Presentation from November 2010 on ways to help unemployed survive unemployment and get a new job! Audience is caregivers in the St Martin's Lutheran Church Stephen Ministry

1. Tools, Techniques and
Resources for Supporting the
Dis-employed as They Move
Back to Employment
Jim Adcock
Vice President, Board of Directors
Launch Pad Job Club
St Martin’s Stephen Ministry, November 16, 2010

2. Who I Am Now
Jim Adcock ”the spam guy”
SharePoint Consultant
Analyst, Architect, Administrator
http://dlairman.wordpress.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimadcock
512-415-9654 Vice-President, Board of Directors
jim@adcock.net Launch pad Job Club
@dlairman http://www.launchpadjobclub.org/

3. The Facts of Life
• We are all going to move from job to job many
times in our careers
• Current market forces mistakenly reward
turnover inside corporations

4. Facts of Life
• Guess what? Being unemployed sucks.
• But, you are required to have a positive
attitude anyway
• Current sociological forces stigmatize
unemployment – blame the victim
• Result: the people who are getting the jobs
that are out there are often already employed

5. Career Management 2.0
• Creativity and innovation will be rewarded
• New tools, new opportunities
• The new realities force us to find and go with
our strengths

6. My Story
• Career Change in 1998
• Laid off 2001
• Joined LPJC for the first time in 2004

7. Lesson One
• How I became “the Spam Guy”

8. The Long Road, 2006-2010
• Nine jobs in four years
• 23 months unemployed – during that same
period!
• Economic downturn
• A lot of personal mistakes
• Depression
• Anxiety

9. How I Pulled Myself Together
• Support from Job Club
• Finding my “Community”
• Listening to the experts
• Helping others
• Using the tools of Career Management 2.0
• Networking

10. Lesson Two
• Use the tools!
– LinkedIn
– Blogs
– Twitter
– Facebook
– Resume on the raw web
– Use but don’t rely on the job boards
– Business Cards
– Elevator pitch!

11. Figure Out What Works
• What *is* your career?
• Identify successes!
• Transferrable skills
• Become the expert!

12. Lesson Three
“What have you been doing since your last job?”
You need a better answer than “I’ve been
looking for a job….”

13. Resources
• There are a LOT of job clubs in Austin
– Launch Pad Job Club
– One at each TWC WorkSource office
– North By Northwest (NxNW)
– Hill Country Bible Church Job Seeker’s Network
– Connect Forward Job Club (@ JCC)

14. Job Club Offshoots
• Wilco Entrepreneurs Network • Executive Networking
• Austin Green Energy • HR4Austin
• Java/Oracle/Software
• Artist’s Alliance
• Job Searchers Support Group
• ATX Design & Media • Legal
• Launch Pad Toastmasters • New Creation Careers Group
• Public Servants Alliance • Nonprofit
• Austin Marketing Syndicate • Number Crunchers
• Project Managers
• Austin Online Marketing Club
• Science and Engineering
• Design Verification • Top Guns
• Security Seekers • The Write Job
• South Austin • SWAT Teams

15. Networking Events
• Austin is full of them
– Professional organizations based on your career
field
– General events
• You could fill up your social calendar

16. Paid Career Counseling
• Several reputable career counselors in Austin
• But with all of the free resources, unless you
are in special circumstances, why pay more?

17. Watch out for Scammers
• You don’t need to pay someone to get you a
job
• You don’t need to give any financial
information (bank accounts, etc)
• Never provide your SSN unless you are on the
employer’s premises and you have been
offered a job after an interview

18. “What have you been doing since your last job?”
Career Management 2.0 – Use the Tools!
Job Clubs
Networking
Paid Career Counseling
Emotional needs and pitfalls