About Rethinking Job Search

Rethinking Job Search (Rethinking) was funded by a Workforce Innovation Fund grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The program operated from January 2015 to September 2018 in 10 Oregon counties and was led by Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP). It required statewide collaboration between the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system, Employment Services, and the participating local workforce boards. The program sought to boost job seekers’ confidence in their ability to quickly be reemployed by offering an intensive educational workshop that used cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT) to enhance motivation and self-efficacy in job-search activities. The target population consisted of registered Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) participants aged 18 and older who were receiving UI benefits and lived in one of the counties served. The goals of Rethinking were to improve participants’ employment rates, reduce their time receiving UI benefits, and reduce service provision costs.