I had been laid-off and went to Worksource on Rainier Ave in Seattle to get a second opinion on my resume and see if they had any job leads. Some background on me that is relevent: I have an MBA, years of management experience, and worked as a career advisor years ago. I met with a very nice woman who had been working there one month as an employment consultant of some kind, but by the end of the meeting a was simply appalled with her incompetence. During the course of the meeting:
-She mentioned she had a social services background, but admitted she didn't feel qualified to do the job she was currently working in. She attributed her being hired to "hitting it off" with the manager during her interview.
-When I asked her a simple question about the requirements for worker re-training, she had to go and ask someone else, and returned with a pamphlet which she read while I sat there waiting for my answer.
-I asked if they had any direct or "hot job" listings from employers that weren't on their website. She searched their website and found a job so I assumed she was going to refer me to the employer, but instead she explained that she just needed to enter the job ID number into the computer so they could get credit to continue to recieve funding from the state. She wouldn't even print out the job posting for me.
-She suggested I call a company I wanted to work for and see if I could spend a day in their facility observing. I said "do you mean I should call up Boeing and see if I can hang-around their factor floor?" She replied that they probably wouldn't let me do that but it was an excuse to contact them.
-She mentioned that she had heard that World Market was hiring and that someone she had counseled had just got a job in the produce department. I reminded her that I had an MBA and years of operations management experience. She replied that I had a customer service background (which I don't) and World Market would value that, and I could explain to them that I wanted to start at the bottom and work my way up.
From my experience working as a career advisor, I know this kind of job isn't that difficult and you can really make an impact on your clients' careers. However, these kinds of centers are maintained at taxpayers' expense, and are not proven to create any jobs other than those of the staff. The fact that this very nice, but completely incompetent woman was hired is an indication of ineffective or indefferent management. I would encourage everyone to write to the governor's office or media and request that they are audited more carefully.
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