Job seekers can go to the library to use special Sno-Isle computer terminals to help them search for jobs, write resumes and test their career skills.
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD — Minh Dang has been out of a job for seven months. With money getting tight, he recently pulled the plug on his Internet service provider.
But the money-saving measure hasn’t left him high and dry when it comes to searching for a job on-line.
Five times a week, Dang, 36, of Bothell, goes to the Lynnwood Library’s Career Reference Center, where he uses one of its two computer terminals, specially configured to help job-seekers.
There are more of them, unfortunately, recently due to layoffs at Boeing and elsewhere.
"They’re very popular," Lynnwood reference librarian Steve Sandbakken said. "We’re booked a week in advance."
The Lynnwood library, along with the Marysville, Oak Harbor and Snohomish libraries in the Sno-Isle Regional Library System, offer patrons free use of their Career Reference Centers. The centers not only stock traditional reference books related to job-hunting, but the special "career" terminals, said Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle spokeswoman.
"All you have to do is come in and sign up," Sandbakken said, adding the computers are available for two hours at a time.
A year ago, the Lynnwood library was first to install the career computer terminals; since then three Sno-Isle libraries have followed suit, said Judy Sasges, Sno-Isle’s south region manager.
Unlike the library’s other Internet access terminals, patrons cannot only search on-line, but do word processing on the career terminals.
"You can do your resume here and send it as an attachment or print it out," Sandbakken said
The terminals are also equipped with job-assessment software for those seeking a career change. It can help answer questions such as: What kind of work do you enjoy? What kind of skills or education are needed for a particular job? How and where can you acquire those skills?
And job-seekers can inventory their present skills to determine how they would transfer to another profession.
The centers also provide on-line practice exams for positions that require an entrance test or certification, such as firefighter, postal worker, cosmetologist or real-estate agent. The tests for the GED, U.S. citizenship and assessing basic skills are also available.
And the centers have "stacks of books on how to write a resume or cover letter," Sandbakken said.
Librarians are always available to help job-seekers look for job postings, and to dig up information on companies, big and small. A big selling point during any job interview is showing the interviewer you’re knowledgeable about the company, Sandbakken said.
Dang, a former information technology manager, recently had a telephone interview with a Houston employer. While he awaits a second interview, he’s has been able to use the career center to research the cost of housing, food and transportation in the Houston area.
In addition to job-searches, the centers also provide Internet access to a community database for Snohomish and Island counties. There people can find help for the basics — what to tell your mortgage holder if you’ve lost your job and you can’t make this month’s payment; how to locate a local agency that will help with housing, food, utility bill payments; or other social services when you’re unemployed.
It’s one-stop shopping, Sandbakken said.
"We even have books for children — Daddy, Mommy lost their job."
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
STEPHANIE S. CORDLE / The Herald
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