career Counselor meets clients by appointment only on Tuesdays Call (216) 475-2225 for other locations.  In operation since 1976, its comprehensive service is on the cutting edge of meeting the needs of adults in career transition or job search in a turbulent time.  We provide guidance to adults in career decision-making, constructing effective résumés, job searching strategies, interview preparation, and education and training. 

Please call (216) 475-2225 for an appointment with a counselor if you would like assistance with making a career change, career decision/testing, or preparation for an upcoming interview.  If you would like a counselor to review your résumé and cover letter before you send it to prospective employers, you may email it or drop it off at our office.  We can help you with online job searching on a first come-first serve basis.

The Maple Heights Job Club meets every Thursday morning from 9:30 - 11:00 AM at the Maple Heights Branch for anyone looking for work or considering a career change.  A career counselor will address career topics and explore career resources and online job websites.  The Fairview Park Job Club meets every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 - 3:00 PM.  All job hunters and career changers are welcome.

Cuyahoga County Public Library also offers Optimal Resume, a résumé program which will aid you in producing a professional-looking résumé.  To begin, enter the access code cuyac into the blank line and click on continue.  Fill out your User Profile that will be the heading of your résumé and follow the directions about choosing section headings to create a great résumé.

Access the Job Hunting Resources:  A Selected List of Books, Websites & Agencies pamphlet to find recommended sources to help you in your job search.  You may also pick up a print copy of this guide at your local Cuyahoga County Public Library branch. 

More about the Career Center

  • CAREER COUNSELOR:  James Hansen,
    M.S., Counseling; Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, (LPCC)
  • CAREER COUNSELOR:  Elizabeth Wilson,
    M.Ed., Rehabilitation Counseling, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)
  • LIBRARIAN:  Bonnie Easton,
    Master in Library Science (M.L.S.)
  • PUBLIC SERVICES ASSISTANT:  Anthony Furino

Contact us


Latest WebLog

The Career Information Expert Blog

Job Loss Is More Than Statistics

 Permanent link

 November brought a 6.7% unemployment rate with 7.1% in Cuyahoga County.  There are 10.3 million people unemployed in the United States.  Okay, those are the numbers, but these are human beings who are now out of a job.  There is an old adage that when your neighbor loses a job, the country is in a recession, but if I lose my job, the country is in a depression.  Actually, the unemployment rate during the Great Depression of the 1930s was 25%.  We're a long way from there, but the unemployement rate is predicted to rise during the new year.

Losing a job is one of the top stressors in anyone's lifetime.  The loss of income and the ability to support your family is a top concern, but you must also deal with the emotional side of being suddenly involuntarily unemployed. Typical reactions are shame, fear, anxiety, sense of abandonment and betrayal, anger, guilt, loss of self-esteem, loss of confidence, sadness, depression, feelings of failure, loneliness, irritability, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and bad dreams.  These symptoms can lead to an inability to move on in searching for a new job. 

So what do you do next?  Here are some suggestions:

  1. Tell everyone you're job hunting.  Too ashamed?  Get over it.  Losing your job in a layoff wasn't personal.
  2. File for unemployment as soon as possible.
  3. Lock away your credit cards. 
  4. Take time to grieve your loss--maybe a day or so.  Then get to work on your job search.
  5. Communicate with your family.  How can your spouse and your kids help?
  6. Avoid being alone.  Don't stay at home in your favorite pair of pajamas in front of a computer screen.  Talk to people.  Network!!!
  7. You are your new boss.  Sometimes getting laid off presents an opportunity to find out what you really want to do.

Also, remember that the Career Center of the Cuyahoga County Public Library is here to help.  Take a workshop with us, attend one of Jim Hansen's Job Clubs at the Maple Heights Branch on Thursday mornings or at the Fairview Park Branch on Thursday afternoons, check out our library resources at the Maple Heights Branch, or call for an appointment with a career counselor.  Helping you is why we're here!



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Career Paths for You!

Find Your Passion

I'm talking about the passion in your work life.  A new book by Alexandra Levit titled How'd You Score That Gig? contains a short self-assessment test that will tell you whether you are an adventurer, a creator, a data head, an entrepreneur, an investigator, a networker, or a nurturer.  The author then writes a chapter on each type with examples of careers and describes all of them as "cool."

If you are:

An Adventurer, you may be interested in being a a conservationist, a documentary photographer, an English as a Second Language teacher, a foreign service officer, a news correspondent, an oceanographer, an outdoor adventure guide, or a travel journalist.

A Creator, you could try to be an actor, a book author, a fashion designer, an interior designer, a landscape architect, a movie screenwriter, a performance musician, a restaurant chef, or a video game designer.

A Data Head, you would be a computational linguist, an environmental engineer, a financial adviser, an information security specialist, a meteorologist, a pharmaceutical scientist, or an urban planner.

