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ESL for Employment
ESL FOR EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUCCESS STORIES
The following ESL for Employment program success stories are real stories from recent program participants who used this program to achieve their career goals.
Get promoted with your current employer:
One Spring 2009 student in the Vienna Presbyterian Church class started the program as a $9/hour as shipping & receiving clerk, and completed the ESL for Employment course in the Spring. NOVA’s career counselor secured her an interview at Marriott, and she was offered a front desk job at $13/hour. When she turned in her notice at her previous employer, the employer countered with $15/hour and offered her a schedule that better accommodated her family obligations as a mother. The student said that she “would never have completed all these steps” in her success story without NOVA’s help in the class and beyond.
Start a new professional career:
Another Spring 2009 student who completed the Annandale ESL for Employment class was an unemployed recent refugee from Iraq. She had applied numerous times for banking jobs previously, but couldn’t pass the initial online screening assessments. NOVA’s career counselor joined her to assist in completing the online assessment with Wachovia Bank, and she passed. NOVA’s counselor also assisted her in preparing for her panel interview. She was offered a teller position paying $12.50 per hour, and began her first job in her newly-adopted country in September.
Launch your college education:
A Reston student in the Fall 2009 class used her experience in the ESL for Employment program to zone in on her true career passion: Accounting. Thanks to the improvement on her language skills, she placed into a higher level of English and started the Spring Semester at NOVA pursuing her Associates Degree in Accounting. She looks forward to having her credits from her foreign degree evaluated for transfer credit at NOVA. Later she will continue her studies at George Mason University.
Find your “dream job” after a layoff:
One Falls Church student entered the ESL for Employment program in Fall of 2009 after he was laid off from his job in Financial Management. Although he had previously worked in the US, he found he did not have the confidence needed to interview in today’s competitive workplace. Through the ESL for Employment program he was able to develop a resume which showcased his qualifications, while learning interview skills that gave him confidence when meeting potential employers. By the end of the course, this participant was able to choose between three job offers! He selected his ‘dream job’, working with the Embassy of Spain, where he now earning $40 per hour.
Start your career in the US:
One student from McLean joined the ESL for Employment program in Fall 2009 after working for a few years in the US as an Au Pair. Unemployed with no resume and a desire to change fields, she was ill-prepared to enter the recession-hit workforce. After completing ESL for Employment, she has successfully secured employment as a Guest Services Representative at the Embassy Suites and has been encouraged by her employer to go back to school to fulfill her new-found interest in Health Information Management at NOVA.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about how NOVA’s ESL for Employment program can help you achieve your career goals, please call us at 703-764-7779, or email us eslemployment@nvcc.edu.
Register and pay online.