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What is jobscout?
jobscout is a web and mobile platform designed to get Californians back to
work by teaching job seekers the digital literacy skills necessary to find a job
online.
jobscout answers President Obama’s call for a simple, all‐inclusive website that
“cuts through the maze of confusing training programs” by creating a one‐stop
shop for job seekers.” With jobscout, jobseekers learn both invaluable skills and
how to apply those skills to their job search.
Who is the target audience?
jobscout’s target audience consists of those Californians looking for work with
little or no digital literacy skills. With print career resources becoming scarcer,
Internet access and Internet skills are becoming necessities rather than luxuries
for the average job seeker.
Yet, 1 in 5 Californians lack basic digital literacy skills. jobscout bridges the
digital divide, and is helping to get 2,007,000 unemployed Californians back to
work by teaching them the skills they need to find a job in our information
economy.
Where is JobScout Available?
jobscout is accessible 24/7 through a computer or web‐enabled mobile phone
at www.myjobscout.org. Created in partnership with the California State
Library, jobscout is being piloted in over 130 library branches including those
in the County of Los Angeles Public Library, San Jose Public Library, Santa
Cruz Libraries and Yolo County Library jurisdictions. jobscout will be available
in five additional library jurisdictions at the end of Q2 of 2012. jobscout will be
available statewide by year’s end.
Twenty‐three million Californians use the library’s resources every year,

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including the technology and career resources offered in every branch. The
geographic and socioeconomic diversity of jobscout’s libraries provides ripe
testing grounds for the utility and effectiveness of applying social gaming
methodologies to a digital literacy curriculum.
What will the user experience be like?
jobscout uses game design to create an engaging, user‐friendly environment
where users can learn digital literacy skills through self‐paced interactive
activities. Lessons available on jobscout are consistent with the Basic Digital
Literacy Skills Framework developed and supported through the State of
California.
jobscout awards eye‐catching badges at the end of completed lessons to
motivate users to continue learning on the platform. Characters offer
encouragement and helpful hints, however, users who prefer not to be
distracted can elect to have a character free experience. After completing the
jobscout curriculum, users can apply the skills they learn directly on the site
using jobscout’s resume builder, job search tool and social network.
What are JobScout’s Goals?
• Help users access online resources for job searching;
• Help users interact with each other during the process;
• Help users fill out online job applications;
• Help users find a job; and
• Help users develop skills that will be useful throughout their careers.
What is the End Game?
Users are equipped with a toolkit to move forward in the job market, and most
importantly, the information economy.
What is the Larger Vision for JobScout?
jobscout is the first application launched under TRAIL. TRAIL is being
developed as a national model to actively engage communities in acquiring
digital literacy life skills. Digital literacy is the foundation of digital citizenship.
Whether you are trying to learn basic literacy skills like reading or writing, how
to use social media, find a job, read the news or simply perform a search query,
success is dependent upon acquiring digital literacy skills. TRAIL aspires to
increase the digital literacy rate through do‐it‐yourself digital navigational tools
that allow users to learn on their own terms.