Part networking body, part mentoring group, the Dublin Job Club is a place where participants can exchange leads, listen to experts and get help brushing up CVs
LIKE MANY professionals who have lost their jobs in recent months, Aaron Downes felt that there was little support for this new group of workers. “Traditionally, when you lost your job you could turn to specialist recruitment agencies for help, but that option isn’t available any more. The depth of this recession means that finding a new job is more difficult and takes much longer than before,” he says.
Downes, a corporate trainer, decided to take action himself, setting up a group called the Dublin Job Club in February. The idea was that unemployed professionals would try to help each other out with contacts and advice to find new positions. The initial group consisted of eight friends and his acquaintances, including three HR managers, a mortgage broker, a civil engineer and an IT account manager. “Everyone left the meeting with a spring in their step,” Downes recalls.
Avoiding social isolation, staying active and engaged with the world of work and business and developing a practical support network are the key characteristics of the club.
Part networking body, part mentoring group, the club meets at the Digital Hub every Friday. Membership is free and participants get to exchange work leads, hear motivational speakers and get help brushing up their CVs and presentation and interview techniques.
About 70 people have attended a meeting so far, and according to Downes, about a dozen people to date have found new jobs directly as a result of leads from the club.
“I was inspired by other groups in the US and the UK. There are about 60 of these groups in Manhattan and about 20 in London. The idea is that people take action and start doing new things to find work other than mailing off CVs every day.”
Downes describes the approach as Worksearch 2.0. “This approach requires a different level of thinking. We need to see ourselves as individual products of skills, talents and experience, and market ourselves and sell brand ‘me’. Opportunistic thinking is another key requirement – instead of looking for jobs/positions, it is about looking for work.”
While some club members have found replacement jobs, other have decided to become self-employed or to take time off work to look after their children where this is a possibility. “Coming to the club has helped people to look at their options and to discuss [matters] with a group of like-minded people, so it’s provided clarity quickly for many people.”
The weekly meeting involves group members reporting advertised jobs that others may have missed and exchanging information about training, contract or freelance work and networking opportunities. Members are invited to make presentations which are reviewed by the group and they agree to look out for opportunities for each other.
“We have a rule which is that people are not allowed to talk about themselves as being unemployed. Instead, they talk about what they have to offer now,” Downes says. “It acts as a psychological boost for people.”
The other rule is a smart casual dress code. “The idea is that people put themselves in work mode. There is always the possibility of meeting someone who can help them find a job, so they need to look the part.”
Among the most practical things the group does is provide expert review of CVs. “We give people’s CVs what we call the red pen treatment. Industry sources tell us that about 90 per cent of CVs are going straight into the bins of recruiters. A lot of people are producing documents that are simply not compelling.
“We had two people in recently who had been to the same outplacement service and had practically the same bland CV produced for them both. By the end of our session, we have something that will make people really stand out from the crowd.”
Downes, who is now building his own training and consultancy business, runs the club on a voluntary basis, but believes the effort employed in helping others will ultimately be helpful to him as well.
“There’s a tremendous personal satisfaction in helping others, but I’m also developing a very good network of contacts which I’m convinced will be of great long-term benefit to me as well.”
He has been pleasantly surprised by the support of others for the concept. A chance meeting with Stephen Brennan of the Digital Exchange resulted in the offer of a free venue for the group at the Digital Hub, while entrepreneurs, trainers and consultants have been happy to provide free workshops. These have included an image consultant who has helped on dress and colour choices to improve appearance and an NLP trainer who has taught group members simple exercises to improve their energy and confidence levels before key meetings such as job interviews.
Downes says he believes the Dublin Job Club has a long-term future but that it will evolve over time, with an increased emphasis on self-employment.
“We’re moving to a model of a lot more one- or two-person businesses where people need to constantly market their skills and talents. Networking groups have a big part to play in this.”
The Dublin Job Club meets every Friday morning from 10am-12pm; blog for details, www.dublinjobclub.blogspot.com
or e-mail aaron@creativedevelopment.ie
