South Metro Career Center

I needed help get back to work after I was laid off due to budget cuts at my old job and I moved to San Diego to start over in October 2013.
I found the Downtown Metro Career Center (DMCC) and my career agent, Zuri Williams, in March 2014. I participated in the job skills workshops and received re-​training support to become a massage therapist.
I earned my certificate and became a California State licensed massage therapist in August 2014 and opened a small practice in September 2014 and also work part-​time for another clinic 2 days a week. My private practice is growing steadily.
Everyone at the Downtown Metro Career Center have been welcoming, respectful and thoughtful. I received critical job market insight to make me more competitive and boost my presentation and personal salesmanship skills.
The workshops are free, simple, direct and effective. Everyone benefits from the free job hunting refresher training. You get better at messaging (in writing and in person) to prospective employers, using time more efficiently and maximizing your job search results.
Get your awesome job!

If you want to succeed in your career, the Metro Region Career Centers will, definitely, get you pointed in the right direction and will equip you for your journey!

During difficult times in this economy, I’ve been struggling trying to keep a good head on my shoulders and needed help with finding a job.
South Metro Career Center helps with providing, work readiness, resume and interview workshops and while on site they have an intelligent staff that assist you through the pitfalls of unemployment.
I find the computer lab most useful, it has internet, phones, faxes, copiers to send your correspondence to potential employers.
They also offer supportive services, such as gas and bus passes for those of us that are getting back into the job market.
I recommend the staff & facility if you are currently seeking, unemployed or just researching your next move on the job market.
So next time your in need of assistance looking for work, Go to the South Metro Career Center and ask for Rachel @ reception then Bea for enrollment and get the aid you need with friendly navigators like Theresa!
Og

I have been working with the Alita, she is wonderful. I have still not been able to find my dream job however, the consistency of her sending out job leads is great, saves me time from having to look on different job boards all day.
The resources there are extremely helpful if you put in the time and energy.
I would recommend taking advantage of all the trainings they have.
If you don’t know how to get started or where to look or you need to build your skills and computer or clean up your resume, I would recommend this place.
This helped me alot

This center is absolutely amazing.
We have worked together a great deal in the past and every experience has been very pleasant. Everyone at this office is respectful, friendly, and knowledgeable.
Inna in particular has been extremely helpful in planning events and helping clients get jobs.
Thank you South Metro Career Center!

The center located in Downtown is absolutely top notch! Every member of the team is incredibly helpful and is amazingly patient.
I was able to attend a few workshops which helped me refocus my efforts on attaining a great career and Zuri Williams was able to assist me in getting into a job training program that is allowing me to achieve my goals.
Everyone in the office is great, but Zuri in particular has bent over backwards to assist me with my goals and to boot she has the most upbeat and positive attitude of just about anyone i’ve ever come in contact with!
Thank you to all the members of the team who have been so amazingly helpful!

Props go out to the staff at the Career Center. I have been in contact with different staff members from several of the San Diego career centers. Each time, they have been helpful. Inna Lomack is AWSEOME!
As an employer, I value the Career Centers, I am able to post jobs online. I can also refer some potential employees to the center to be able to use a computer to complete resumes and apply online.
The Career Center is a great tool for job searches. They host career fairs for the employers to be able to reach out to potential employees.
I also know that the Career Center will help with career counseling, workshops to help you on the job search,
This is sometimes an untapped source to be able to assist a person in their job search.

John was quick to assist me with a scheduling issue I had with a Reemployment appointment and got me through to the EDD as quickly as possible. He was very accommodating and helped explain some of the protocol that is not-​so-​clear on the EDD website. Wish there were more helpful staff around like John to help us through the UI process.

Appointment didn’t start out well but thanks to one of the gentlemen that works behind the front desk, it ended well. He was as interested in what would be permanently on my record as I was.
Thank you, sir, for being the one that stepped up to help me when the the contact person in the group meeting insisted I could leave and she would list me as a «no show» on my record. Having «no show» on my permanent record just didn’t seem right when I did show!

