Hiring workers with a criminal record

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Businesses and employers, Uncategorized, Workers with criminal records
person handing resume to interviewer

If you need to hire workers, there’s a vital, untapped labor pool that you may not be aware of:  justice-involved individuals. Businesses in a wide variety of industries have expanded their traditional hiring to include this group with great results.

Here is what some of them have to say:

“We, as employers, need to be willing to take chances. There’s a great pool of workers out there who want jobs, and if you’re just willing to take a chance, the results can be phenomenal.” Owner, Baltimore Truck Wash

“This employee has been here for a year and a-half, and I think it’s going to be long-term. She does everything! She’s very, very customer-oriented; has great communication skills; if I need her at the last minute, she comes in…”
Owner, Ain’t She Sweet Café

“About 20 percent of our workforce…are employees with criminal records. We have people in some high-level positions—in my Senior Team—people at the Director level, and all throughout our organization. And they do a phenomenal job.” President, Safer Foundation, Chicago, IL

“Don’t look at this as a social program, and don’t look at it as being altruistic. Look at it as a business decision. Johns Hopkins has a long and happy history of hiring ex-offenders.”
Vice President of Human Resources, Johns Hopkins Health Systems

Check out these common questions businesses have about hiring people who have been incarcerated, and find the answers below.

Why should I hire a formerly incarcerated person, and what’s in it for me?
Formerly incarcerated individuals represent an untapped labor pool that can support the growth of your business. Many of these men, women, and youth possess the skills needed to help your business grow and succeed. They are motivated to work, eager to learn, and enthusiastic about becoming productive citizens who can support their families and themselves.

What are the advantages of hiring these individuals?
As with any employee, you can expect dependability, productivity, teamwork, and dedication to your company’s mission. Additionally, because of the government’s belief that they have paid their debt to society and deserve a second chance, the government offers various tax credits to employers who hire them. Your company may be eligible to apply for these tax credits, including the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) Tax Credit, and other credits that may be offered by your state and/or local government.

What skills do these men, women, and youth offer?
Many people with recrods have received vocational training while they were under the supervision and guidance of the Federal, state, or local correctional system. Some have participated in vocational skills training, hands-on work experience training, soft skills instruction, or earned certifications. Vocational training opportunities include:

– Manufacturing and distribution
– Food services
– Upholstery
– Horticulture and grounds maintenance
– Hospitality
– Construction
– Drafting
– Retail and customer service

What type of work experience do they possess?
Prior to incarceration, many individuals may have held positions in retail services, clerical and business administration, customer service, call centers, construction, auto repair, food services, and more.

While incarcerated, these are areas people may have performed jobs in:

· Clothing and textile
· Office furniture
· Data and document conversion
· Electronics and components
· Electronics recycling
· Fleet and training site solution
· Industrial products and storage
· Printing and bindery
· Solar and renewable energy
· Vehicular refurbishing and repair
· Warehousing and distribution

Where do I find these employees?
American Jobs Centers in every state are equipped with a business services division that can help you with your recruitment and staffing needs, at no cost to you.
Some AJCs maintain registries of individuals who have received skills and educational assessments, job readiness training, soft skills training, and vocational skills training and are ready to work.

You can also use the ReEntry Program Finder to locate programs in your area that provide job skill training to people who have a criminal record. Many of them work with local businesses to employ program participants and would welcome your interest in hiring.

What is the WOTC Tax Credit, and how can it help me as an employer?
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced challenges in finding employment.

Participating employers are able to reduce their income tax liability by receiving a tax credit that ranges from $1,200 to $9,600 per eligible employee, depending on the employee hired. Learn more.

What is the Federal Bonding Program? How does it work, and how can I sign up?
The Federal Bonding Program enables employers to “obtain worker skills without taking risk” by providing 6 months of fidelity bond coverage (through Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America). They can be issued as soon as you offer a candidate a job and will be in effect the day that he or she is scheduled to start work. There is no termination paperwork, and you can receive these bonds free-of-charge.

The bond insurance ranges from $5,000-$25,000 coverage for a 6-month period with 100% insurance coverage at no cost to you. There is never any deductible. After 6 months, you can purchas extended coverage from TRAVELERS as long as the worker demonstrated job honesty. There is a 99% success rate when used as a job placement tool for at-risk job seekers. Call toll free: 1.877.US2.JOBS (1.877.872.5627), or vist the Federal Bonding Program to learn more.

