“I think if I didn’t get laid off, I probably wouldn’t be in a position that I am now that Goodwill helped me to get,” said Goodwill graduate Adell Williams.
Adell is working as a HRIS Analyst for Hayward Industries, a role she was able to advance to after taking the Data Analytics training program offered through Goodwill University.
After getting laid off from her job as a HR Analyst, Adell came across Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont through an online job search. Her goal: to land an HRIS Analytics position.
“I felt like the skills and the time of year was causing some hardship when it came to interviews,” she explained. “I was confident in my resume, but I felt like I was right in between what most of the companies were looking for.”
In the Data Analytics program, she was able to learn how to inspect, clean, transform and model data to report on important business decisions using tools like Excel, Power BI, Python and SQL.
“People who are accepted into this program are determined, focused and ready for that next step in life,” Adell said.
Immediately after graduation, Adell was offered a contract position. Although, it wasn’t what she was hoping for, she took the opportunity and used it to brush up on her skills.
“The salary was nowhere near what I wanted, but after being laid off for so long, you start to lose some of the knowledge that you have because you haven’t touched it in a while. So that got me back in the game and remembering everything that I was doing and had everything fresh in my brain,” she said.
That also helped her with interviews, which she continued doing while working in the contract position. Just two months into that job, the role she hoped for became a reality.
“I went from no offers prior to Goodwill, to three companies wanting me,” Adell shared. “I was so grateful for that.”
Adell was out of work for eight months, but with the assistance of her Career Navigator, David Washam, she stayed motivated to find her dream job and continued working on herself during the process.
“He was great. He listened. He heard what I wanted, and I was very honest with him about what I knew my weaknesses were,” Adell said when speaking of David.
In addition to learning new skills in the classroom, participants in Goodwill’s training programs are offered wraparound services that include working with a Career Navigator and an Employer Engagement Specialist. Together, they help participants perfect their resume, prepare for interviews and connect with hiring employers – so they can land the job.
“Before the layoff, I was in a great place. I was making decent money, and I got comfortable. But after my layoff, I realized I wasn’t as set as I thought I was, because there was a lot of stuff I didn’t consider in case that happened. I guess I had been with the company for so long, I didn’t expect it to happen,” she said.
Programs like the one Adell took are available to the community absolutely free of charge, thanks to shopping and donating at Goodwill’s 36 retail locations and more than 40 donation sites, in addition to corporate, community and philanthropic donations.
“I was very grateful,” Adell said when speaking on Goodwill’s tuition-free training programs. “The last thing I had was extra money for a class or school, you know? So, my biggest thing was I was grateful that this program existed so that I was able to get in for free, because without that, I don’t think I would have even been noticed.”
Goodwill exists to help people see possibilities, seize opportunities and prosper. Adell was able to do just that, and hopes others take advantage of the tuition-free services offered by the nonprofit.
“A lot of people don’t realize that Goodwill is starting to get huge recognition, especially on LinkedIn,” she said. “People are talking about it, and the types of classes that they offer are making a huge impact to local communities.”
If you would like to help fund Goodwill’s programs and services that we offer to the community free of charge – like the ones that helped Adell on her pathway to prosperity – consider dropping off your gently used donations at one of our locations or making a financial contribution.
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