SHOULD I RETRAIN? SHOULD I BECOME CERTIFIED?

Ed. note: Welcome to the new installment of Gloria Schramm’s “Notes from A One Stop,” a social commentary documenting Gloria’s experiences as a One Stop Career Counselor. You can reach Gloria Schramm by leaving a comment here or emailing 405club@gmail.com.

Those are the questions one asks oneself when one is out of work for a prolonged period of time and has exhausted his or her contacts and been told there aren’t any job openings in the field or area of expertise—or the former job doesn’t exist anymore. Those are the questions when one does not see any advertisements on the major online job search sites. Those are the questions when one has put his or her best foot forward in a stunning resume of achievements and packaged themselves to the nines, to seemingly no avail. One month leads to another and sometimes builds into years of unemployment. It is frustrating. It feels like one is roaming a desert.

What else can I do? Assessing one’s ‘transferable skills’ in common with a parallel or totally different field is now known as ‘reinventing oneself’.

Companies and professions want multi tasked employees today. Combinations of skills are now required that were never seen together in one ad before. Many out of work folks claim employers require formal certifications in areas like project management, business analysis and information technology—in order to be considered for what few positions exist to be filled. It doesn’t matter that you’ve been doing project management for years. If you are laid off, this is the report I am getting, as crazy as it may sound.

That is when job candidates need to consider whether or not they would benefit from adding to or upgrading their skill set with formal training. And that is where the one stop career centers of Workforce NY can assist with government-sponsored, free skills training in many different areas. Log onto www.servicelocator.org and tap in your zip code. You must be a resident of a particular one in order to be considered for funded training.

Using the huge block of time wisely can include retraining because it also shows the employers that you aren’t just sitting around collecting an unemployment check.

The irony is, you may be returning to your old field, after all is said and done. But you will have other skills as backup and augmentation, if necessary. You never know which employer will require what specific skills and where this will take you.

If you decide to retrain and/or obtain training for certification, do know that it is a commitment, and keep in touch with your one stop career counselor who enrolls you in school. Report any new employment for which you are blessed, to him or her as well, in addition to reporting it to NYS Labor Dept. because workforce training funds replenishment depends on it. Government audits must show that people get jobs from taxpayer monies spent. These programs are subject to heavy scrutiny.

Retraining also provides you with the stamina and hope to keep yourself strong and mentally active and in the ring of the incredibly demanding job search arena.