Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions Review (Houston, Dallas: headhunter, find a job, cost)

[AuthenticAuthor]

I've been hard at work trying to find a new job for the past year with no luck, and I figured out (for myself at least) that the Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions centers are BEYOND USELESS. I've tried their service before, which is little different from any other job-board website like careerbuilder and Monster.com, which pretty much means you're doing all the work yourself for leads that were not worth the effort! Some of these "leads" don't even give their contact information, much less allow you to apply for them yourself. The website is worse than usajobs.gov, and I eventually decided to call them to delete my account. Surprisingly, that took a while to do as their offices are constantly busy.

Does anyone feel the same way about this? Any thoughts from employers? I'm very curious to see what the public's perspective on it is.

[XChucoresident]

IT is widely known that ELP s___ks when it comes to jobs....that is why when there were 10 of us CEntral ELP teenagers that went to either Austin, Loretto, or Burges..we knew that we inevitably had to leave ELP in order to work!..and I do not think that things have changed that much..I applied for jobs there recently and no one replied ..so that is why I am still in Dallas!

[AlfredB1979]

That is the way it goes with all the Worksource offices and listings.

Same thing here in Houston.

Find a listing with no contact info? You either call the office and hope you get help or march on down to your nearest office and go from there. That is probably the employer trying to do some weeding out, though.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by AuthenticAuthor

I've been hard at work trying to find a new job for the past year with no luck, and I figured out (for myself at least) that the Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions centers are BEYOND USELESS. I've tried their service before, which is little different from any other job-board website like careerbuilder and Monster.com, which pretty much means you're doing all the work yourself for leads that were not worth the effort! Some of these "leads" don't even give their contact information, much less allow you to apply for them yourself. The website is worse than usajobs.gov, and I eventually decided to call them to delete my account. Surprisingly, that took a while to do as their offices are constantly busy.

Does anyone feel the same way about this? Any thoughts from employers? I'm very curious to see what the public's perspective on it is.

Is it in a particular line of work? I've been seeing quite a few help wanted signs lately. Unless it's a certain field only that you're interested in, I would go apply where I saw a Help Wanted sign.

[Smooth from ELP]

Originally Posted by XChucoresident

IT is widely known that ELP s___ks when it comes to jobs....that is why when there were 10 of us CEntral ELP teenagers that went to either Austin, Loretto, or Burges..we knew that we inevitably had to leave ELP in order to work!..and I do not think that things have changed that much..I applied for jobs there recently and no one replied ..so that is why I am still in Dallas!

yep

[fakeguy]

I think jobs in El Paso are usually given to someone with a "connection" at the place. You have to know someone to have a better chance.

[Smooth from ELP]

Originally Posted by fakeguy

I think jobs in El Paso are usually given to someone with a "connection" at the place. You have to know someone to have a better chance.

yep again!!

[AuthenticAuthor]

Originally Posted by malamute

Is it in a particular line of work? I've been seeing quite a few help wanted signs lately. Unless it's a certain field only that you're interested in, I would go apply where I saw a Help Wanted sign.

Just general work, really. Mind you, there really isn't a lot of opened jobs these days in comparison to the whole population of unemployed in El Paso. Still, you'd think their website would be more complete, or at least comparatively beneficial to all the other job websites that are available. It's not like they have every job listing anyway; I still end up faxing, mailing, calling or applying directly for positions through the employer's website through other sources. Plus, they were of little help to me whenever I entered their offices in person; they just wanted me to register into the system and do all the work myself. I'm starting to think that they're no better than any other staffing agency (here in El Paso at least).

What really irks me is not that their service sucks, but that this is a billion-dollar organization funded by the state of Texas. Is it really worth the cost to have Workforce Solutions up and running? They had a call-job event fairly recently, and the El Paso times reported that they "successfully" gave around a few hundred leads to around a thousand callers. Chances are, they repeated certain job leads across the whole spectrum of callers (leave it to the El Paso times to not inquire about basic statistics).

[Ozzman]

You still have not explained what your field of expertise is, AuthenticAuthor?

You never know, us forum readers may be able to find something for you if you are more specific. These days, general work can be anything. You have to understand that you are 1 out of thousands of applicants looking for a general position especially in this day in age. May I recommend that you take your resume to the people at the Rio Grande Workforce Solutions (RGWS) for review so that it could stand out over others, and go to the dress for success meetings as many times as you can. It shows initiative, and may help you keep your benefits longer with less 3 job search check-ups. Use the RGWS as a tool rather than a source for a job.

In all, do not expect RGWS to find a job for you or to even help you ( I learned this very quickly). Do not rely on their website or the internet for anything, they don't care. The internet is only useful when you have to list someone as a job search.. Thats all. Apply EVERYWHERE nomatter where it is or even if you want it or not. When I was laid off last October and applied to the RG Workforce Solutions (unemployment), they never found a single job opening for me, especially in my line of work. YOU need to research what you want to do, who offers that position, and go to that place of employment and hound them for a position. Its hard on the ego, but its the only way to get a job right now. Get in their face, throw them your best resume and experiences, and keep at it until they litterally need to call the police.. J/K, not that extreme, but you get my point.

An extra bit of advice:
If you want, go to Dickason Personal Services on Mesa on the westside and speak with Connie Cassatt. She is a great headhunter that is always looking for new applicants for a job search and it doesn't cost you a dime. It is a free service, and if she finds something for you, you're set. The company pays her to find applicants willing to work. Instead of companies searching and interviewing for themselves, they call her and get someone quick. Give her a pristine copy of your resume and keep at it.

If you are sitting around waiting for help to come, you are wasting your time. Get up and find your job and get out of the rutt our economy has put us in.

[lipbalm]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

You still have not explained what your field of expertise is, AuthenticAuthor?

You never know, us forum readers may be able to find something for you if you are more specific. These days, general work can be anything. You have to understand that you are 1 out of thousands of applicants looking for a general position especially in this day in age. May I recommend that you take your resume to the people at the Rio Grande Workforce Solutions (RGWS) for review so that it could stand out over others, and go to the dress for success meetings as many times as you can. It shows initiative, and may help you keep your benefits longer with less 3 job search check-ups. Use the RGWS as a tool rather than a source for a job.

In all, do not expect RGWS to find a job for you or to even help you ( I learned this very quickly). Do not rely on their website or the internet for anything, they don't care. The internet is only useful when you have to list someone as a job search.. Thats all. Apply EVERYWHERE nomatter where it is or even if you want it or not. When I was laid off last October and applied to the RG Workforce Solutions (unemployment), they never found a single job opening for me, especially in my line of work. YOU need to research what you want to do, who offers that position, and go to that place of employment and hound them for a position. Its hard on the ego, but its the only way to get a job right now. Get in their face, throw them your best resume and experiences, and keep at it until they litterally need to call the police.. J/K, not that extreme, but you get my point.

An extra bit of advice:
If you want, go to Dickason Personal Services on Mesa on the westside and speak with Connie Cassatt. She is a great headhunter that is always looking for new applicants for a job search and it doesn't cost you a dime. It is a free service, and if she finds something for you, you're set. The company pays her to find applicants willing to work. Instead of companies searching and interviewing for themselves, they call her and get someone quick. Give her a pristine copy of your resume and keep at it.

If you are sitting around waiting for help to come, you are wasting your time. Get up and find your job and get out of the rutt our economy has put us in.

I am glad to be gainfully employed during this downturn, but it brings back bad memories from 2001 after september 11. I graduated in december of 01 and did not find a job until april of 2002. And the only reason I found that job was through some networking connections.