Amanda: “At the CareerCenter, I am somebody."

When Amanda Wilbur was laid off in October, she arrived to the Bangor CareerCenter feeling lost.

“I had never been laid off before. If I had left a job in the past, it was by choice.”

On her first visit to the CareerCenter, she met with a CareerCenter consultant. And so began a new journey of education, a few more road bumps and a long-lasting mentorship.

Amanda was having a difficult time finding work, so she decided to take this opportunity to finally get her degree.

Her CareerCenter consultant helped her get in touch with a program called the Maine Educational Opportunity Center that gave her the encouragement and confidence to go back to school. She was also able to receive unemployment while attending school through dislocated worker benefits.

Besides the unemployment benefits, Amanda paid for school by herself through student loans. Part way through school, she received the notice that her benefits were going to run out.

“I was upset. I didn’t want to give up. I was almost in tears and I went to see my [CareerCenter consultant], who cheered me up. He is my moral support and someone I think of as family.”

Through determination, and the CareerCenter's support, Amanda was able to gain back the support she needed. And her first semester she received a 3.3 GPA.

Right now, Amanda is attending the University of Maine at Augusta. Once her general education requirements are complete, she hopes to transfer to Husson University.

Amanda finds herself sending her fellow college students to the CareerCenter to get help. She thinks she would like to be a social worker.

“I want to help people. I’ve been talking to my [CareerCenter consultant] about it and he thinks I would be great at it. He encourages me.”

Amanda said her CareerCenter consultant always makes himself available. 

“Always having that person there for you when you need it is great. When times are tough or if I need someone to bounce ideas off of, I can go to him.”

Amanda has the CareerCenter to thank for where she is today.

“I have been doubtful and stressed as a 36-year-old single mom. But the CareerCenter knows me. When I walk in there I am always smiling and they are always helpful no matter what the problem is,” said Amanda. “At the CareerCenter, I am somebody."

Deb: “The CareerCenter helped me know I was not alone”

Deb Dallago was offered a job last week. She is thrilled, and has the CareerCenter to thank.

Deb was on unemployment for seven months, and the whole time the CareerCenter was there for her with amazing staff and resources, she said.

She first met her CareerCenter consultant at a workshop in Saco.

“I was impressed with his honesty, stories and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Deb. “He made our group feel valued and we were not alone.”

Deb said connection with the staff as well as the resources she gained from the CareerCenter was what helped her get a job.

She said at the CareerCenter workshops, staff explained all of the resources and services and spent a lot of time with her sharing ideas and helping to fix her resume.

Deb also attended the Job Fair Workshop, which provided her with a list of the companies so she so she was able to research and make notes ahead of time. At the job fair, with over 80 companies looking to hire, Deb had the confidence to seek out the company she wanted to work for.

“I met with the human resources manager from one of the companies I was extra excited to meet and introduced myself,” said Deb. “And because of that first contact was offered an interview. I accepted a position as an administrative assistant.”

Deb said the most challenging thing she went through during the process of finding a new job was not giving up and settling on just any job.

“I am close to 60 years old and just did not want to settle at this time in my life. I needed to stay positive and remind myself that when one door closes another one opens. I AM a great candidate and plan on staying at the job I accept.

“It took seven months but this position has every single bullet point I had written down for my dream job. It’s really never too late to follow our dreams.”

After being out of work for so long, the CareerCenter gave Deb the confidence and the inspiration to find the job she knew she deserved.

“As great as the staff was, I hope to never need you again.”

Victoria: Retraining after 35 Years as a Medical Assistant

Reflecting on her life, Victoria Henderson says it’s the journey that has mattered.

“It has certainly been a trip getting here, and I am very glad that this is where I landed.”

After 35 years working as a medical assistant, Henderson suddenly found herself without a job in January 2010. Not being able to find a replacement job, she went to the Portland CareerCenter for help.

The staff helped Victoria apply to a re-training program called the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program. She was accepted to a two-year program at Southern Maine Community College for Electrical Engineering Technology

In order to support her success, CSSP helped her with tuition and fees. Victoria said the program also helped her with car maintenance expenses so she could get to classes, fixed her broken computer and paid for her eye exam and reading glasses.

“Without these financial helps, I would not have been able to go to school,” she said.

In 2012, Victoria graduated from the Electrical Engineering Technology program and was named SMCC’s Student of the Year

“This was indeed a great honor, but I have to give much credit for this to the folks at the CareerCenter who provided guidance and encouragement through this time,” she said.

The CareerCenter even helped Victoria continue her electrical engineering technology training at the University of Maine’s Technology Management program the next semester.

“Besides the encouragement and guidance that the CareerCenter has given me, it has been a major factor in my being able to do this training without having to work a full-time job,” she said. “The financial aid gave me the opportunity to devote my energies to my studies.”

Victoria graduated in May and received USM’s Department of Technology Outstanding Student Award for 2014.

She is now looking for a job in her newly trained field by again using the CareerCenter.

“Coming into this new career training, I did not know what I was capable of,” said Victoria.

All she needed was a little help from the CareerCenter to find out who she was and what she could do. And now she has confidence when applying for jobs.

“Now if I have any self-doubt about a job I might like to apply for, I will just need to buck up and remind myself that I have gotten this far, I know a lot more than I did four years ago, and I will certainly know more than a year from now than I do now. The only failure is failing to try.”