I wish I could give more stars for a place that is supposed to be of help for those in need of looking for a new job or help getting back on their feet. But in good conscience, the way this place is run, I would’ve given it zero stars except that the actual Interviewer for EDD REA (Employment Development Department Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment) at the very end was competent and got me out of my appointment as quickly as possible.
I was sent a letter to go in for an appointment regarding extension of benefits. They are basically checking to make sure you are doing what you’re supposed to before they authorize continued payment of your unemployment benefits.
I walked in a half hour before my appointment time. I stood in line at the receptionist desk at the front and one of the two receptionist ladies closest to the front door asked if anyone was there for the 1:30 p.m. appointment. I raised my hand with a few other people and she directed us to go to the end of the hall and wait there. Nothing about a line. Nothing about a yellow marker. Just that we would see the door at the end of the hall.
We all walked there. There was no line. Just a group of people either sitting in chairs along the back wall/​hallway or standing around next to a security guard standing in front of a pair of closed double doors. I asked a lady if there was a line. She said that nothing had been formed and that we were just standing there to be let in.
Granted this is my first time. I did not notice a faint, worn yellow tape on the ground in the middle of the main hallway. No one was standing at it until about 15 minutes later. A line started to form. I just figured it’s because there was no room at the front where about 15 of the earliest people were waiting.
At about 1:25 p.m., the security guard hiked up his pants and stated that everyone in the «line» move over to the left. He directed the one lady with a child in a stroller who was standing with us at the front of the entrance to the very front of that line. Then he directed the rest of us who’d been there first to the back of this «line».
TIP 1: STAND AT THE YELLOW TAPE ON THE FLOOR
TIP 2: BRING A YOUNG CHILD WITH YOU TO GET TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE
Are you serious? He obviously saw that we were waiting, came super early to be on time and he never directed us to stand in line. Apparently those in the line behind this worn yellow tape have been here before so first timers like myself and the other 15 people got screwed and sent to the back of the line. And then he became obnoxious stating repeatedly to «straighten the line», started walking up and down the line looking at us as if we were beneath him. What a power trip that must have been for him. He made me feel like I was in a convict line or one of those chain gangs you see in old movies.
So now he has the nerve to attempt to crack jokes telling people who were on their phones to start calling their loved ones and telling them that we won’t be out until 5 p.m. I had no clue what this moron was blathering about because the door had a sign posted 1:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. appointment. I decided to just be the bigger person, not get upset and ignore the nincompoop of a security guard.
TIP 3: TO SAVE AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME AT YOUR APPOINTMENT
If you are ever required to go in for this REA meeting, PLEASE read your letter all the way. Fill out your questionnaire at home! It also told me to go online and watch a video and then print out a certificate of completion. Then it suggested I go to another site, look at other career options & print it out (not required but suggested so I did it). I took both printouts with me. It also tells you to sign up and upload a resume onto
— which I highly recommend as the interviewer opens up that site to make sure you did a proper upload of your resume. People who didn’t follow the directions in their letter were required to watch the same 35 minute video and then wait for a computer to attempt to look at other career options. Since I did everything beforehand, I waited at a different area to be interviewed immediately.
Thus, even after getting sent to the back of the entry line, I was still able to get out in an hour and 15 minutes (30 minute wait for arriving early & 45 minutes processing/​interview time).
FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE CAREER CENTER:
Here are a couple of suggestions:
1) Teach your receptionists to clearly state that we need to «stand in line» for our appointment at the end of the hall way at the «yellow taped marker on the floor». Not all of us have been here before.
2) Put a new yellow tape marker on the floor so someone can see it easily
3) Please ask your security guard to get a new attitude. We aren’t second class citizens. We are here trying to do our due diligence to find another job or another career. We aren’t here to be taught a lesson in following inane directions by him.
4) interviewers = GREAT

