The Role of Job Clubs in a Job Search
My good friend Terrence Seamon has written about how job clubs are beneficial as one component of a job search campaign and how there are many different models. Neighbors-helping-Neighbors USA is one type of volunteer peer-led support and networking group that meets weekly to keep our members motivated and to create some accountability for them.
This recording of an interview Terrence gave is a great recap on the various types of clubs.
Many forms of job groups exist: small, local, often church-based groups started by people looking for work, staffed by committed volunteers operating on tiny or zero budgets, Terrence notes. He is an organizational consultant and wrote a book with Janice Lee Juvrud about how to start a job club.
Here are the guidelines they offer to people who want to start one:
Purpose
First things first, right? Why do you want to form yet another job search support group? Don't get us wrong: we are NOT trying to talk you out of it. Rather, we want you to think first, then decide.
Types of Groups
Surveying the many groups that are out there, we have identified several 'types,' and offer the following as a way to think about your purpose.
Networking Groups: The primary focus of such groups is networking, i.e., providing gatherings designed for connecting with other people for the purpose of expanding your network.
Job Leads Groups: The primary focus of such groups is sharing job leads, typically around a specific industry sector such as HR.
Accountability Groups: The primary focus of such groups is mutual support of the members through weekly reporting on progress.
Job Search Skills Groups: The primary focus of such groups is training and reinforcement on the essential skills for conducting an effective job hunt, including writing a resume, writing cover letters, preparing for interviews, building a network, etc.
There has been a study by US Department of Labor on Job Clubs was just released May 2014.
you can see it here :
Link to the full evaluation. The evaluation report is now live and you can download it here:
Formative Evaluation of Job Clubs Operated by Faith- And Community-Based Organizations
and here:
http://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/reports/Job_Clubs_Evaluation-Final_Report-May.pdf
Webinar recording: For those of you who were not able to join the webinar – or those who did join but were not able to hear the full audio, here is a link to the recording:
https://dol.webex.com/dol/ldr.php?RCID=4f5deb1743b27b17968f8164f399c00b
The full recording is about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The portion of the recording on the evaluation report begins at the 12:35 mark and lasts until the 43:20 mark of the recording.
In reality, some groups provide a combination of these functions. For more information, visit neighbors-helping-neighbors.com