What other insurance coverage might be available?
The UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) Bonding Program offers another option to employers who hire formerly incarcerated individuals who:

✓ Have been Federal inmates.
✓ Worked in UNICOR for at least 6 months during incarceration in a Federal correctional institution.
✓ Sought coverage within one year after release.

This program provides theft insurance up to $5,000 to employers who hire ex-offenders. Each employee is entitled to coverage for one job after completing their residence/program at a residential re-entry center.

Employers who hire eligible individuals may apply for the insurance, at no cost to the employers or to the employees. The initial bond, covers the first 6 months of employment and is renewable by the employer at commercial rates. In the event of theft of money or property, this insurance will reimburse the employer up to the bond value. Contact an ITB Federal Bonding Specialist at 202.305.3553 or email BOP-FPI/Inmate_Transition@bop.gov.

Can hiring formerly incarcerated individuals improve the economy?
According to the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, two out of every three men were employed before they were incarcerated, and many were the primary financial contributors in their households. By hiring a formerly incarcerated man, woman, or young person, you are doing your part in improving the economy overall. Because of you, these individuals can support themselves and their families, pay their taxes, and contribute to their community and our nation’s economy.

What’s the connection between employment and individuals returning to the justice system?
“In the ‘what works’ literature of reentry, meaningful employment is consistently demonstrated to be one of the strongest pathways to resistance from crime and successful reentry. Employment allows formerly incarcerated persons to take care of themselves and their families, develop valuable life skills, and strengthen self-esteem and social connectedness.” Indeed, employment has a critical role to play in keeping people out of jail.

How do I know that candidates will stay on the job?
Data indicates that many justice-involved workers appreciate the opportunity to be given a second chance, and because of their backgrounds, they understand the importance of being employed and will be dedicated to your workplace.

Do I have to treat these employees differently from others?
These individuals are not looking for any special or different treatment. They want to be a part of your team and not be isolated or identified as “different.” It is expected that you will provide them with the same rights as any other employee in your company.

I need to fill positions right away. How can I get started?
Look up your closest American Job Center and call or email them about your interest in hiring. AJCs are equipped with a business services division that can help you with your recruitment and staffing needs, at no cost to you.

Learn more at CareerOneStop’s Business Center.

Tagged with: , ,

4 tips to help guard your privacy while job searching

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Job seekers

You probably know that jumping online is a key to jobhunting. Social media sites greatly expand your network. Job banks help you to both focus your efforts and to learn about more job opportunities. And online applications can greatly speed up your job search timeline. 

But you might also know that sharing personal information online can be dangerous; it’s important to keep your personnel information safe from online scammers who can profit by impersonating you.    

So what’s the best way to safely navigate your online job search?  These tips will get you off to a good start.

1. Be selective about online job banks and other services

A good rule of thumb is to use websites and services that are well-known or have been personally recommended to you. There are many reputable online job banks including CareerBuilder, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter (note that CareerOneStop’s Job Finder combines all of these as well as jobs posted on state job banks into one easy search). These sites have privacy guardrails built into them, so you can use them with confidence (but remember to still follow the rest of the privacy tips below!)

If you’re in an active job search you might find yourself getting ads and emails promoting a variety of websites and services.  Many of them may be legitimate, but many may also be scammers looking for your personal information. Be wary of anyone who contacts you asking for your resume or personal information. Check out Tip #2 for a list of red flags.

2. Know the red flags to avoid

These simple rules can help you steer clear of obvious scammers (read more about avoiding job scams at Consumer.gov):

  • You should not have to pay to search through job openings. You should also be able to post your resume for free. However, you may have to register with a user name and password in order to use all the features of a job bank.
  • If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Sometimes, job postings on online job banks are scams. They try to get you to pay up front or perform illegal activities. Beware of job postings that ask you for an “up-front” investment of money. Also be wary of offers that seem too good to be true. For instance, you can’t really earn thousands of dollars for depositing checks from foreign countries. And it may be illegal to ship items from your home. Read more about job scams from Consumer.gov.
  • Never give personal information online, in email, or on the phone. A legitimate company won’t ask you for certain personal details online. Do not provide your social security or national ID number online. Also you should never give a credit card number, bank account information, or similar details.

