DEPARTMENT Business Solutions Finding a Career-Development ‘Gold Mine’

WHEN MOVING to Palm Beach County uprooted all the professional connections Adria DePasquale had accrued in a 30-year professional career up north, she decided to build a new network.

DePasquale left a good job to move here with her daughter for the highly rated schools and to be closer to family. But the transition was overwhelming. She had the skills and experience for almost any position, having worked in finance, education, as a corporate trainer with Dale Carnegie Training, as a human resources director, even as a health and life coach. But without connections, DePasquale felt lost in her job hunt.

While working as a volunteer coach with Second Chance Initiative, she took a disabled participant to CareerSource Palm Beach County to receive career training. That opened DePasquale’s eyes to the organization—and the opportunities it presented.

Soon, she was attending CareerSource programs on her own. She enrolled in the Professional Placement Network, or PPN, a no-cost workshop that helped her revamp her resume, identify transferable job skills, hone her interview strategies and salary negotiations, even shoot a new LinkedIn profile photograph. It was “transformational,” she recalled.

“Everyone I’ve interacted with has guided me in finding my way as a new Florida resident, and the skills I learned helped me land many job offers,” she said. “They helped me reinvent myself. I went from fearful to hopeful.”

Within a week, DePasquale was fielding job offers. The one she accepted—a position which resonated with her and took advantage of her coaching background and entrepreneurial style— is as an admissions administrator in the College of Business Administration Executive Education Department at Florida Atlantic University.

“They liked that I’ve been an entrepreneur and have the diversity I can put to use working with students,” said DePasquale, who credits CareerSource for much of her newfound success. “CareerSource helped build my confidence and pursue my passions. I wasn’t looking for them, but ended up finding a gold mine.”

Central Career Center 3400 Belvedere Road

West Palm Beach, FL 33406

561.340.1060

CareerSource Palm Beach County’s full-service centers are staffed with career coaches and consultants who are dedicated to serving first-time, experienced and professional job seekers. The services include career consulting, computers for job searches, internet access to our statewide jobs database Employ Florida, job search and placement services, workshops, training opportunities, work assessments and more. To learn more, go to careersourcepbc.com.

Connecting business with talent | www.careersourcepbc.com

CareerSource Palm Beach County, Inc. is the direct service provider for various workforce programs supported by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and other agencies as part of awards totaling $15,851,406 (revised annually). Unless otherwise stipulated, all statements, news releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations and other applicable documents are fully funded from federal sources. (As of July 2, 2022)