Career Source

Horrible Experience — Staff very demeaning towards visitors; witnessed staff shouting at man and continuing to escalate even when the visitor apologized and WALKED away. (He was just trying to get his resume printed!) Staff then stood gossiping with the front desk assistant, exclaiming the visitor is «racist» for getting startled by her shouting.
Ignorant and unprofessional.

To me it’s a place where dreams come true.
I used to think that I wouldn’t be able to work do to my disability but they put me in a no-​nonsense program that forced me to find out how to handle it and now I can work productively for 7 hours without any of my symptoms disrupting anything. I know that’s not a full work day but we’re getting there. Come here if you want to become a person employers want.

So you got laid off, and unemployment sent a lovely letter requiring you to show up here. Virtually no one has come here willingly, and the staff know that.
First, general seminar, which will take about two hours. This comprehensive talk explains every single thing the career center does. It’s boring. No one wants to be there. You know it, they know it.
Tip: Don’t complain. You feel like its a waste of time. They don’t make the rules requiring attendance, but they’ll argue back against you if you complain about it, and waste even more time doing it. Teacher-​guy calmly argued back with indifference, because you know he’s heard it all. Teacher-​woman turned Dolores Umbridge and went sugar-​sweet to nearly screaming when told it shouldn’t be a requirement.
But wait, there’s more! You also have to register for an additional course to meet the unemployment requirements. Apparently your benefits won’t get «turned off» if you don’t show, but its put on your record, and if you have to use reapply for benefits later on in life, it will come back to haunt you. Courses range from standard job-​issues, and are 2 – 3 hours each.
But wait, there might be even more! An additional amount of attendees are randomly chosen for a one-​on-​one counsel session to go over your plans. The letter you get tells everyone they are chosen, but its not true — only about a third of the class has to do this. You make a couple tasks for yourself, and when you meet later on (a week or two later) they’ll ask you if you did it. My individual session was maybe fifteen minutes long, with a nice staff member, and while boring, also painless. You need to bring your job-​search log with you.
Job search log — KEEP ONE. If you get randomly selected to provide it to the state (and not just these people) and you can’t provide one, the state will require you to pay back your benefit payments. Don’t risk it.
Last, as a sidenote, the center offers a lot of services. Sort of like a library, with printers, internet-​enabled computers, and seminars/​postings. I’m younger and in a «newer» field, so for me, their offerings aren’t relevant. But I had a «classmate» who lost a job after 20+ years, and was enthusiastic about her time at the seminar. While I first rolled my eyes at her questions, I was later humbled realizing that not having a skill, recognizing that, and taking steps to acquire those skills is a remarkable attitude to have. Like most things, what you put into your time here will reflect what you get out of it.

Having been collecting UI benefits since December ’12 and now being on their extended program, I received a letter from the state forcing me to attend one of their two-​hour orientation sessions in order to keep receiving the payments. After calling the 1 – 800 number in the letter, I picked this location via the automated session and booked the 1:30PM session which took place on a Monday afternoon.
After parking in the Fresh Pond mall and walking down an opening which was in between two stores, dead in the center of that plaza, I took an elevator up to the third floor and waited in line to check in. I had arrived about fifteen minutes early, signed in and joined a group of 17 other people for the session.
The staff there was very friendly, understanding and didn’t judge us. They were eager to help, offer support, advice and guidance and while a lot of the orientation information was a bit redundant and made common sense, they did have an array of other services which I strongly believe could benefit most people. This includes internet-​enabled computers which anyone can use, free of charge, a printer, a fax machine and various classes, networking events, one-​on-​one sessions and various other things designed to help you gain an edge in your job search.
The session dragged a bit as people kept asking questions, but I was out of there in 1 hour and 35 minutes which wasn’t bad at all. I do however hope to never go there again as I look forward to hopefully getting my career back on track soon.
That being said, this center isn’t bad at all, and you might want to consider looking into their services if you’re currently searching for a job or need career advice. Best of all, they have plenty of parking in that busy plaza and it is conveniently accessible since it’s right on the Fresh Pond parkway.

I went there this morning to file for UI benefits. Got there at 8:45 am and got number 28 (days after long weekends are especially busy I’m told). Apparently people were waiting outside before the 8:30 opening time. I got to see the walk-​in counselor at 12:20. She was friendly. Finished at 12:47. Apparently she goes on lunch break after number 32.
The office has a large waiting area that is kept in good order and offers lots of services that people can use to prepare for and find jobs.

I get it you think we are all out of work ingrates… but does that give you the right to be an ass when we first walk in looking for assitance? Because Im sure at one point you were in my shoes… So just remember how easy it is to be back on that line & treat all customers with SOME courtesy…
That being said, I was required to attend a Seminar here to continue my Unemployment check, so lets just say I didnt come because I wanted to, but then found out when I got there it wasnt soo bad & they do offer TONS of things…
The seminar was given by Elgin & he is very easy to listen to & quite Enjoyable, hes got stories for everything & his sense of humor and willingness to just share kept the seminar going… It was mostly Common Sense type info, but if you are in need of serious Job Counselling or Help on how to get started with your Search, Id say give the Center a try & dont let the women at the front desk bully you!