How job help works in AtlantaThis short guide says who to call first and what to expect.Open the guideClose the guide
If you lost your job, file for unemployment the same week at dol.georgia.gov or call 877-709-8185. You are not paid for the weeks before you file.
For help looking for work,Goodwill of North Georgia career centers are free and you can walk in. Staff help with your resume, online applications and practice interviews, and they know who is hiring. See job search help.
For free training, ask a WorkSource office. If you are out of work or earn little, federal money can pay for training in jobs that are hiring, such as truck driving, nursing assistant, welding and computer support. WorkSource Atlanta, 404-546-3000, serves people who live in the city, and each county has its own office. Per Scholas Atlanta and Westside Works also train people at no cost. At Georgia's technical colleges, the HOPE Career Grant pays tuition for many short programs. See job training.
Before you apply, get a state ID and your Social Security card, or start on them now. Almost every employer asks for them when you are hired.
If a boss does not pay you what you earned, report it to the U.S. Department of Labor at 866-487-9243. It is free, and your immigration status does not matter.
Covenant House Georgia helps young people ages 18 to 24 who are homeless or escaping trafficking. It has a crisis shelter, longer-term apartment housing, health care and counseling, school and job help, and street outreach. A young person who needs shelter can call the youth line.
Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency helps people with money struggles get ready for work and find steady jobs. It offers career coaching, job readiness classes, training, job placement, and financial coaching. It serves veterans, people without housing, older workers, young adults, and people coming home from prison.
WorkSource Atlanta is the City of Atlanta's free career center, part of the city's workforce system once known as the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. It helps Atlanta residents find jobs, get career training, and improve work skills, and it also helps local businesses find workers. Services are free and include help for adults, laid-off workers, and young people ages 16-24.
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Atlanta helps people who recently came home from jail or prison find steady work. New members start right away on a paid work crew, get job skills training and coaching, and receive help finding and keeping a permanent job afterward. CEO is growing its program on Atlanta's Westside, in neighborhoods like English Avenue and Vine City.
Westside Works is a job training and career center on Atlanta's Westside. It is an initiative of CareerRise. It offers training in construction, culinary and hospitality, healthcare, and technology, plus career advising, job clubs, and job fairs.
First Step Staffing is a nonprofit staffing agency that helps people who face barriers to work, including people who are homeless, veterans, and people who were in jail or prison. It places people in light-industrial jobs, offers job coaching, and helps with rides to work. It also has a team that helps people who are homeless get disability benefits.
CareerRise is an Atlanta nonprofit that links job seekers, employers, training groups, and funders. It runs Westside Works, a training center on the Westside where people can get career advice and job training. It also offers free online logistics training and a virtual career program for young people ages 16 to 24.
This is the Goodwill of North Georgia career center at 2160 Metropolitan Parkway SW. It sits at the same address as a Goodwill store and donation center. You can look for jobs, use computers, get help with a resume and cover letter, and work with a career coach. Goodwill says its career centers are free and open to the public.
This is the state office that leads Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education for Georgia's public schools. It helps students get ready for college, a job, an apprenticeship, or the military after high school. It offers career pathways, student clubs, college-credit options, and free career-exploration resources.
WorkSource Atlanta is the City of Atlanta's job training and career office. It helps city residents get career counseling, job readiness classes, and federal money for job training. It also points adults 18 and older to free GED prep classes, and it runs a youth program for ages 16 to 24.
Dress for Success Georgia, also called Dress for Success Atlanta, helps women reach economic independence. It offers professional clothing, career counseling and workforce training, and support that continues after a woman finds a job. Clients can also join virtual and in-person classes.
STRIVE Atlanta is the Atlanta site of a national job training group. It offers free job training for adults and young adults, plus career coaching, help finding a job, and support that continues after you are hired. To start, you sign up for an info session.
Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS) helps people with money struggles get ready for work, find a job, and keep it. Its main program, CareerWorks, starts with a three-week boot camp and then gives 12 months of job help and coaching. It also has programs for veterans, young adults, and hiring events with employers.
Connecting Communities and Families helps young adults leaving foster care, people coming home from prison or jail, and families with low to moderate incomes. They offer job training, computer skills classes, job placement help, and support like case management and rides.
Evolution Arts Inc is an Atlanta-area group that teaches technology, money skills and the arts to underserved communities. It runs coding, dance and fitness, and career programs, plus a paid summer tech apprenticeship for Fulton County youth ages 16 to 24. It also holds community events such as dance nights, wellness sessions and a roller skating night.
Southface Institute is an Atlanta nonprofit, started in 1978, that works on energy-saving and healthy buildings. It trains trade workers and builders, offers green building certification and consulting, and runs grants and discounts that help other nonprofits cut energy bills. Many of its services and courses cost money.
S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. Staff look into problems like unpaid minimum wage, missing overtime pay, child labor violations, and family or medical leave issues, at no cost to the worker. Anyone who thinks their employer did not pay them correctly or broke these labor laws can call or visit to start a complaint.
Integrity Transformations CDC helps people on Atlanta's Westside find jobs and build better lives. It runs job training and placement programs, offers The BRIDGE for people returning home from jail or prison, and helps residents with housing and homeownership through financial education.
LifeChangers, Inc. is a nonprofit that helps men and women who have been in the justice system and people returning home. It offers free job workshops, a free one-year mentorship program, a resource directory, and a place to complete court-ordered community service. Its workshops teach job searching, applications, resumes, and interviews.
ARC Workforce Solutions is part of the Atlanta Regional Commission. It runs WorkSource Atlanta Regional, which helps people in seven metro Atlanta counties find jobs and get career training. It also helps employers hire and train workers and offers a program for young people ages 16 to 24.
