When Tony Klutz was laid off in July 2011, he thought the odds were against him. He'd been with one company for more than 30 years. "And I have to admit, I was concerned about my age," he said.

He also didn't know where to begin. He holds a bachelor's degree and two masters' degrees. "I have academic skills, but I didn't have job search skills because I never needed them," he said.

He attended the orientation to WorkSource services and soon began participating in workshops. He learned about behavioral interviewing and social networking like LinkedIn, among other valuable tools. He took the WorkKeys tests and earned his National Career Readiness Certificate at the gold level.

He started attending the Career Infusion Job Club, which meets weekly with other job seekers and WorkSource staff to network, brainstorm, develop job leads and share struggles and advice. All of the activities and meetings with staff kept him focused. He had a schedule and places to be so he didn't fall into bad habits, he said.

As time went by, he was worried about being unemployed for too long. "I knew the statistics, and they were getting grim," said Tony. But no one at WorkSource made him feel hopeless. "They made you think this is not impossible."

He had several interviews and went on site visits, and then the right fit came along in April. Tony is now a manager of health and safety at a large company.

"I feel the support I got from WorkSource was well worthwhile," he said. "I just want to say thank you."