An Entrepreneur, try your hand at a bed-and-breakfast innkeeper, a blogger, a boutique owner, an event planner, a health club owner, an internet-based business owner, an inventor, a pet sitter, or a professional organizer.

An Investigator, you might like to be an antiques dealer, an art curator, a classic car restorer, a criminologist, a field archaeologist, a forensic scientist, a futurist, an historian, or a psychology lab assistant.

A Networker, try out jobs as a book editor, a congressional staffer, an image consultant, a lobbyist, a marketing executive, a pro sports team manager, a speechwriter, a talent agent, a television producer, or a wine merchant.

A Nurturer, you may want to be a doula, an elementary school teacher, a life coach, a nonprofit administrator, a nutritionist, a physical therapist, a social services caseworker, or a zoologist.



Career Center Workshops

Thursday is Job Club Day at the Maple Heights Branch & at the Fairview Park Branch

Career Counselor Jim Hansen will be at the Maple Heights Branch every Thursday morning from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. and at the Fairview Park Branch every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. to help job hunters or career transitionists in their search.

Join him for helpful tips on resumes, job search strategies and interviewing while sharing your experiences with others in a supportive atmosphere. 

Anyone who is out of work or looking to change careers will be welcome at either or both job clubs!

Brook Park Branch Mini Career Center:

In addition to our main office in Maple Heights, a Career Counselor is available to meet with job seekers on Tuesdays from 1:00 - 9:00 p.m.  Please contact the Career Center at (216) 475-2225 to schedule an appointment for career counseling, resume reviews, interview preparation and/or online job search assistance.

 Career Center Workshops

The Career Center staff has some exciting new workshops for the first quarter of 2009 that we think will be really helpful to all you job hunters out there.  Please join us!  We are here to help.

2009

Basic Computer Skills for Job Hunters

  • Broook Park Branch
    6:45 - 8:45 p.m./Monday/February 9
  • Strongsville Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Thursday/February 12
  • Mayfield Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Monday/February 16

Behavior-Based Interviewing Techniques

  • Parma Heights Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/February 11

Internet Job Search

  • Bay Village Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p. m./Monday/January 12
  • Independence Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p.m./Thursday/January 15
  • Parma Heights Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p.m./Thursday/February 19
  • Parma Ridge Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p.m./Monday/March 9
  • Orange Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p.m./Thursday/March 12
  • Mayfield Branch
    7:00 - 8:30 p.m./Monday/March 30

Interview Preparation Workshop

  • North Olmsted Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/January 28

Job Search Strategies Workshop

  • North Olmsted Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/January 21

Networking

  • Maple Heights Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Tuesday/March 3

Over 50 & Out of Work

  • Parma South Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Tuesday/February 3
  • North Royalton Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/March 25

Resumes & Cover Letters

  • Parma Snow Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/January 7
  • North Olmsted Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/January 14
  • Garfield Heights Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Wednesday/March 11

Resumes-to-Go with Optimal Resume

  • Southeast Branch
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m./Thursday/January 29

For registration, call the branch hosting the workshop or 216-475-2225 or check the Events & Classes section of the Library's website to register online.

View all Career Events

 

 



Survival Guide

The Survival Guide is a referral source for those facing unemployment and underemployment problems. It is a compilation of agencies in Greater Cleveland offering career counseling, job search instruction, placement and training, legal and financial assistance, and special services to people with disabilities and veterans. 

Some of the major agencies offering assistance to dislocated and underemployed workers in the Cleveland area are:

 

 Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training
 Cleveland Scholarship Program
 Cuyahoga Community College
 Employment Connection 
 First Call for Help
 Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland
 Cuyahoga County Public Library Career Center
 Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation
 Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services
 Unemployment Compensation
 Senior Employment Center

If you need further information about the guide, contact Cuyahoga County Public Library's Career Center at 216-475-2225.

    Online SURVIVAL GUIDE here 


 

Premium Research Services

The Find EngineStop searching and start finding! Search through our premium subscription-only online resources related to Careers.


 

Company Research

An important step in the job search process is finding information about the organizations for which you want to work.  The Cuyahoga County Public Library provides database resources with reliable, up-to-date directories of companies giving the address, telephone number, financial data (if the company is public), type of business, chief officers of the company, and, perhaps, magazine articles about the company.  Your major purposes in checking out the companies to which you are applying are:

  • To determine what the corporate culture of the organization is.  Will you like working here?  Do they have a sound financial future?
  • To give yourself a competitive edge in the interview process.  If you do a little homework about the company and the industry, you will impress prospective employers.  You will want to know the size of the company and whether it is public or private, products and services offered, the target market, a general company history, its main competitors, and financial information (if the company is public).

To find these databases, link to the Business Page of the library's website.  The suggested electronic resources for company research are:

  • Business and Company Resource Center
  • Business Source Premier
  • Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database Premier
  • Mergent Online
  • ReferenceUSA Employers
  • Standard & Poor's Net Advantage

Check out the Company Research link under Online Resources above on this page for websites with company information.

Other sources for finding best companies to work for are:

 



 



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