Friday, October 11, 2013

Jobs Matter: Hard work, determination, and faith equals immediate turnaround

By Employment Services Job Coach Constance Taylor
 
Hard work, determination, and faith have paid off for Katrina, one of our newest residents. 
 
It has been less than a month since Katrina moved to our community with her thirteen year old daughter.  She didn’t have a job or a place to live, but she was determined to put her life back together again. 
 
She applied for a position with an area hospital but didn’t believe that she would even get an interview.  So she came faithfully to the employment lab to apply for other jobs.
 
The call that we were waiting for finally came and she had her first interview.  I remember asking her several practice interview questions, but she froze up in fear and couldn’t respond to any of the questions.
 
I suggested that she write down her answers and we would try again the next day.  She left that day discouraged about her inability to respond. 
 
She went back to her apartment and began to focus on the positive outcomes if she got the job.  Her motivation came from seeing that she would have a place of her own to care for her daughter and a second chance to redeem success in life. This job was a chance of a lifetime and she knew she could not allow this opportunity to pass her by.
 
She came back the next morning with a positive attitude and a burst of energy.  I knew she was a perfect candidate for the position because she had  both the skills necessary and the past experience.  After a second interview she was offered the position. She begins her new job next week and her income with benefits is a living wage.  
 
She believes perseverance, the relief she felt in finding interim housing at Community LINC, along with the encouragement that she received from our support staff have been the biggest influence to her success.   
 
Congratulations to Katrina for a job well done!
 

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