3. Tighten up your resume

Your resume is your primary job search tool and you want yours to be as complete and accurate as possible.  But you also want to avoid including too much personal information.  For instance, you’ll need to include enough contact information for employers to be able to get in touch with you, but you don’t need to include ALL of your contact information. Experts advise that you include an email address but not necessarily a phone number (you can provide this to employers that you interview or interact with outside of your resume). Experts also recommend that you do not include your home address on your resume—this is key information for scammers who might try to open a credit card in your name. They also recommend that you don’t include your birthday (nor, it goes without saying, your Social Security Number).

4. Review your social media accounts

As part of your job search, you might be updating your social media accounts in case potential employers visit, so this is a great time to give them an overall security check. Of course you want to make sure that your profiles are professional, which can mean deleting less-than-professional posts and photos (learn more about professionalizing your online image for a  job search).

But you also want to make sure you’re not providing scammers with personal data such as your home address, telephone number, or birthdate. The biggest and most common danger is this last one— including your birth date in a public profile. Many social media users set up accounts with their birthdates several years ago without realizing how criminals can do damage once they have your this information and one other bit of personal data (such as your home address). If you have your birthdate in an online profiles, delete it or change it to a fictional date (experts warn that just changing the year isn’t good enough—if a scammer has the month and day of your birthday, they can often guess the year).

Looking for more tips for your job search? 

Visit CareeerOneStop’s Job Search.

Tagged with: ,

Career Profile: Learn about Physician Assistants

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Career changers, career explorers, Students, Teachers, Uncategorized
African American physician assistant measuring a patient's height

If you’ve thought about becoming a Physician Assistant—or PA—you’re in good company. There are currently 139,100 PAs employed in the U.S. and the profession is growing much faster than most occupations. Check out the details below to learn about this exciting, challenging, rewarding career.

When did PAs become an established profession?

According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the PA profession was developed to help address a shortage of primary care physicians in the 1960s. Duke University in North Carolina established the first PA program, basing their curriculum on the fast-track training of doctors during World War II. Their first PA class graduated in 1967.

By the year 2000 all 50 states authorized the PA profession and allowed PAs the authority to prescribe medication, an essential function that formerly only MDs were allowed to do.

What do PAs do?

Physician assistants examine, diagnose, and treat patients. They take medical histories from patients, order and interpret tests like x-rays or blood tests, and make diagnoses of illness or injury. They treat all types of patients in all areas of medicine, prescribe medications, and educate patients and their families about home care. Typically, PAs work on teams with other healthcare workers; state licensure laws require physician assistants to hold an agreement with a supervising physician.

What types of places and conditions do physician assistants work in?

About half of PAs work in doctors’ offices/clinics, about 25% of them work in hospitals, and the rest staff outpatient care centers, schools, and government programs. Many physician assistants work in primary care specialties, such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine.

Most physician assistants work full time. They spend much of their time on their feet, making rounds and visiting patients. The work can be both physically and emotionally demanding. Working nights, weekends, or holidays may be required depending on the work setting. They may also be scheduled for “on call” hours, ready to respond to a work request with little notice.

What skills or personal qualities are needed to succeed as a PA?

The most important skills and qualities in this field are:

  • Communication skills. PAs must communicate effectively with others in their healthcare teams, and be able to explain complex medical issues in a way that patients can understand.
  • Compassion. PAs treat patients who are often in difficult or stressful circumstances, that require understanding and compassion.
  • Detail orientation. PAs must be observant, listen carefully, and focus consistently when evaluating and treating patients.
  • Emotional stability. PAs must remain calm in stressful situations in order to provide quality care.
  • Problem-solving skills. PAs must be diligent when investigating complicated medical issues to determine the best course of treatment for each patient.

How to become a physician assistant

Physician assistants typically need a master’s degree from an accredited educational program. PA programs include both classroom instruction and clinical rotations, and last approximately 27 months. All states require physician assistants to be licensed.

To apply to a PA program, applicants typically need to have a bachelor’s degree, and college coursework that includes these prerequisites:

  • Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • English Composition/Writing
  • Genetics
  • Medical Terminology
  • Psychology (general)
  • Statistics

Many PA programs also require that applicants have 2-3 years of experience with hands-on patient care, from work in fields such as:

  • Medical assistant
  • Emergency medical technician / Paramedic
  • Medic or medical corpsman
  • Lab assistant/phlebotomist
  • Registered nurse
  • Emergency room technician
  • Surgical tech
  • Certified nursing assistant

Salary expectations

In 2021, salaries for PAs ranged from about $78,000 to $165,000. The median salary for PAs was $121,530—this means that half of actively employed PAs earned more than that, and half earned less.

