What is Job Club?
Empowering Job Seekers Through Community and Support
By Rena Larkin, Certified Empowerment and Motivational Professional, Employment & Training Consultant
Could you use the support and motivation from others who share the same employment goals, challenges, frustrations, and/or ideas for a career change?
Through weekly meetings with an experienced group facilitator, the Job Club at Frederick County Workforce Services provides a supportive, confidential environment for job seekers to share challenges and learn from the experiences of others.
Job Club is a unique opportunity to stay motivated, focused, and better prepared for the workforce. Job Club is designed to offer professional job readiness assistance within a supportive group setting; studies show that more job seekers find work when they are part of committed action-oriented support networks.
How it works:
1) Introductions
Welcome
Ground Rules
The most common complaint from groups is that one or more needy members dominate the discussion. All participate; no one dominates, or you will be politely interrupted.
One person talks at a time.
Keep inside the room what has been shared.
Respect differences.
Be willing to experiment and get out of your comfort zone.
Follow through.
Be willing to listen to kindly blunt feedback…remembering it’s just one person’s opinion.
Give as much as you get: share tips, job leads, websites, connections, and most of all encouragement.
Attend regularly; you will get out of it what you put into it. Your seat is saved for you.
2) Check-in
How did your week go?
What challenges are you facing now?
Self-care
Staying positive
3) A variety of discussion topics for the week submitted by facilitator
4) Check-out
Your action steps for this week.
Self-care: good sleep, daily exercise/walk, good food
Identifying companies that need workers like you, and creatively contacting them through your network
Improv elevator speeches – be curious about others
Time with friends/family that is refreshing
Joy list, i.e. reading, uplifting movie, serving others, singing, dance class, learning something new.
If you’re ready to move forward with encouragement, accountability, and practical support, Job Club could be the boost your job search needs.