The Power of Job Clubs and Job Ministries

This week I shared this with my two LinkedIn Groups (Job Search Career Network and the JibberJobber Career Management Group):

When I go back to the church where I went to my weekly job club (aka career ministry), ten years ago, my knees still get weak. I get nervous about sharing my 30 second pitch, and “networking.” You see, I’m an introvert, and walking into a room full of job seekers is not my idea of a “good time.”

But this job club was perhaps one of the most important things I had done as a job seeker. I went from doing this job search thing alone, in my house, to talking to others and really figuring out what I could do better, and as important, realizing that I wasn’t alone in this seemingly horrible journey. I got support and training, and I’ve been an advocate of job clubs ever since.

Humbling myself, going regularly, and even participating, defined the pivotal point in my job search. Even though I chose to start JibberJobber, instead of pursue a job, the time I spent with others, serving and getting served, brought me out of my depression and hopelessness.

My question to you is this: what job clubs are in your area that you go to, or would recommend? Let’s get a list of these resources, participate where we can, and encourage others to go. Leave a comment or email me and let me know about job clubs local to you.

Here’s a blog post I wrote about this back in 2008:https://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/2008/07/09/get-value-out-of-job-ministries-even-when-you-arent-religous/ Check out the comments, which as usual, are more valuable than the post.

In those posts, the groups people talked about include:

• Sacrament, CA: Bayside’s Career Coaching
• D.C. area: McLean Bible Church (I’ve spoken there multiple times)
• San Diego area: NC3 Career Transitions
• Madison, AL: St. Joseph the Worker Job Networking Club
• Hoffman Estates, IL: St. Hubert Catholic Church

What are job clubs or ministries that you recommend, or know about?