Encouragement, motivation lead to new career

When a manufacturer consolidated its offices late in 2009, jobs were eliminated. Myroslava was among those to have her position in accounts receivable cut.

“At first I couldn’t stop crying,” she said. “Every day I heard stories on the radio about people losing their job.”

Other job counseling services kept losing Myroslava’s e-mails and didn’t respond to her calls, but Kathryn Johnson, IOCP’s employment specialist, was very organized and reliable.

“She met with me every two weeks and kept me motivated,” said Myroslava. “Kathryn helped me with my resume, encouraged me to look every day and send out a certain number of applications, and connected me to job fairs. Every Monday I went to the computer lab where she and volunteers helped me look for job opportunities.”

Myroslava’s hard work paid off. In March she landed a position with the Intermediate District #287 Conference Center. “It allows me to use my technical skills in billing but offers more variety,” she explained, so she isn’t working exclusively on the computer. “I’m interacting more with people and connecting kids who are behind with the resources they need to succeed.”