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Free, drop-in career advising help available on Bowen

The library has sorts of resources: books, workshops, the med shed and once a month, it has a career advisor. WorkBC career advisor Janice Zlatarits comes over to Bowen one afternoon a month to offer free drop-in advising in the library’s flex room.
Janice Zlatarits in a WorkBC centre
WorkBC career advisor Janice Zlatarits visits Bowen once a month to offer free, drop-in career advising.

The library has sorts of resources: books, workshops, the med shed and once a month, it has a career advisor. 

WorkBC career advisor Janice Zlatarits comes over to Bowen one afternoon a month to offer free drop-in advising in the library’s flex room. 

Zlatarits, who’s been doing career advising for 25 years, is part of WorkBC’s North Vancouver office, the catchment for which includes the North Shore and Bowen Island. 

Zlatarits does everything from editing resumes and interview prep to discussing interests and strengths to come up with career ideas. 

“It also might be, you should come to our center and take advantage of some of the workshops that we offer and maybe get yourself a case manager who will provide you with support in your job search and that kind of thing,” says Zlatarits. “So pretty much whatever people need in the area of career and job search.”

A couple of other online resources Zlatarits recommends are workbc.ca/ and ywcavan.org/programs/employment-programs-services.

Also, having been in her role for so many years, Zlatarits knows a thing or two about job market trends––high turnover for one thing. “Now everybody talks about the gig economy and you know, people doing jobs here and there,” she says.  

On Bowen, Zlatarits describes the career advising service “highly underutilized” but the library highlights its usefulness. 

“It’s been a real asset to the community, to have a WorkBC career advisor come over monthly,” says Marysia McGilvray who coordinates programs for the library. “We have a unique economy, being an island, and whether locals are looking for answers that will help them find work on or off-island, Janice can help.

“[This service] is very much in line with the Library’s vision of ‘connecting islanders to each other and the world’––in this case, the world of work.”

Zlatarits will be in the Bowen Library flex room from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 12, Mar. 11, Apr. 8, May 13, June 10, July 9, Aug. 12, Sept. 9, Oct. 14 and Nov. 18.