Tanesha Leath is finally working her dream job as a teller at Carolinas Telco Federal Credit Union, but her pathway to success wasn’t easy. The mom of two worked at McAlister’s Deli for nearly nine years before she was introduced to the Rise 2 Work program by Central Piedmont Community College, where she was taking courses to obtain her associate’s degree.
“I was going to CPCC at the time to take my associates, I was failing a little bit and I needed a better job,” Tanesha said.
Rise 2 Work is a grant-funded partnership between Central Piedmont, the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, and the North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services that connects low-income residents with the education and training opportunities they need to secure a better-paying job or family-sustaining career. Through this program, Tanesha was introduced to Goodwill.
Through Goodwill University, Goodwill’s job training division, Tanesha took the Customer Service Experience course and learned about customer dynamics and how to interact with customers from a new perspective.
“I was already working at McAlister’s Deli for eight to nine years, so I knew a lot, but taking the class taught me so much more as far as being a customer and how to handle situations. I learned how to de-escalate situations and I learned how to listen to customers,” she explained.
In addition to courses, Goodwill participants also receive wraparound services. They have access to family stabilizing services and are assigned a Career Navigator and Employee Engagement representative, which Tanesha believes changed the trajectory of her career.
“I didn’t know after the class that the career navigator would reach out to me because I thought it was just a class that we take, we get a certificate and we’re done,” she said. “When I met with Antonia “Toni” Voliton and Valerie Matthews, I would tell them what I was looking for and Toni sent me some modules on how to interview and then helped me with my resume. I think those were two big things that I was missing when looking for other jobs.”
Tanesha always felt like she was qualified for banking positions but was missing the tools needed to land the job. With Toni and Valerie’s patience, persistence and guidance she landed her dream job at the credit union.
“Through LinkedIn I filled out an application for the credit union, I sent in a resume that I had been working on, and when they called me for an interview, I used everything that I had learned from Toni. I was able to go to my interview and use what I learned, and I got hired the same day.”
Tanesha began her job as a bank teller and has loved it ever since. Training courses, like the one Tanesha took, are available free of charge thanks to donations and purchases made by shoppers at Charlotte-area Goodwill retail locations.
Tanesha has taken a hiatus from school but plans to return in the fall. She said, “it was a risk that I had to take, and it put me in a better position.”
You can find your path to success with Goodwill, too. To learn more about training courses offered through Goodwill University, click here.
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