I'm Ryan, I competed the Able Network IT career Lab over 4+ months of hard at-home studying and a…read moreconvenient 3-class a week schedule at IT Career Lab, associated with Able Network. Find yourself feeling very negative about your career, or lack of it?..whether a career that you were squeezed out of, or a career that maybe no longer exists or hires, or a career you want to get into from scratch. Life goes on so much better when you enjoy ferocious advocacy and completely pragmatic advisory services there waiting for you from ABLE Network, a group of people who passionately work for a non-profit and have a "no surrender" attitude when it comes to defining what it means to "help" others. There's lots of promises out there. But truly, from my heart, having found myself looking for direction after my own industry disappeared, my life in the space of 5 months now has distinct direction and...I got my dignity back. The staff is comprised of nothing short of the most sincere and "able" advocates available anywhere. The cost is simply your time and your sincere commitment to a program that will secure back your dignity and give you a terrific direction. It's a lot of work, but it's designed to get you in the work force fast. I'm a beneficiary and client who decided to give it my best to explain that if it's available to you, you do it. I got my first paycheck in 2 years last week, and I doubt I need to explain what that feels like. Good luck / study hard - if you take advantage. Don't let anything stop you! Ryan/ IT Career Lab grad / Able Network client

Not very good at all. I used the EPL (Evanston Public Library) location. The application was…read moretedious as it is a federally sponsored agency but was able to take a TABE test instead of presenting transcripts. In the end, you will get a 1-day course in how to write resumes and cover letters, how to build a Linkedin profile and how to do basic interviews. Not too much advanced nor indivisualized instruction from your advising sessions. The advice was very "canned". "Get a Linkedin" (I already had a Linkedin profile for a decade). "Let your soft skills shine". What caused me to no longer use National Able Network was the fact that my new advisor (you will go through many advisors because advisor turnover is extremely high here) discounted my hard skills in a very nonchalant way as though they didn't matter, when, in fact, those are what get you the job. I told my previous advisor to "pay attention" and he yelled at me. The lady rewriting my resume just about sabotaged it and had I listened to the people emphasizing "soft skills", that would have sabotaged my job interviews, too. Each person is unique. Each industry has its own norms, but National Able Network takes a "one size fits all" approach. Not just that - I feel that their instruction is more suitable for people seeking employment in lower - paying and minimum wage types of jobs. Do you want instruction from someone who can't get a real job without real training and a real educational backround? Because that is probably what a National Able Network advisor is. They are in their jobs just to collect paychecks - that is what I felt. They don't really care. My recommendation is to seek career advice elsewhere. It might be good for getting tuition reimbursement for a certification course as one of my aquaintances did for a computer certification course at a university. So, there I was talking over emails and phone calls about my potential 3rd interview with a company, telling him that I needed to give a serious presentation (this is probably plays a major part in their hiring decision). And all he did was give me these canned pieces of advice, "get a Linkedin" (I had already signed up over a decade ago and have almost 2000 connections), "let your soft skills shine" (this was a hard skills based position), instead of listening (those people seem incapable of listening at all) and giving me good pointers on how to give a solid interview presentation. That was probably what tipped the scales and I firmly instructed him not to contact me again. He wanted to meet with him in person. Why ? So, I can listen to his canned BS again in front of him ? Essentially, limited to my own experience, National Able Network reps lack the soft (listening, mindfulness) skills to even handle my simplest needs for job search instruction. I would never hire these people for any small task nor job. They seem to have some kind of hidden agenda to keep people returning for counseling that amounts to little or nothing (quotas, commission ?) and seem to be in a desperate hurry to achieve little or nothing. If they paid just a little attention and were even the least bit conscientious, they might achieve. I am not amused at the lack of insightfulness, resourcefulness and talent of the reps I met at National Able Network. Another thing that really creeped me out was the rep saying things, trying to lure you into wallowing in self - pity. Instead of doing that - they need to be active and serious about finding jobs ! There's no time for sitting on your dead end and moping - job searching is very serious business ! I can't bring myself to associate with people who take away from your focus ! And drift through life with such apathy ! The office culture is really cancerous and negative. The only people such negativity that benefit from that is them - because it keeps you unemployed - think about that one. While I think they have the right general ideals and concept, this program completely lacks quality, commitment and depth I was looking for. They lack seriousness and urgency needed to get good jobs. They need more industry - specific instruction, for sure and if they're going to train people to interview, they need to do it full - measure, having clients dress up in a suit & going through entire full mock interviews - the better "coaches" know this and do this, even videotaping their free clients' mock interviews.