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Being unemployed is a terrible situation. Just ask Dennis Wilson. In March of 2002 he was laid off from full-time environmental management work at Tetra Tech. With 30 years of experience and younger people entering the workforce, he began to wonder if regaining employment would be possible. But a glance at a local newspaper changed his perspective.
Although Wilson's resume contains 30 years of experience in proposals, marketing and purchasing, he says getting back into the workforce was tough. Younger people are a main target of employers in Wilson's eyes. He saw being over 50 as a major obstacle to getting work. But after seeing an ad for Pittsburgh/Allegheny County CareerLink, Wilson decided to check it out.
On his first visit to the CareerLink community center located in the Career Development Center in Squirrel Hill, he was paired up with a career counselor and participated in workshops and individual sessions regarding his job search. Wilson says the CareerLink experience is interactive and executed by highly skilled professionals who build confidence in job seekers.
"Unemployment is a nasty business. But sharing your feelings with other people is a great way of dealing with it. At CareerLink, you can talk to people who know what you're going through and are genuinely concerned," he says.
After a grueling 14 months of job searching, Wilson finally found employment. He says the time he spent looking for work was made easier by his association with CareerLink. He maintains the counselors and workshops lead to professional and personal development necessary for riding out a difficult time.
"Being unemployed is like an endurance test. Every day you feel like you want to just give up, but you can't. The people at CareerLink make it easier because they expose you to so much information and opportunities that aren't available anywhere else," he says.
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