After Jacqueline Edwards gave birth to her baby boy two years ago, she decided to step back from work and become a stay-at-home mom for a while.
A Jacksonville native, Edwards had been working as a title analyst for a mortgage technology company until she lost her job in 2021 during the COVID Pandemic.
So, she joined her husband in a self-owned transportation business – with her husband driving a semi-truck while she handled on-demand deliveries with their cargo-van. In 2022, she became pregnant and decided to take a step back from their business to better ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
Following a three-year hiatus, and with her son old enough to attend pre-school, she was ready to “reenter corporate America” – but was surprised to find what a challenge that would be.
“I was trying to get back into the workforce, but I kept getting declined and kept re-doing my resume,” she said. “People kept telling me ‘oh, your resume’s being screened through AI (Artificial Intelligence) before it’s getting to a hiring person,’ so I was having trouble with that.”
So, on the advice of her mother, she decided to turn to CareerSource NEFL for help – visiting its Gateway Career Center, then the Southside Career Center on Beach Boulevard to check out the Recruitment Wednesday events held every week – where hiring representatives from three-or-more employers talk with job applicants one-on-one.
There, she connected with CareerSource NEFL Employment Security Representative Dana Zamot – which led to Edwards meeting with a hiring representative from VyStar Credit Union, which was taking part in Recruitment Wednesday.
“I told the VyStar rep that I’d been struggling because of the three-year gap on my resume, but she said it looked fine and to go ahead and submit it,” Edwards said. “Then, about three days later they called to set up an interview with me, and afterward I immediately went back to Dana and said I really didn’t know what to do at an interview.”
Zamot scheduled an appointment and provided Edwards with some interview training and coaching prior to the interview – also encouraging her along the way.
“Dana gave me some tips and pointers for the interview and in the end, Dana said ‘you’ve got this…you’re going to be great,” Edwards said. “Then I had my phone interview, and VyStar followed up with an in-person interview…and it all did go great.”
Edwards has received training and is now a VyStar Member Service Specialist.
Edwards advises anyone in her situation to give CareerSource Northeast Florida a try.
“I’d tell them to definitely go for it,” she said. “I felt the people at CareerSource Northeast Florida really cared…they asked ‘how can I help you…what are your career goals’…and they can really help you work the websites to find jobs, and provide help in doing your resume, interviews and everything. Even though I consider myself ‘youngish,’ after three years away I needed help with all those things. I’d definitely recommend them if you are a stay-at-home mom who has been out of the workforce for a while. They made me feel comfortable working my way through all of it. Even if you’re nervous about interviewing, they can help you through it.”