Finding her way back to Pennsylvania Women Work

​Ten years ago, Ebony L. Dendy, a Veteran and single mom of a three-year-old son, moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to her family. Shortly after, Ebony was laid off.
 
“I was really scared. I had never been laid off before. I was in a really bad place. I felt worthless,” she remembered.
 
Ebony was introduced to Pennsylvania Women Work and participated in the organization’s in-person, ten-session New Choices program in 2010. “At first I didn’t want to go, but I am so glad I did,” Ebony explained.
 
After participating in both New Choices and Customer Service, Ebony received assistance to go back to school. She attended Point Park University where she completed her Masters in Business. This set her life on a fast track to success for the next ten years. She was recognized for her achievements as a Pennsylvania Women Work Woman of Courage at our Circle of Hope Awards Dinner in 2017.
 
For the last several years, Ebony worked as a contracted technical project manager and business analyst. While she enjoys her work, Ebony wanted to move into a full-time position to move her career forward and have more stability. She began her search at the beginning of 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. She had been on several second round interviews but had not yet landed a job offer.
 
“For me, that was a big red flag. I needed to fix something. After the pandemic began, I took it as a reset all the way around. I was determined to dig deep and see where my gaps were,” Ebony said.
 
Ebony saw Pennsylvania Women Work was now offering New Choices virtually, so she decided to sign up to see if the organization might be able to help her on her path to success once again.
 
“Even the second time through, I learned so much. My LinkedIn wasn’t updated; I learned how important that was. They helped me with my resume and showed me I was leaving out some key points. I should be highlighting the fact that I’m an ARMY Veteran, and I wasn’t doing that before,” Ebony explained.
 
And taking both Pennsylvania Women Work’s in-person and online version of New Choices, Ebony is able to offer a perspective on the effectiveness of each method. “I always sang the program’s praises then and I still would do so now. This class has built up confidence and it has also made me more aware of myself. I was in the first virtual class, and if the instructor hadn’t said it, I would have thought they had been doing it all along,” Ebony said.
 
Now, Ebony has a revised resume and a new sense of confidence going back into her job search. She’s learned new strategies for applying for jobs in a digital age, such as updating her LinkedIn, applying and interviewing for jobs virtually, and using key words to search for available positions.
 
She is moving forward with Pennsylvania Women Work’s 3 Cups of Coffee program. She’s excited to get started with her virtual mentor and see where her job search takes her next.  

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