THE TELEPHONE JOB-SEARCH ASSISTANT
First, there was NFB-NEWSLINE®, now America's Jobline. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the largest organization of blind people in the United States, has pioneered in developing the technology to access and search computer files with a standard touch-tone telephone.
How Does America's Jobline Work? For the user (normally someone who is looking for employment), America's Jobline:
- is instantly available on the telephone 24 hours a day to provide all job announcements in a high-quality synthetic speech format instead of printed text
- provides all callers with the ability to search America's Job Bank
- allows job seekers to create and store on the system personal job-search profiles for use in quickly locating vacancies for which they are qualified; and
- allows users the option to retrieve only the new and relevant job listings posted since the last call or retrieve previously saved announcements
With America's Jobline, the user enters a search profile into the system using the standard touch-tone telephone keypad to respond to menu choices. As with the job announcement information, the menu choices are presented in a voice-output format. To try Jobline yourself, call 1-800-414-5748 and use this Ready Reference Guide.
- Persons who do not have or cannot use standard computers, who now have a convenient and easy-to-use alternative to obtain job information; and
- persons who cannot see or cannot read standard video display terminals, who now have audible access.
JOBLINE UPDATE
As of July 1, 2003, Jobline became a state-sponsored service available in those states in which an interested agency or partnership of agencies is underwriting the annual cost while the U.S. Department of Labor pays for résumé transcription and toll-free long distance service. (Previous to July 1, the U.S. Department of Labor funded the two-year nationwide pilot program.)
(States Providing Jobline)
For details on annual costs in a state currently not providing service to America's Jobline, contact Ann-Marie Laney, Director of Strategic initiatives Operations, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Phone (410) 659-9314; Email: alaney@nfb.org.
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For more information, contact: Ann-Marie Laney Director, Strategic Initiatives Operations (410) 659-9314, ext. 2219 email: alaney@nfb.org |