What is the job outlook for PAs?

Employment of physician assistants is projected to grow 28% over the next decade. Much of this increased demand for PAs, and for healthcare in general, can be attributed to a rise in population, and in particular the number of older people and of patients with chronic diseases.

In addition, PAs can be trained more quickly than physicians, and team-based healthcare models will continue to evolve and become more common. States are expanding PAs’ autonomy and the procedures they are allowed to perform, and insurance companies are extending coverage to physician assistant services.

Learn more

Tagged with: ,

Can you describe your skills and abilities?

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Businesses and employers, Career counselors, Job seekers, Students, Uncategorized, Workers with disabilities
careerOneStop logo over skill & ability videos

If you’ve been in the job market recently, you know that skills are increasingly one of the most important job qualifications on employers’ minds. When you understand the nature of your own skills, you’re in a better position to answer key questions such as What can you do for my organization? and What problems can you solve?

CareerOneStop’s newly updated Skill and Ability Videos illustrate some of the skills considered essential to employers hiring for a variety of jobs, particularly soft skills such as interpersonal skills, attentiveness/detail orientation, or critical thinking. The videos include information on what it looks like to perform these skills effectively.

Some of the videos feature abilities—talents that you may have that can be improved with training, but often have an innate—or inborn—aspect. Specific abilities such as endurance, visual ability, or balance and coordination, may be required for some jobs, The videos also highlight different careers that particularly rely on specific abilities.

The videos include basic skills, process skills, and cross-functional skills that support performance of activities that are needed across many different industries and careers.

Understanding your skills and abilities and how you want to use them in your career can help you describe them in your resume and job interviews, steer your career choices, and succeed in your work.

Check out these skill and ability videos:

See the Full list of skill and ability videos.

Want to assess your current skills and learn about careers that match your skill levels? Check out the Skills Matcher.

Tagged with: ,

How to hire and retain older workers

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Older workers

With the national unemployment rate remaining well below 4 percent, the U.S. labor market is tight. If you’re an employer trying to fill positions, you probably already know this. You’ve likely also heard that it’s a great time to reach out to workers aged 55 and older—a historically under-employed group.

The benefits of including older workers in your workforce are many. Older workers carry significant experience and expertise (in many industries, they can be a key to understanding how to reach the rapidly growing customer base of older adults). Older workers often have broad experiences that prepare them to be excellent mentors to younger workers. And many older workers have strong work ethics and fewer commitments to family members than younger workers do.

Best practices for recruiting and retaining older workers

A U.S. government forum on older workers identified some high-level best practices to help employers hire and retain older workers.

  • Use nontraditional recruiting techniques such as partnerships with national organizations that focus on older Americans.
  • Employ flexible work situations and adapt job designs to meet the preferences and physical constraints of older workers.
  • Offer the right mix of benefits and incentives to attract older workers such as tuition assistance, time off for elder care, employee discounts, and pension plans that allow retirees to return to work.
  • Provide employees with financial literacy skills to ensure they have a realistic plan to provide for retirement security.
  • Treat all employees in a fair and consistent manner and employ a consistent performance management system to prevent age discrimination complaints.

Practical resources for hiring and retaining older workers

As the country’s largest organization dedicated to older Americans, AARP offers valuable resources supporting employment for its members. The AARP Employer Resource Center offers tools and information to help employers follow age-inclusive recruitment practices.  Their goal is to guide employers in making sure their hiring practices fight bias and value age diversity. Check out the following articles and tools on the AARP website:

How to Improve Age Diversity in Hiring in Your Organization

This article discusses strategies for expanding diversity initiatives to include age, how employee motivation increases with the presence and guidance of older workers.

4 Ways to Fight Unconscious Bias in AI-Powered Recruiting Platforms

This article discusses the algorithms used in recruiting systems and identifies key strategies can help prevent bias from creeping into the data stream and the algorithms that learn from it.

Worksheet: Career Stage Recruitment

This simple one-page worksheet is designed to help employers if they are overlooking key career stages (including older workers) in their recruitment practices.

Guide to Job Postings: Say This, Not That                                                              

This short two-page guide offers practical advice to help employers avoid making assumptions by hiring managers about age, salary expectations, skills, and qualifications can result in age-biased job postings.

Looking for more resources to help you hire and retain a strong workforce?

Visit CareeOneStop’s Business Center.

