Once you may work, you can look for a job in New York at no cost: City career centers help with résumés and interviews, libraries offer coaching, and some organizations teach a trade for free.
Most programs ask for proof that you may work, usually an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Without an EAD, some things are still open to you, such as library coaching and English classes. You never have to pay for help finding a job.
Start here
- Workforce1 centers (City job centers) are free for anyone 18 or older who may work in the United States. Find the nearest one at nyc.gov/employment/programs/workforce1.
- An employment agency in New York City may not charge you until it has placed you in a job.
- While you wait for your EAD, study English and prepare your résumé: both are free.
A résumé is a short document about your experience and education for an employer. The tips come from CareerOneStop, a U.S. Department of Labor website.
Show at the top that you meet the requirements
Your first priority is to show you meet the job's minimum qualifications. A reader typically scans a résumé for 15–20 seconds, so put the most important things at the top and use words from the job posting.
Keep it to 1–2 pages
Keep the layout clean and simple, with white space between blocks. The usual order: contact details, a short summary or skills list if needed, then education and work history (education goes higher if the job requires it or you just finished school).
List work history starting with your latest job
List jobs from your current or latest backwards, including what is relevant from the past 10–15 years. If you have had many jobs or gaps, start with your three or four main skills.
Use simple words and only true information
Avoid jargon unless the job needs it, write naturally, and include only true facts. If you use an artificial intelligence program, read and correct the result: it can exaggerate your experience.
Ask someone to review it
Have someone check the grammar, punctuation and how well the résumé fits the job posting. Advisers at Workforce1 and at New York Public Library Career Services will do this for free.
You can walk in even if you do not yet know what job you want.
Workforce1 centers by borough (addresses from the NYC Department of Small Business Services list)
| General career centers | Industry-focused centers | |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center, 9 Bond Street, 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; East New York Workforce1 Career Center, 2617 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11207; Coney Island Workforce1 Career Center (operating virtually), Brooklyn, NY 11224 | Brooklyn Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th Street, Building B Lobby, Brooklyn, NY 11220 |
| Manhattan | Upper Manhattan Workforce1 Career Center, 215 West 125th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10027; Washington Heights Workforce1 Career Center, 516 West 181st Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10033 | Healthcare Workforce1 Career Center, 14 Wall Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10005 |
| Queens | Queens Workforce1 Career Center, 168-25 Jamaica Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11432; Flushing Workforce1 Career Center, 41-17 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355; Far Rockaway Workforce1 Career Center, 57-17 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Arverne, NY 11692 | Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, 168-46 91 Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11432; Long Island City Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, 47-10 Austell Place, Long Island City, NY 11101 |
| Bronx | Bronx Workforce1 Career Center, 400 East Fordham Road, 8th Floor (entrance on Webster Avenue), Bronx, NY 10458; Hunts Point, 1029 East 163rd Street, 3rd Floor, Bronx, NY 10459; West Farms, 901 East Tremont Avenue, 2nd Floor, Bronx, NY 10460 | Bronx Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, 14 Bruckner Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Bronx, NY 10454 |
| Staten Island | Staten Island Workforce1 Career Center, 120 Stuyvesant Place, 3rd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10301 | Staten Island Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, 120 Stuyvesant Place, 3rd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10301 |
Workforce1
With a work permit (EAD)Granted asylumGreen cardNYC residentsFree
Free City career centers from the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS). They help with résumés and cover letters, prepare you for interviews, offer counseling and connect you to employers and free training. 18 centers across the five boroughs, with services online and by phone; in the Bronx these are the Bronx, Hunts Point and West Farms centers. For anyone 18 or older authorized to work in the United States. Services in 25 languages besides English, with a phone interpreter if yours is not available.
Workforce1 Individual Training Grants
With a work permit (EAD)Granted asylumGreen cardNYC residentsFree
The City pays tuition, exam fees and books for short courses (under a year) in in-demand fields. You need to register with Workforce1, have a high school diploma or GED (a high school equivalency diploma for adults), and, if you are working, earn under $91,000 a year. Selection is competitive and approval is not guaranteed.
New York Public Library, Career Services
Any statusFree
Free help with résumés, cover letters and job applications, plus career coaching, online or in person. 30-minute drop-in sessions with no appointment: at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in Manhattan or the Bronx Library Center.
Each program has its own conditions.
