Program Spotlight: JFS Employment Services

Whether an individual is unemployed or looking for a career change, our Employment Services department can help! We offer a variety of workshops, trainings, and support groups to help job seekers re-enter the workforce or find new opportunities. Zarifa S., one of our refugee clients, shared her experience with our team.

Dear Lilia,

Thank you so much for selecting me for the program to provide my insights regarding the work and study life in America.

First of all, I am thankful for all the services we received from Jewish Family Service since we arrived in the USA, from providing housing to assistance to our enrollment in English courses and job seeking initiatives. 

Ms. Lilia Anderson first helped my husband Ahmad S. with his college enrollment, requesting the tax documents which the college needed for him. Also, she attended an interview Ahmad had with school in order to help him prepare for his interview.

Ms. Anderson has been helpful to us in monthly follow up with our education and work progress, until she asked if I was looking for a job, after my English language improved. I continued my English courses until I was good enough to somehow talk and solve my problems.

Ms. Anderson invited me to her office and helped me in filling out the Jewish Family Service working form, and we exchange views on my ability and interest in my working field that was childcare. We made a resume for me, and she introduced me to her coworker Ms. Mimi Hoffman.

Since then, Mimi worked with me applying for childcare positions close to my home so I can commute there by bus. She helped me tirelessly and kindly a lot in preparing me with interview questions and answers by calling me to her office sometimes. As I did not have a car and driving license, she helped me by taking me to interviews with her car and back home; that’s so admirable. She has been too kind to me that she was always asking me to bring to her notice any problem I had with any Interview information or transportation problem there. When I had a chance to interview in a childcare center, she participated in interview with me and provided an interpreter and made my interview successful, and I got the job. I am really thankful for her and appreciate her all endeavors in helping me find the job I wanted.

After Ms. Lilia got informed that I had a problem with my kids' summer school, she invited us to have a tour of a best private school in Denver, so I could enroll my kids there so I can go to work, which was a huge assistance for me at that time when my own office accepted my child for summer school.

I got my driver’s license and since then I enrolled in early childcare education college at Community College of Denver through my work, and currently I passed my 1st semester successfully and am waiting to start my second semester in fall 2025. I am committed to study the full two years of my college in early childhood program.

I have been working in Crib to Crayons childcare for one year now, my supervisor is happy with my work and raised my salary this month with a discussion about an opportunity to work in pre-K classes. After a short lay off from my current office, Mimi was ready to kindly help me again with applying for jobs, and she participated in my inteviews - that’s a lot work, and I appreciate her. But I joined my office again after one and half months. Thank you, Mimi.

I am truly thankful to Lilia and Mimi for their true, kind and tireless work and initiation regarding my education and job finding journey, and I thank Jewish Family Service for having such human assets who are really in the benefits of new immigrants coming to USA regarding continuing their education and finding their job in the field of their interest.

Best Regards,

Zarifa S.

Learn more about our employment services for job seekers today.