Get Support, Get Hired Faster
Working with a career coach during your job search can help you get a job 20% faster than those who don’t. But what if you don’t have the funds to work one on one with a career coach? We’d still encourage you to seek group support. Either through the lower cost alternative of group coaching sessions led by a professional or through no-cost volunteer-run organizations in your city.
In Austin, Texas, we are blessed to have a number of wonderful volunteer-run resources, my favorite being Launch Pad Job Club. (Of course, I’m a member of the board of this non profit organization so you could say I’m biased, but there are thousands of people have been served by Launch Pad Job Club over the years who think it rocks, too!)
There are other popular secular groups, as well as those sponsored by churches around town and in neighboring communities. The list is long, but I’ll definitely plug Jay’s group! He and his steering committee facilitate the Compass group at Unity Church of the Hills every 1st and 3rd Monday.
Career transition groups often feature guest speakers with expertise on job search and career change. Jay and I continue to accept invitations to speak at many of Austin’s local groups. In fact, upcoming commitments for me include September 13 at the Career Transitions group, which meets at the community room at Central Market, and September 23 at the Covenant Presbyterian Church.
In case you don’t live with us here in the beautiful city of Austin, here are 2 resources you can use to either create or find groups in your community:
- Waggleforce.com – “A nationwide network of local career clubs designed to get America back to work.” Go to this page to get the big picture on what Waggleforce is all about: http://www.waggleforce.com. Get even more info: http://www.waggleforce.info.
- Meetup.com – “Helps groups of people with shared interests plan meetings and form offline clubs in local communities around the world.” Go to this page to see how to find or start your own group: http://www.meetup.com.
Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and co-owner of Great Occupations. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses, personalized coaching sessions, as well as through The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more at www.greatoccupations.com.