Maxwell had recently been unexpectedly laid off, and with a tough job market for IT roles, he was feeling quite discouraged. Working with his Creative Employment Options Job Developer, Eden, however, he began to see a way forward.
“She was able to really help encourage me and figure out how to proceed, like where do I go from here? Because I felt kind of just blindsided and paralyzed,” he shares.
Maxwell is on the autism spectrum, which makes it difficult for him to deal with unexpected situations — sometimes he finds himself bogged down by thinking about too many details and locks up. He had been working in IT for nearly 10 years.
He appreciated the support he received during the job search from Eden.
“It was a huge, huge support from her, both in terms of just keeping things moving in the job search, encouraging me when I was feeling discouraged, and at times when I was feeling just kind of overwhelmed,” he says. “Because previously, when I’d be trying to tackle that stuff on my own, progress would be a lot slower. It would take me longer to figure things out in my head, but having someone to talk through things with, that support was just a tremendous help.”
His Job Developer also worked with him to find job postings that he’d be a good fit for, including a posting for a role at the same university where he received his undergraduate degree.
“There were definitely times where I kind of felt like, man, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get anything at this rate, and then she actually found the job posting for [the university],” he says. “I was starting to feel like, well, I’ll send in an application, but I’m not going to get my hopes up. But then when I did hear back from them, the interviews all went well, and things started moving there.”
Maxwell landed the job as a Systems Analyst at the university. He’s particularly excited about working at the same school he studied at, and the long-term prospects of working there.
“[The university] did a lot for me, setting me up for professional work, and being able to go and be on the other side of that is really interesting to me,” he shares. “This role is a good fit for me, because my experience in IT is fairly varied. I’ve worn a variety of different hats, and in this particular role, that’s an asset where someone who has experience in a bunch of these different areas is quite useful because it kind of brings them all together.”
Maxwell couldn’t be happier with his experience with Creative Employment Options.
“I honestly see this as probably being the best job that I’ve ever gotten,” he says. “I don’t believe I would have this role if not for Eden’s help. Certainly, going through that last layoff was an extremely difficult situation, and going through it with someone to support me through it and through the job-hunting process that followed, that really took away a lot of the anxiety. Really a big help in that regard to not feel like I was just going through it alone.”