Tagged with: , ,

Small business owner or wannabe? Learn about the skills it takes to succeed

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Businesses and employers, self employed, Uncategorized
Femal boutique owner

In support of Small Business Week, this week’s CareerOneStop blog features a model of the skills, knowledge and abilities that contribute to successful entrepreneurship. For people who operate a small business, this model may be useful to help evaluate potential skill gaps and training opportunities you may have. For entrepreneurship training programs, this model may help define the full range of skills to cover in curriculum.

Who developed the model?

In collaboration with the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has worked with education, business, and industry leaders to develop a competency model for entrepreneurship as it relates to all career areas. The model is designed to be adaptable along with changing skill requirements and will be kept updated.

What is a competency model?

The competency models on the Competency Model Clearinghouse are based on a tiered “building block” framework. Each building block describes a competency that is essential for successful performance in the career or industry represented by the model.

These blocks are arranged in tiers of increasing specialization. The bottom or base includes foundational competencies needed by virtually all people who work in that career or industry. This level includes personal qualities, academic skills, and workplace knowledge.

The next tier includes the technical competencies needed for the industry and particular sector. The top tier describes occupation-specific competencies needed for different jobs, including management-level competencies.

What are some key entrepreneurship competencies?

To get an idea of the competencies needed to be a well-rounded entrepreneur, here are some examples from the model at different levels:

  • Personal effectiveness: initiative, ambition, willingness to learn
  • Academic: reading, mathematics, critical thinking
  • Workplace: creative thinking, networking, checking/examining & recording
  • Industry-wide technical: innovation & invention, marketing, risk assessment & management
  • Industry-sector technical: micro-enterprise, social entrepreneurship, small business development

For more in-depth information, each building block is further defined in a downloadable spreadsheet. For example, risk management is further defined in measurable terms:

                Risk Management
Explain types of business risk
Evaluate potential risks
Determine ways that small businesses protect themselves against loss
Determine business’s liabilities
Obtain insurance coverage
Develop safety and security policies and procedures
Establish parameters for staff responsibility/authority

You will also find an Entrepreneurship model downloads page that lists several downloadable worksheets in different formats to help you apply the competency model information for your own purposes:

  • Gap Analysis Worksheet – to inventory your current entrepreneurship competencies
  • Employer Competency Needs Analysis Worksheet – to rate your employees’ entrepreneurship competencies
  • Curriculum Analysis Worksheet – to identify the skills, knowledge, and abilities to include in your entrepreneurship curriculum
  • Credential Identification Worksheet – to identify the knowledge, skills, or abilities to include in a new credential under development, or that are missing from an existing credential

Ready to explore more on your own? Visit the Entrepreneurship Competency Model.

Tagged with: , ,

New on CareerOneStop: How-to Guides

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Career changers, Career counselors, career explorers, Job seekers

CareerOneStop has added three How-to Guides to help website users discover and make the most of the resources available on CareerOneStop websites. Each of the Guides walks users through five to six simple steps to help them achieve one of three goals.

How to find career ideas

Wondering what type of career might be the best fit? This guide includes five steps to help users identify and narrow their options:

  1. Identify your interests and find what careers they relate to
  2. Rate the level of your work skills and see which fields match your skills
  3. Discover your work values and the work environments you would thrive in
  4. Learn important information about your career matches
  5. Narrow down your career list to the best options for you

How to find a job now

For users who are ready to focus on a job search, this guide offers six steps to help job seekers land a job:

  1. Find job postings
  2. Identify local employers
  3. Begin networking
  4. Target your resume
  5. Apply for jobs
  6. Get ready for interviews

How to switch careers

For people ready for a role with new challenges, more pay, or better working conditions, this guide includes six steps to help identify options:

  1. Generate new career ideas
  2. Learn about the job market
  3. Get feedback and choose a career
  4. Explore education and training options
  5. Rebrand your resume
  6. Target your networking
Tagged with: ,

Find yourself in STEM

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Career changers, Career counselors, career explorers, Students, Teachers, Uncategorized
Female mechanics or engineers examining aircraft engine

You may have heard the term “STEM” tossed around—referring to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Or “STEAM”, which adds Arts to the mix. If you’re curious about what STEM is all about, take a look at this sector that offers many in-demand, well-paying, leading-edge, and rewarding careers.

The STEM career cluster is about expanding our concept of the universe and inventing the future. It centers on applying scientific methods, new technologies, and creative problem-solving skills to improve both natural and human-built worlds.

