Low-income individuals can face multiple challenges in their ability to seek employment. Barriers to employment often include limited access to digital literacy resources, training, interview preparation and resume feedback. Prior work has largely focused on targeted social service or healthcare applications that address needs individually, with little emphasis on conversational AI-driven systems that integrate multiple localized digital resources to provide comprehensive support. This work presents HeyFriend Helper, a web-based platform designed to support low-income residents in Chicago through an interactive conversational assistant that provides personalized support and guidance. HeyFriend Helper integrates multiple tools, including resume building and feedback, interview practice, mindfulness and well-being resources, employment trend and career outcome information, language learning support, and location-based access to community services. This work represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between social work, computer science, and engineering that addresses the multifaceted needs of low-income individuals. The findings demonstrate the importance of career-readiness tools and conversational user interface (CUIs) in providing holistic support.

翻译：低收入个体在求职过程中可能面临多重挑战。就业障碍通常包括数字素养资源获取受限、培训机会不足、面试准备欠缺以及简历反馈缺失。以往研究主要聚焦于针对单一需求的目标化社会服务或医疗保健应用，鲜少关注整合多种本地化数字资源以提供全面支持的对话式人工智能驱动系统。本研究提出"嘿，朋友帮手"这一基于网页的平台，旨在通过交互式对话助手为芝加哥低收入居民提供个性化支持与指导。该平台整合了多项工具，包括简历构建与反馈、面试练习、正念与健康资源、就业趋势与职业成果信息、语言学习支持，以及基于位置的社区服务获取功能。本研究体现了社会工作、计算机科学和工程学领域的跨学科协作，致力于应对低收入个体多层面的需求。研究结果证明了职业准备工具与对话式用户界面在提供整体性支持中的重要性。