From Job Search to Career Growth, the Library Can Help

Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library 

September is Workforce Development Month. This month is designed to recognize the impact of programs that strengthen the workforce and help people like you grow your career. At the Library, we have a strong focus all year on helping job seekers develop skills, overcome barriers, and connect to career professionals. Here are some of the ways you can use the Library to improve your professional skills. 

Employment Job & Resource Fair 

Motivated job seekers can come to the Downtown Main Library on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to explore opportunities in various fields, including skilled trades, administrative and office support, customer service, management, seasonal work, and apprenticeship.  

Organizations and businesses including Amazon, Goodwill, UPS, Talbert House Employment, 513Relief Bus, 4C for Children, UC Health, VA Outreach, Hard Rock Casino, Freestore Foodbank, and Hamilton County Office of Reentry will all be at the event ready to talk with you.   

Career-Related Workshops 

Get on-the-job help from trusted workforce development professionals for free from local expert Dr. Angie Taylor, who has served Greater Cincinnatians with career coaching services for over a decade. 

Register for Dr. Taylor's online Transferable Skills Workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and Oct. 20 at 11 a.m. In this session, Dr. Taylor will explore what employers want to know: How job skills translate into impact. Learn how to identify and communicate transferrable strengths, how to bridge past experience with future opportunities, and strategies to adapt your skillset to new career paths.  

Dr. Taylor will host Discover Your Core Skills & Tell Your Professional Story on Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Oakley Branch Library. Learn how to conduct a core skills analysis; how to create a core skills chart; how to present the chart to employers; and how to communicate your value to employers with confidence and clarity. She will also host an online session on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. 

Other workshops to look forward to in September include:  

• Business Basics: Planning for Your Company Legacy on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Forest Park Branch Library. Register for a presentation on selling small businesses and succession planning.  
• Register for the online event Professional Email Etiquette on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. to refresh your knowledge of email basics, including commonly misspelled words, sentence structure, grammar, and signatures.  
• Also hosted online, Interview Tips on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m., will help prepare you for what to do before, during, and after your interview.  
• The Downtown Main Library hosts Resource Connect every second Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. to get workforce development services and resources in the hands of Library customers. Partners include Easterseals Redwood, CHPL’s Adult Education and Workforce Development, and the Brighton Center.  

Monday Career Essentials  

Every Monday from 10 a.m. to noon, the Downtown Main Library's Adult Programs staff host drop-in hours. Each week of Monday's Career Essentials features a different theme or job skill. No registration is required. Let us help you in your job search and upskilling journey.  

Personal Branding for Career Success 

Leila Kubesch is a storyteller, speaker, and author of Tech No to Tech Pro: A Practical Guide to Digital Visibility Without Losing Your Humanity.  This fall, Leila will bring that experience to CHPL through two free classes aimed at entrepreneurs and job seekers. 

• Visibility: Get Found Before You Apply on Wednesday, Nov. 11 will show job seekers how to build an online presence that does the searching for them. Learn how to turn a quiet LinkedIn profile into a magnet for recruiters, how to use social media to signal your expertise, and how to point everything back to a portfolio that proves what you can do.  
• Dive deeper with Voice: Say it So They Remember You on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The training will teach the part of job searching no one coaches you on: How to communicate with clarity and confidence, and how to use body language that makes people lean in instead of look away. 

Named an Ohio Teacher of the Year and inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame, Leila's journey to professional development started with a simple suggestion to create a LinkedIn profile. Now, she has over 20,000 followers and credits social media with helping build her speaking and photography businesses.  

“I love my Library card,” she said. “I go there to use its resources, and I come back to offer value.” 

Leila hopes to reach people through the Library that may be very different from the audiences she's able to connect with through paid conferences and professional events. 

Find resources and classes to grow your career year round with the Job Seekers webpage.   

Mackenzie Manley is currently reading "Fruit Fly" by Josh Silver.