Category: The Goodwill Blog

If you’re job hunting, should you spend time conducting informational interviews and possibly doing some job shadowing? Will that generate an income any quicker? Will you end up with a more satisfying job? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. Applying for jobs and going through staffing agencies might be the quickest fixes, since at least you know the jobs exist. When informational interviewing and job shadowing you don’t know whether or when a job will actually become available.

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Every fall, like many New Englanders, my family and I make a day trip to Salem, Massachusetts. With its haunting history and one-of-a-kind characters roaming the streets (hey, Laurie Cabot!), Salem is a place like no other. So when it came time for me to plan a bewitching tablescape for an upcoming Halloween party, I thought about those cobbled streets and crumbling tombstones and channeled that mood into a dining table display.

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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). NDEAM celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents. This year's theme—"America's Workforce: Empowering All" —aligns with Goodwill's defining mission of providing all workers, including those with disabilities, with job placement and training services.

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On Saturday, August 25, Goodwill Olympics & Rainier Region (Tacoma) gave approximately 850 teachers and educators 50,000 free books at four local Goodwill® retail stores in order to address the need for age appropriate books in elementary and middle schools in southwest Washington.

READ MORE from Tacoma Goodwill Holds Successful Teacher Book Giveaway

In a word, yes. Now let’s look at why you should care and what you should do about it.

READ MORE from Should I Care About LinkedIn If I Already Have a Job?

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of my favorite seasonal movie of all time: Hocus Pocus! Once I came to this realization, I was desperate to craft something witchy for my Halloween costume this year. Since anyone who has seen the magical movie knows it’s easy to lose track of a broomstick, I figured I’d do a little DIY breakdown of how the Sanderson sisters could have whipped up a few replacement brooms with the help of their local Goodwill. I mean, since they could conjure a potion of eternal youth and lure in all the children of Salem with just a song, I’m pretty sure they could tackle a simple craft project like this! Here’s how…

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Last year local Goodwill® organizations collectively provided job-training and employment services to more than 235,000 older workers – age 55 and over. As the saying goes, “Age is nothing but a number” and the wealth of knowledge and experience that these individuals bring to an employer is an asset.

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Retired Nurse Pursues a Second Career. Paula Buford was a Qualified Medication Aide for 25 years, working primarily in nursing homes. In 2000, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder resulting in varying degrees of paralysis. She went from working in a nursing home to living in one for seven months, receiving intense physical and speech therapy.

READ MORE from My Story: Paula Buford

This is the second year the U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) grant money to Evansville Goodwill Industries, Inc. (IN). Evansville Goodwill is one of six Goodwill® organizations participating in SCSEP. SCSEP is funded through the Older Americans Act. The program trains low-income seniors who are unemployed.

READ MORE from Participants Thrive in SCSEP at Evansville Goodwill

It’s a big decision for young people. College? Learn a trade? Some other option? Today I’ll explore a few pros and cons for each option.

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To set the mood for Halloween in your home, one of the easiest things you can do is to update your front door decor with a spooky little facelift. Since it’s the first thing you see when you arrive home, a display on your doorstep instantly creates whatever tone you want for the season. And, it’s easy to have a lot of fun with doorway decoration because, in such a small space, a little bit can go a long way. Today I want to share the spooky secrets that added spirit to my stoop with a DIY customized door mat and a bat frenzy Halloween “wreath.”

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I have found my career after many turns, and I have worked at Goodwill Hamina in Finland for a while now. At first, I studied IT in vocational school, but after graduating, I couldn’t find a job in that field. After that, I was unemployed. I worked on some short-term contracts and continued my studies.

READ MORE from My Story: Miika Montonen