Myrtice Carr shows a job posting to Daryl Russo, a former ACT participant who spoke to the group Monday night. Photo by Michaelle Chapman.
It was 1982 when Mike Coffey lost his job. Unemployment was high that year, and Coffey felt a need for more assistance than he was finding.
He went to Rev. Bob Morgan, who was the senior pastor at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. “I said ‘We need to do something for people who are unemployed or underemployed.’ He said ‘Great idea. Why don’t you?’” Coffey says.
Thus began the Career Assistance Ministry at Vestavia Hills UMC, the first of what now are many programs scattered across the Birmingham metro area. A number of churches, large and small, have programs designed to help job-seekers in their searches.
“We put into action things I knew I needed to do but wasn’t doing,” Coffey says. “The main aspect of that was networking.”
He adds, “What helps individuals work through the process? It is not normally done alone.”
Coffey says the job hunting process has changed considerably since 1982. People who are seeking jobs find themselves spending hour after hour on the computer reviewing job listings on Internet job boards such as indeed.com and monster.com. A number of job boards offer email alerts as well.
But the Internet often is not enough. Coffey says networking is the key to success. “It is who do you know that I don’t know that I need to know,” he says. “Network! Network! Network! And that networking needs to be done in person.”
Coffey says programs that help job-seekers offer important components that most people who go it alone don’t have. The first is mentors. “There is really a need to draw people out who don’t know how to do it…and who need to be in touch with the way things are done,” he says.
The Vestavia Hills program was moved to Riverchase United Methodist Church and the format has changed, Coffey says. Rather than regularly scheduled meetings, the program now consists of Saturday seminars, with participants being assigned mentors.
A seminar on “Breakthrough Ways to Open Doors to Your Next Job” is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 8. For more information, email Coffey at morcoffey@gmail.com.
Mentors also are a major part of the Asbury Career Transition Ministry (ACT) at Asbury United Methodist Church, which meets the first and third Mondays of each month at the church. It began in 2002 when member Lisa Morris wanted to volunteer to help people who were experiencing layoffs.
“The concept was to provide help in multiple directions, such as with resume coaching, counseling, interviewing, prayer support and job openings,” says Myrtice Carr, the mentor coordinator. “The program has changed as we discovered what worked and what did not work.”
Today, new participants attend an orientation meeting designed “as a means of jump-starting ways to network and awakening participants to the need for getting out from the front of their computers.”
Each participant is assigned a mentor. Many mentors are former participants who found jobs and returned to help others, Carr says. Others are retired managers. “All are empathetic with those seeking assistance, as many have been at the same place in their own lives at least once,” she says.
She says ACT sees a steady flow of new participants. “We usually would receive applications of between 10 and 30 per month until the 2008 economic downturn,” she says. “Then we would see between 20 and 30 new people per week.”
Carr says the numbers are not as high now that the economy has improved, but job-seekers still flock to the program. In the 12 years since its founding, ACT has assisted more than 1,000 people.
Tammy McLendon joined ACT in February after losing her job several months ago and has hope the program can help her through the humbling experience of job hunting.
“Searching for a job in 2014 is far different than anything I imagined,” she says “When I became unemployed, I was irrationally sure that I would find a job within two weeks, tops. Someone with my knowledge, skills, degree and certification would have the top picks of the top jobs.”
She describes the experience as “sitting at my computer day after day, searching various websites, completing one online application after another, with no results. Not even a bite. Unbelievable!”
McLendon says the process is more technology-based than she realized. She now knows that computer programs review applicants’ resumes before they are seen by human eyes, searching for key words that fit the job description.
“My frustration began to build as I spent countless hours at the computer day by day working on my resume. I felt so isolated and completely cut off from the outside world. … My daily hectic schedule had suddenly stopped and turned to silence,” she says.
McLendon says she is looking forward to the encouragement and information ACT provides, including resume review and coaching, interviewing tips and networking.
“Attending a meeting helped me understand the challenges, barriers and experiences we all face during the job search process. Most important, I learned to ease up, exercise and get out of the house, away from the computer, and see what’s going on in the world,” she says. “Finding a job isn’t just about what you know; it’s also about connecting with people.”
First Baptist Church of Pelham’s job help program has intake from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and then communicates job leads to people who have registered. “We are trying to be a source of information and encouragement,” says volunteer Ada Pritchett. For more information, email job.fbcpelham@gmail.com.
Shades Mountain Baptist Church serves a Power Lunch at 11:45 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month to provide people from all faiths a chance to meet people from the business community and receive inspiration.
Not all programs are based at churches.
The Birmingham Urban League has two programs for jobseekers. The Urban Youth Empowerment Program serves people 14 to 24 who have had contact with the juvenile justice system, says Shanavia Moore, the agency’s director of workforce development. It offers workforce development, computer instruction, resume assistance and internship opportunities.
The Urban Jobs Initiative is unusual in that it offers members of the public an opportunity to use Urban League’s two computer labs. The labs, located at 1229 Third Ave. North, are open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The program also includes presentations from human resources representatives on “how to make yourself more marketable” and a jobs board, Moore says.
Positive Maturity’s AWARE program offers services to area residents who are 50 and older. “We help people become job ready and help them find employment,” says Peggy Clarke, AWARE director. Services include classes on resume writing, interviews and computer skills.
AWARE holds introductory meetings at 9:30 a.m. Mondays at the Positive Maturity office at 3918 Montclair Road.
Some help is totally internet based. The offerings include:
The Birmingham Business Alliance has a job board on its website.
TechBirmingham lists technology-related jobs at techbirmingham.com.
Alabama Job Network’s website offers job listings, virtual career fairs, resume posting and other services.
LinkedIn has a group, Career Assistance Ministry Network in Birmingham, that is open to all LinkedIn members.
While the road to finding a job may seem long and barren, Coffey encourages those who are on the journey. “The hardest job anyone will ever have is finding a job,” he says. “But, in Birmingham, the jobs are out there.”