Crash course in career transition

Crossroads Career Network has been offering counseling, guidance, contacts and encouragement to people who are unemployed or misemployed since 2000. The classes and events are open to anyone, and resources are also available online. Growing to meet the unemployment crisis, Crossroads increased from 41 to 127 church members in 2009. Today, employment experts in 133 churches volunteer their time to teach the Six Step Crossroads Career curriculum.

“There’s amazing stuff in these materials. They cover many of the same things I used in IT search for 20 years,” said Mike Salet, now owner of MSS Solutions, a search/recruiting consulting firm.

“Walking candidates through the job search process and telling them what they needed to do at each step yielded a high success rate of candidates offered and taking jobs,” he said.

As a Crossroads program director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, he knew the process worked, but he also knew that most churches offered it in an eight-week or six-month format. “In this market, I saw that people needed help ASAP,” said Salet.

He had the idea for a crash course covering all six steps in two weeks, and enlisted the help of other Atlanta churches to make it a reality.

Nine Atlanta churches came together to design and launch a pilot program in April.

“I love that it was interdenominational and collaborative, and am excited that they’re already ramping up to give the course again,” said Ray.

The first class drew 15 people from different backgrounds and from all over the city.

“They jelled right from the beginning and have committed to continue meeting and helping each other,” said MaryAnne Sirotko-Turner, owner of Sirotko & Associates, a personal and corporate productivity training firm and a Crossroads leader at Church of the Apostles.

Ray describes the Six Step course as a means “to put together what people like and do best with employers who need their skills most.”

“We start with the premise that God gave each of us a unique blend of personality traits, interests, talents, life history and experiences. If everyone did the work he did best, how much more value would he see in work and life?”

Attitude is the first step, because “everyone going through career transitions needs an attitude adjustment to get past the loss, anger, hopelessness and fear and be able to move on in a positive way,” said Sirotko-Turner.

In the Aptitude session, people take self-assessments to gain a clearer idea of their unique gifts and accomplishments.

“Too many job seekers are trying to appear vanilla— trying to be all things to all employers— and that’s frustrating,” she said. “If they get clear on what they do best, it’s easier to know where they are best suited to work.”

Knowing one's unique value makes it easier to identify and target the right industry or types of jobs.

“Think of a job as a house,” said Sirotko-Turner. “There are many houses, but you only need one, so isn’t it better to narrow down the search to the kind you need?”

Other steps take participants through developing resumes, marketing materials, networking, effective interviewing techniques and evaluating and negotiating offers.

“There’s work they have to do on their own to prepare for the three-hour sessions, but with each step we see them become more focused, confident and energized,” said Salet. “There isn’t time to lose momentum, and they leave knowing that they are as prepared or better prepared than other qualified candidates. They’re going to stand out.”

When Ray first began sharing his job search principles in small groups, he discovered that everyone knew things he didn’t, and that the sharing of information encouraged and stimulated everyone.

“The power of the group is awesome,” he said. “We say that job search is a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) sport. People need a plan and encouragement. They should avail themselves of whatever support groups and classes can help.”