Free training programs
| Field | Who is accepted | What you get | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per Scholas | IT: IT support, cybersecurity, cloud computing, software engineering, Salesforce | 18 or older, high school diploma or GED, proof of U.S. work authorization, ability to read, write and speak English, income under the program's guidelines, living in the area a campus serves | No-cost training, and Per Scholas pays for the certification exams |
| Emma's Torch | Restaurant kitchen work (culinary) | Refugees, asylum seekers, asylees and trafficking survivors who arrived in the past five years, authorized to work, speaking English, earning under $10,000 a year or facing serious barriers to work | You are paid minimum wage while you learn |
| Selfhelp Community Services | Home health aide (HHA) | — | A free 75-hour course, and graduates are offered jobs at Selfhelp |
| Hot Bread Kitchen | Kitchen and bakery work, and programs for small food businesses | — | Free training, with an application on the website |
| NPower | IT | — | Free training programs in Brooklyn and Harlem |
Per Scholas
With a work permit (EAD)Granted asylumGreen cardFree
A nonprofit with free accelerated courses for adults in IT support, cybersecurity, cloud computing, software engineering and Salesforce. No experience or degree required. Classes are live with an instructor, attendance is strict, mostly Monday to Friday 9 am to 4 pm. Requirements: 18 or older, a high school diploma or GED, proof of U.S. work authorization, English, income under the program's guidelines. Whether you can study while on unemployment benefits depends on the campus and course.
Emma's Torch
Asylum applicantsWith a work permit (EAD)Granted asylumFree
Culinary training in Brooklyn and Manhattan that pays you minimum wage while you learn. For refugees, asylum seekers, asylees and trafficking survivors who arrived in the past five years, are authorized to work, can communicate in English and earn under $10,000 a year or face serious barriers to work. Start with a required information session.
Selfhelp Community Services, home health aide course
Any statusFree
A free 75-hour home health aide (HHA) course taught in Russian, English or Spanish. Graduates are offered jobs with Selfhelp. Sign up through the form on the website. The minimum wage for home care aides is $19.65 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County ($18.65 elsewhere in the State), and from January 1, 2027, $20.00 ($19.00 elsewhere).
Hot Bread Kitchen
Free
Free training for kitchen jobs and programs for people starting their own food business.
NPower
Free
Free IT career training in Brooklyn and Harlem.
SUNY Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC)
NYC residents
A State University of New York (SUNY) college for adults that serves New York State residents with low or moderate income: English as a Second Language (ESL), GED preparation and other programs. Apply for free on the website.
Cell-Ed
Free
Free English and basic-skills lessons on your phone: in the app, on the website or in WhatsApp.
Food Protection online course
Low cost
To work in a kitchen or café you need a food safety certificate. The online course is free, but the final exam costs $24.60, fees included.
An agency finds you a job with an employer. That is normal, but you do not pay until you have the job.
Licensed employment agencies
NYC residentsFree
An employment agency in New York City must be licensed by the City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). It cannot charge you before it places you, and cannot charge for classes, photos or résumé review. Check a license online at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/check-license.page and complain online at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page (the form also comes in Russian), without giving your name or status. DCWP publishes the Job Hunter's Bill of Rights in English and Spanish. Outside the city, the New York State Department of Labor issues licenses.
If a staffing agency hires you
Any status
A staffing agency may count your first day of work as the day you are assigned to your first job or the day you join its pool of candidates. This sets the Form I-9 deadline. If you are asked to pay or hand over your documents, stop: these are signs of a scam.
- Résumé
- A short document about your work experience, education and skills. You send it with a job application.
- Cover letter
- A short letter in which you explain why you are right for the job.
- Workforce1
- The network of free City career centers in New York.
- GED
- An exam that gives adults a document equal to a high school diploma.
- HHA (home health aide)
- A worker who cares for older or ill people in their homes.
- Employment agency
- An organization that charges a fee for placing you in a job with another employer.
- 311
- The City's information service for questions about services and complaints. Reach it online at portal.311.nyc.gov or in the NYC311 app; the phone number is 311: say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sources, checked November 2026
- nyc.gov/employment/programs/workforce1
- nyc.gov/site/sbs/careers/training-grants.page
- nypl.org/education/adults/career-services
- emmastorch.org/apply
- selfhelp.net/home-care-training
- nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/shopping-services-employment-englis…
- uscis.gov/i-9-central/completing-form-i-9/completing-section-2…
- dol.ny.gov/new-american-resources-and-self-service-tools
- perscholas.org/apply
- hotbreadkitchen.org
- npower.org
- sunybeoc.org
- nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/check-license.page
- nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page