Part 1 of 2
– In many rural communities across Oklahoma, finding a job is not always about whether work exists.
Sometimes the challenge lies in something less visible, the gap between what employers say they need and how job seekers present the skills they already have.
Employers often list qualities like communication, reliability, teamwork and problem- solving in their job postings. Yet many applicants struggle to translate years of experience such as raising families, solving prob- lems at work or managing responsibilities, into the language employers expect to see on a resume or hear in an interview.
That disconnect can make the job search feel frustrating, particularly in smaller communities where opportunities may already be limited.
Enter WorkReady Oklahoma, a program created to help close that gap.
Over the course of five days, participants work through a structured process designed to help them identify their strengths, build confidence and connect those abilities to real job opportunities. But when participants first walk into the classroom, they don’t always know that.
On the first morning of a recent workshop, a group gathered in a room expecting something fairly straightforward.
Most assumed they were there to talk about jobs. Instead, over the next five days, they would find themselves identifying skills they hadn’t considered, sharing stories from their own experiences and building a sense of camaraderie that turned a room of strangers into something closer to a community.
“We thought we were here for jobs,” one participant reflected later.
“What we found was a lot more than that.” What they found instead was a process that challenged them to rethink how they see their own potential.
Job Data: According to workforce reports from Oklahoma labor agencies, rural communities often face a mismatch between available jobs and the skills employers say they need, particularly in fields like healthcare, skilled trades and remote customer service positions.
— WorkReady Workshop
The workshop is part of WorkReady Oklahoma, a workforce development program focused on helping participants move toward self-sustaining wages.
“The goal for WorkReady is to get people into self-sustaining wages so they can make a better income and support their families,” said Amanda Hartmann, a technical assistance specialist with the program.
Hartmann has worked in workforce and economic development for about eight years and helps support WorkReady locations across the state. “I support offices in the background, making sure they have everything they need to be successful and participant- facing,” she said.
When the program first launched, it operated at only a handful of locations.
“We started with about four sites, one in Oklahoma City and three in eastern Oklahoma,” Hartmann said. “In September of 2024, we expanded to a statewide system.”
The growth reflects a need that extends beyond Oklahoma’s larger cities.
In rural communities, where local employers may be limited, WorkReady also connects participants with companies offering remote employment opportunities. As the program expanded into eastern Oklahoma, organizers realized rural communities required a different approach.
Tony York, director of the WorkReady Okmulgee site, said “They didn’t have the same employer base that the city had. That’s when remote jobs really came into play.”
Today, WorkReady operates in more than 20 locations across the state, helping connect job seekers with both local and remote employment opportunities.
But the real work begins inside the classroom.
— Inside the Classroom
When you walk into the workshop on the first morning, you might think the week will begin with job listings or interview tips.
Instead, the first thing you’re asked to do is something simple and surprisingly harder.
You write down three goals. Not necessarily job titles and not necessarily salaries, but three things you hope to gain from the experience.
For some people in the room, the answer comes quickly. For others, it takes a moment. When you’ve spent years simply trying to keep up with responsibilities, work, family, bills etc. pausing long enough to ask what you actually want can feel unfamiliar.
From there, the conversation shifts toward career values and marketable skills.
You begin building what instructors call a master application, a foundation that can later be tailored to specific job openings. Instead of filling out applications again and again from scratch, the idea is to create a clear picture of who you are as a worker and what you bring to the table.
By the end of the first day, something interesting starts to happen in the room and people begin talking to each other. Actually talking. It begins to move beyond the surface to connection. Subtle but noticeable.
Strangers who arrived quietly begin sharing stories about previous jobs, family responsibilities and the paths that led them here.
The week is just beginning, but the tone of the room and the expectation has already changed.
— Day Two: Understanding Your Strengths The second day moves deeper into the process of understanding what makes someone valuable to an employer.
You learn your personality color, a tool used to help people understand how they communicate and how those traits translate into workplace strengths.
Suddenly skills that once seemed ordinary begin to take on new meaning. Maybe you’re the person who naturally organizes chaos. Maybe you’re the one people turn to when problems need solving. Maybe you’re the one who keeps a team moving forward when things get stressful.
Those experiences become the foundation for a resume. All of those experiences translate into workplace skills.
From there, you move into resumes. But instead of simply listing duties from previous jobs, you’re encouraged to think about what those jobs actually say about you. There are practical reminders along the way too.
That voicemail you never set up? This is the time to fix it. Because if an employer sees your resume and wants to reach you, they need a way to leave a message.
— See Part 2 in next Wednesday’s edition of the Okmulgee Times.
