Success Stories
Chris was a Chef at a 5-Star Restaurant in Maui; he had access to all the finest liquors and ended up becoming an alcoholic. His life began spiraling out of control: his marriage fell apart and he eventually lost his job. With nowhere to turn, he moved to Florida to be near family. He lived in a halfway house and stumbled upon Connections Job Development with his life in shambles. We were able to meet with him, shine up his resume to showcase his amazing skills, and prepare him for his upcoming interview. He was ecstatic to tell us he was offered his dream job at a local hospital as the main chef.
“This all wouldn’t have happened without you guys helping me with my resume. I went from a halfway house on food stamps to a new home within 2 years. Thank you all.”
Jackie visited our Connections Job Office during the pandemic. She has a Masters Degree, years of job experience/skills, but couldn’t find a job. Upon meeting with our job coaches, she decided to make coming to our office to search for jobs part of her daily routine. Our coaches worked with Jackie to make sure she had a quality resume, a good understanding of cover letter best practices, and even provided her with one-on-one job interview practice. Not long after these services, she signed up for our Getting Ahead class to learn about more ways to improve not only her job prospects, but to improve her life as a whole. Thanks to Jackie’s hard work and dedication, along with the resources provided by OCN Connections, she was ready to find her next career. Within about 7 weeks, Jackie had multiple job offers. She accepted a management position at Sam’s Club, where she works to ensure that members get the best service and value from their shopping experience.
Greg came to us after years of unsuccessful job searching. He had graduated from high school and would have been a promising candidate for most entry-level jobs. Unfortunately, he had a major roadblock in his way: he had no car and no income to save up for one. This severely limited his job prospects and made finding work, much less getting interviews, a seemingly monumental task. Undeterred, he reached out to One Community Now Connections for help with a résumé and advice on places to apply and best practices regarding cover letters. We directed him to a fishing supply warehouse right down the street from where he lived, and in less than 24 hours, Greg had a job less than a quarter mile away from his house.
On March 4th, Tamika came to OCN Connections looking for employment. After recently moving to Florida from Ohio, she was living with her friend who temporarily provided shelter for her and her 10-year-old son but she needed to find work. Tamika had an AA Degree in Paralegal studies and had prior experience in that field. Not knowing much about the area and not having any reliable transportation made it difficult for her to find a good job to provide for herself and her son. We were able to help her with her resume and connect her to some community resources. We also assisted her in her job search, connecting her to local employers. Within less than two months, Tamika was able to get a job at Morton Plant North Bay Hospital on their security team. She is now in her own apartment with her son and the hospital helped her to get a car. She came back into Connections to share how grateful she was for the time we spent with her to empower her with employment resources that lead to her success.