Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Author: Michael Swayze

  • Employment Search Websites

    Note: OnRamp became inactive as of October, 2018. Job search tools for New Jersey job seekers are available at the state’s Career Services webpage.

    The unemployment rate has dropped significantly in the past few years. However, don’t expect cheers from the 1.6 million in the United States who have been jobless for more than six months, or the out-of-work breadwinner in Cape May county where the unemployment rate currently stands at 14.1%.

    One of the most read blog articles on this site is titled, “OnRamp – New Jersey Job Seekers Online Tool” and was posted in 2012. Today’s post is a revisit of current employment search tools and programs available to New Jersey job seekers.

    The New Start Career Network was created in 2015 to help the long-term unemployed. They “provide older (ages 45+), long-term unemployed New Jersey job seekers with access to free, personalized career services, including web-based information resources and in-person and virtual career coaching.” Visit their site. Read their brochure.

    One Stop Career Centers are located in all twenty-one counties in New Jersey. They provide: job search assistance, training and education assistance as well as on-site resource rooms (PCs, telephones, etc.).

    OnRamp is an online service provided by the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development (LWD). You can create an account and receive the following:

    • Simple upload and use of an existing resume and online tools to easily build a new resume;
    • Resume enhancing tools that suggest ways to improve your resume;
    • The ability to search job opportunities collected from over 2,400 sources in one place;
    • Automatic email notices of new jobs matching your skills and experience;
    • Matches to jobs you have the skills for, but may not have considered applying to;
    • You control what information an employer can see and how you are contacted by employers who wish to interview you.

    LWD provides a page with a listing of Job Fairs throughout the state.

    Public libraries provide easy access to employment resources. For example, go visit the Newark Public Library’s job and career resources webpage. Reference librarians are more than happy to help. See the New Jersey Libraries page for your local public library.

  • Lunchtime Activist

    The other day I was reading posts on a MoveOn discussion list. One from Clarissa K. caught my eye. I thought it is worth sharing. She writes:

    “We have created a platform much like Daily Action but it offers more than just phone calls. Lunchtime Activist. Small acts of resistance you can complete on your lunch break! Please share, follow on Twitter, Facebook and sign up for our email alerts!” https://www.facebook.com/lunchtimeactivist.”

    An article on yesterday’s Lunchtime Activist began with this banner: “With Government Ditching Regulations, Support Companies That Invest in Clean Energy”. Everyone can contribute in their small way to resist the current administration in Washington. Checkout Lunchtime Activist.

  • Online Safety Net Tools And Applications

    Technology and the widespread use of the Internet have led to more and more safety net programs being placed online. This website has made a concerted effort over the years to make those applications easier to find. However, knowing where to go for government benefits or to a nonprofit’s office can be a hit or miss operation. This article hopes to highlight a number of public benefit websites, online applications and a few software programs known as pre-screening tools. Links to them can be found on this site’s community resource page or site map under the title of Public Benefits Corner.

    Benefits.gov is the official benefits website of the U.S. government. Introduced in 2002, it offers online access to information provided by seventeen federal agencies. Users can browse information by category, state or federal agency. New Jersey residents can discover information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly known as food stamps), medicaid program, unemployment insurance, Head Start, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), WIC, Weatherization Assistance Program and more.

    Social Security’s Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool, according to their site, “helps you find out if you could get benefits that Social Security administers. Based on your answers to questions, this tool will list benefits for which you might be eligible and tell you more information about how to qualify and apply.” BEST is not an application for benefits. It will screen for the following benefits: Medicare, Social Security Disability, Social Security Retirement, Social Security Survivors, Special Veterans and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

    The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Pre-Screening Eligibility Tool can be used to determine if you may be eligible to receive SNAP benefits. Buttons on the site explain how to use the tool as well as a basic Internet tutorial. The site is maintained by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

    This is the first in a series of articles on New Jersey websites with safety net applications and pre-screening tools. The Public Benefits Corner here has links to eighteen such sites.