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In her 20 years at MassHire Lowell Career Center, Barbara Avery feels that the organization has never been more customer-friendly than right now. Barbara has witnessed many changes over the years, but she believes the center is now offering the best range of services and is the most welcoming to its customers.
Starting as a receptionist back in 2002, Barbara has had a front-row seat to how the organization interacts with its customers.
“When customers first come to us they are stressed,” said Barbara. “Our job is to get their confidence back and get them job searching or into training.”
In July of this year, Barbara switched positions to become an Office Support Specialist. She is one of eight state employees who work out of MassHire Lowell Career Center.
The new job title fits Barbara’s role as someone who has long been central to the center’s operations. She currently focuses on navigating customers through the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program. The RESEA program is a mandatory program for most job seekers who are collecting unemployment, intending to help customers get started in their job search.
Currently, Barbara is coordinating about 45 new customers in the program each week. This includes scheduling two meetings with staff to review a customer’s job search, assisting in unemployment questions, and collecting paperwork such as a resume, labor market information, and job search logs.
Barbara believes that offering remote services has been a positive step for the career center as customers can now complete the RESEA program by attending online webinars or completing electronic documentation.
Among career center staff, Barbara serves as a resource for almost any customer’s issue. She always has the solution and she seems to know every customer’s name.
Her willingness to take on a new task without complaint is invaluable in the center. But you may want to avoid her cubicle during Halloween, as she does enjoy her macabre holiday decorations.
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