What do people in STEM careers do?

  • STEM workers are employed by diverse industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction, and agriculture.
  • Technologies developed by STEM workers include smartphones and online shopping, climate change research and space exploration, along with life-saving innovations like cancer treatments and Alzheimer’s research.
  • Sample STEM work settings include laboratories where scientists develop pharmaceuticals, biofuels; home offices for IT workers designing websites; and construction jobsites for engineers.
  • Universities and employers are recruiting more women and people of color to choose STEM-related college majors and workplaces.

What are some current trends in the STEM sector?

High overall job growth is expected. STEM careers account for nearly 10 million jobs in the U.S. Job growth of more than 8% is projected over the next decade, adding about 800,000 jobs.

Certain regions and states are seeing especially fast growth. Texas, New York, California, and Washington are seeing dramatic STEM job growth, but STEM jobs are also increasing rapidly in less established locations such as North Dakota, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Computer and technology fields are growing faster than any other fields in STEM.

The value of the arts has gained greater recognition in STEM. STEAM is a related global education movement that incorporates the arts to use the creative process to investigate scientific concepts.

Would a career in STEM be a good fit for me?

Careers in this cluster offer opportunities for inventive, science- and data-loving minds to solve complex problems for a wide variety of products and industries.

  • Wages in this career cluster are typically much higher than the national average for all occupations. Engineering fields offer some of the highest starting salaries of all occupations for new college graduates.
  • Curiosity and creativity are important traits in STEM careers, as workers are on the front lines of scientific discoveries and developing cutting-edge technologies.
  • Workers in math-related careers report particularly high rates of job satisfaction. Mathematicians, statisticians, and actuaries are among the fastest-growing of all STEM jobs.
  • Engineers work in a wide variety of industries all over the world, contributing to high levels of job security.
  • The technology sector employs the largest number of STEM workers, in many fast-growing fields.
  • Math, design, reasoning, and communication are essential skills in this cluster.

What are some careers to consider in STEM?

The list below shows STEM occupations that require different levels of education; the majority require a four-year degree. Click any link to find out more about a career, including typical responsibilities, average wages, employment projections, training requirements and more.

Certificate or Associates degree

Quality control analysts

Bachelor’s degree

Bioengineers and biomedical engineers

Clinical data managers

Industrial engineers

Park naturalists

Range managers

Remote sensing technicians

Graduate degree

Economists

Environmental Restoration Planners

Human factors engineers and ergonomists

Physicists

Statisticians

Urban and regional planners


Want to learn more?

Tagged with: , ,

Employment documents: what you’ll need and where to find them

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Entry-level workers, Job seekers

Need to find some documents for a job application or new job?  Throughout your job search you’ll probably need to access some or all of the documents below.

What you’ll need for applications and resumes

School and employment records. Almost every job application will ask for your job and education history. You can make your life easier by collecting this information in advance and keeping track of it in one spot (try using this Personal Data Worksheet from CareerOneStop, or create your own version to track the details). You can find address and phone information for previous employers using the Business Finder, and you can find the same information about colleges or training programs you’ve attended using the Local Training Finder (for high schools, it’s best to Google the school to find the address and phone number).

Criminal records. You won’t be asked to provide specific information about your criminal record, but if you have a record, it can be helpful to request a copy so you can see what an employer would see. Then you can be sure it’s accurate and that you understand it—and if needed, you can talk with a legal professional or someone from the probation or parole office to get it corrected. Locate your record at the jurisdiction of your conviction: for state level convictions, look for your state corrections agency; for county-level convictions, try county jail offices; for federal convictions, see the Federal Bureau of Prisons. If you do have a criminal record, find more tips and information at Job Search Help for Ex-Offenders.

What you’ll need when you start a job

When you start a new job, you’ll have to prove your identity and show that you’re legally authorized to work in the United States. To do this you must show your employer certain documents from three official lists: List A, List B, and List C.  If you have one document under List A, that’s all you’ll need to prove both your identity and authorization to work. If you don’t have any of the documents on List A, you’ll have to show two documents: one from List B and one from List C. It’s important to note that you’ll need the original documents, not copies.

