Presbyterian Jobs Group Merges Prayer, Support and Networking

Walking into the comfortable lounge room on the second floor of the parish house behind the Presbyterian Church on East Broad Street on a Tuesday morning, one is welcomed with a friendly hello and invited to sit on one of the couches in the circle. The group starts with a prayer and discussion of a Bible reading before moving into a discussion of other issues.

Issues on the minds of many group members include recommendations on LinkedIn, starting up consulting businesses and how to handle paying the mortgage. The group is not a regular prayer group or Bible study session. It is the church's Searching for Work support group, a weekly meeting of parishioners and non-parishioners who have been laid off and are job hunting.

Rev. Mike Samson, the church's associate pastor for congregational life, said the group started in order to allow mid-career professionals who have been laid off in the current recession a place to gather and support each other, while also utilizing the religious setting to grow during this time. The group is led by Samson and Jim McAdoo, a parishioner and professional recruiter, who seeks to center the group's discussions around various job searching topics.

Many of the group members, who meet every Tuesday morning at 9am, are executives who have been dealing with the various feelings that surround a prolonged job search and have been forced to confront the possibility of accepting a position at a less senior level than they had held. The members also have been forced to deal with the increased competition in the current economy which has also eliminated many of the jobs the group members would apply for.

Tuesday morning's meeting started with Samson reading from Psalm 40, which centers mainly on personal relationships. Following the reading of the psalm, Samson led brief discussion where group members shared their thoughts on the reading and discussed it's relevance to the group's mission.

"Even as we are looking for work, you need relationships," Samson said.

The group went around in the circle discussing their current situation, be it a sale of a house, hearing back from certain jobs or efforts to start up a consulting business. Other members give advice and offer support during the discussion. Jim, a sales professional, talked about his experiences in having a company change their minds on what they were seeking after being enthusiastic. He also discussed his efforts with another group member to develop a green technology sales business.

The group focused it's attention for a while on comparing notes on the long term issues facing unemployment, including renegotiating mortgages and dealing with banks. With many banks trading mortgages, members expressed frustration in trying to even locate who owns their mortgage and who they can talk to. One member said she and her husband may have to make a major life decision just as they are planning to start a family.

"For some of us who have been out for some time you start feeling it financially," she said. "We may have to leave Westfield."

Steven, a food salesman, received support after her shared his story of being in talks with a company about a position since February, only to be told several weeks ago that the job would not be filled until at least January.

"That puts me back at square one," he said. 'The problem with my position is that a lot of jobs won't came back. The issue is to keep your spirits up."

McAdoo has been centering many of the conversations on urging members to start consulting businesses in their fields. He notes that while many companies have been cutting back on full time positions, consulting opportunities have been rising, especially with smaller firms. One group member noted that he has had more success in being a patent consultant with smaller firms than larger ones.

McAdoo also urged the members on how to guide their job searches, be it for full time posts or consulting opportunities. With the job search market putting more emphasis on human resources recruiters, McAdoo encouraged the group to attempt to side step this part if possible.

Editor's Note: This is the first part of a continuing series on the Searching for Work group at the Presbyterian Church in Westfield.