Last month, the clients of our halfway house program were visited by a few caring human resources professionals involved with the Human Resources Association of Southern Maine (HRASM). They came in without judgment and ready to work.
Women from various Portland area companies, including Unum, Portland Public Library, Maine Eye Center and RM Davis, shared their expertise on everything from resume writing, to job searching, to presenting yourself to a potential employer over the course of three very informative educational sessions.
Clients learned how to address tricky subjects like employment gaps or past convictions due to their addiction. They were taught how to reshape their language when presenting themselves in an interview. They created resumes and worked with each other to assess their strengths, weaknesses and how to identify and break the barriers that were keeping them from getting a job.
In the end, both the clients and the human resources professionals were elated with the results of the workshop. Almost immediately, three clients were able to see positive results from the work they completed in the workshop via job leads and actually obtaining employment. The facilitators of the group loved working with the women and were inspired by their positive energy and eagerness to learn.
We are looking forward to continuing this partnership in the future!