List A: These documents verify both identity and employment eligibility

  • Unexpired U.S. passport
  • Unexpired foreign passport (with an I-551 stamp)
  • Unexpired employment authorization card
  • Alien registration receipt card or permanent resident card
  • Unexpired employment authorization document containing a photograph (issued by USCIS)
  • Unexpired foreign passport (with form I-94, containing an endorsement of nonimmigrant status)

List B: These documents verify identity

  • Valid U.S. or Canadian driver’s license or ID card that contains a photograph or description of personal characteristics
  • ID card issued by local, state or federal agencies with a photograph on it
  • Voter’s registration card
  • U.S. military card or draft record
  • Military dependent’s ID card
  • U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card
  • A Native American tribal document
  • School ID card with photograph (if you’re under 18)
  • Hospital, clinic or doctor record (if you’re under 18)
  • Daycare or nursery school record (if you’re under 18)

List C: These documents verify employment eligibility

  • Social security card
  • U.S. or birth abroad certificate
  • Native American tribal document
  • U.S. citizen ID card 
  • Resident citizen ID card
  • Unexpired employment authorization document (issued by DHS)

Where to find common employment documents

Birth certificates. Find out where to apply for a copy of your birth certificate using the State Resource Finder. Select the state where you were born, then check the Documents and Vital Records tab for Birth, Marriage and Divorce Records. Contact them to request a copy.

Driver’s license. You can apply for a new driver’s license, or renew an old one through your state’s motor vehicle agency. Visit the State Resource Finder, select your state, and check the Documents and Vital Records tab for the Driver’s License link. Call, email, or go to your nearest motor vehicle department to get a license. 

Social Security cards. Almost all employers will require that you have a Social Security number. To get a Social Security card, you need to show proof of citizenship, proof of your age, and proof of identity. Documents needed vary based on your age and citizenship.

Work permits. If you’re not a citizen of the United States but are qualified to work in the country you should have one of two documents: the Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants or an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

Tagged with:

Earn a certificate after high school

Posted on by CareerOneStop Posted in Parents, Parents, Students, Teachers, Uncategorized, Youth
Graduates tossing caps into the air

There are still a few weeks of summer, but if you are a high school senior or a parent of one, you have probably started to think about what’s going to happen once graduation day has passed. Many students either plan to start work right away or attend four-year college. But another path, certificate programs, may be a good fit for some students.

Certificate programs are a training option that typically takes one year or less and prepares students for a particular career or helps them be more competitive in the job market.  

What are certificate programs?

A certificate is an award earned after completing a short program that is focused on a specific skill needed in a specific industry, rather than a broad course of study as most degree programs are. Certificates do not result in a degree although some college degree programs accept certificate courses as transfer credits.

Certificate programs are offered by community and technical colleges, trade schools, and online schools. The length of certificate programs varies from a few weeks up to nearly two years, though most certificates can be earned in less than a year.

A certificate shows an employer that you have completed training, have developed the knowledge and competencies you will need to do a job, and passed any required tests. One advantage for employers is that certificate program content can be changed more quickly than in many degree programs, so certificate programs are often responsive to changing employer needs.

Some certificate programs that are very short—a few weeks—prepare someone to move into a new job within their current career. For example, a medical assistant might take a medical billing and coding certificate program. Longer certificate programs can prepare a student for a first­—or new—career.

Unlike degree programs, certificate programs typically do not require admission or have specific qualifications, except where they relate to higher-level skill acquisition for experienced professionals in a field.

They are less expensive than college degree programs because they are much shorter. Financial aid may be available for some programs, but it’s important to contact the school directly to find out about costs and aid options.

Find certificate programs

To search for certificate programs in your area, follow these steps with the Local Training Finder:

  • Enter a keyword for the type of job or training you’re looking for.
  • Enter your location to view a list of programs near you.
  • Use the “Program Length” filter on the left side of your results to select “Less than one year” and / or “At least one but less than two years”.
  • In the right column, you will see length of program (some schools offer different lengths of programs for the same subject area), and the number of students who completed the program in the past two years. 

Career possibilities

There are a large number of careers that certificates can help you qualify for; if you have a training institution you want to attend, check their website to explore their programs. Some of the careers that longer certificate programs can prepare a student for include:

  • Web design and web development
  • Nursing assistant
  • Graphic design
  • Accounting
  • Computer programming
  • HVAC-R
  • Legal assistant
  • Massage therapy
  • Sheet metal worker
  • Court reporter

Paying for certificate programs

Many certificate programs are eligible for training assistance through through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), for eligible applicants. To find out if you qualify, visit your closest American Job Center.

To explore a broad range of financial aid options, visit Pay for training.

Tagged with: , , ,