I normally give one star reviews to places I will never return to. However, I appreciate this place’s cause so I’ll give them a few more stars.
I took a class at UCSD that was taught by Professor Teddy Cruz and the course objective was to create new programs that interlinks the Metro Career Center, UCSD, and Casa Familiar in San Ysidro. What I learned from this class about Metro was that it’s a free career center for those who are unemployed and for people who need to get back on their feet. I also learned that this place was trying to make an effort at servicing the younger generation which is why I decided to give this place a try. Below is a list of what I have learned from visiting the Imperial Avenue branch on my own.
1) It’s very hard to find their website on Google. Click here:
…
2) There is no one-​on-​one time. The only one-​on-​one time you will ever get at the Imperial Avenue center is with the receptionist and she’s unfriendly. Before your trip to this place, they as you to bring in prepared documents. See «The List» here on the right hand side:
… I’m certain that I brought in all the documents on «The List», but the receptionist told me that I was missing two documents. Thankfully, they were just forms that just needed to be sign. In exchange for the documents, I was given a paper membership card in return.
3) I didn’t know what to expect from this place. I thought I would at least talk to someone who will give me a starting point, tell me what I needed to do, etc. The receptionist even gave me a funny look when I asked «What’s next?» She later told me that what people here to do is use the computers in the room behind the receptionist desk. So, I gave that a try and there was nothing special about the computers there. The internet was slower than the internet I had at home and there wasn’t any special job directory that can only be accessed there. I quickly walked out of this place after that.
Conclusion:
In my opinion, I don’t think this place is ideal for people who just graduated from college. This place is good for people who need help from ground zero. If you don’t have internet or a computer, come here. If you don’t have a printer or any money for xeroxing /​prints, come here. If you don’t know how to write a resume or a cover letter or how to present yourself at an interview, come here because they have workshops on how to do so. If you need hand-​outs (also available in Spanish) on how to write a resume, cover letter, thank you notes, and other job-​related stuff, come here. They do run out of them sometimes so ask for a copy from someone.
Tips:
They don’t update their website as frequently as they should so their calendar doesn’t show any events. However, when I was there there was a large sign showcasing workshop and panels they were holding that day. I highly recommend that you call this place and ask any questions you might have before coming here.
Look around this place for things that I might help you. My visit here didn’t help me but I still looked around and I was able to find a hand-​out that listed some career fair dates. *Edit: I went to the career fair that was located at a hotel and it was a horrible experience. Folks, dress up and go to the university ones instead.
You don’t need to dress nicely to come here. Fully clothed is fine.
Check out my review for the University Avenue branch:

Had to come here when I was on UI to satisfy requirements and prove that I was looking for work. I was hoping for some guidance in helping me to refine my resume, improve my interview skills, or assist with finding job leads, but instead it was just a huge assembly line of people taking our information and making us check off lists. It was absolutely no help at all. When I went to the career center, I’d already scheduled an interview with a prospective employer later in the week. I would have loved some feedback from the people who I would think could help. I got the job on my own, but I just don’t get the purpose of the career center if they’re not trying to help the unemployed masses. I’m giving the place 2 stars because they have computers available during the week for job seekers to use. I just wish that one of the 3 people I asked for help had actually been able to provide it.

I’ve been job hunting since I lost my job with SDCS in 2009. I spoke to my Career Advisor about the WIA program, and asked him if the training was for everyone, or just people with no skills.
He told me to re-​register with the Career Center and fill out the WIA application. I did this, and got assigned a new Career Advisor. When I brought up the training possibility, along with the fields that I was interested in, I was told to take numerous workshops, and speak to the workshop instructors about being hired in those fields as an older worker. Then she started emailing me jobs that I wasn’t interested in, (minimum wage or I had already seen them), and said that I was being antagonistic when I told her so.
She also «pawned» me off onto a Case Manager with a new program, (Financial Opportunites Center). So I called and made an appointment to see him. All he did was want me to change my resume (I refused), and refer me to a company that I already work for part-​time.
My new career advisor could have cared less about my being retrained. These Career Advisors are a waste of time, I find more job leads than they do. I’d sure like to have their job of sitting behind a desk all day trying to «help» people with their job search.

I am mentoring a teenager, and she wanted to find a job, so after doing a lot of research, I found this career center, which has a Youth Room.
I had heard that there are people that work in the Youth Room who will help teens write a resume and hook them up with jobs. When I was finally able to take my friend there, we were very lucky to arrive during a formal workshop.
The instructor, Angela, was fantastic. The workshop is 4 Tuesdays, from 3 — 5pm. The first session, which we had missed, helps participants learn about their personality types through a fun game.
The class that we attended was on how to write a resume. Angela was great with the teens and holding their interest, by speaking their language. She taught them how a good resume is the ticket to getting a job and that it’s all a game — they just need to use the right language.
In the 3^rd class, they finish their resumes and learn interviewing skills through role play. The 4^th class is a mock interview. The students must come prepared with a resume, dressed nicely, and go through the interview process. Then they call at a later date to find out if they would have gotten the job. There are also career fairs periodically, and the workshop is designed to get the students prepared for that too.
I was really impressed that these quality services are available to the public for free. (My friend said that she thought the session we attended was fun, but later decided that she wanted to focus on school and hanging out with her friends and not get a job… oh well!)