Joyce Wilson, 1983 Rutgers alum with a B.S. in accounting, was nearing the end of her financial rope.
After a two-year search for work, the former business analyst for AT&T was down to her last week of unemployment insurance. Once she put in for that final check, Wilson figured she’d have to make some drastic life changes.
“I’ll tell you what my plan was,” the Metuchen resident said. “Pack my bags and dog, put my house on the market and head to North Carolina, and just pray.”
Then, just as Wilson’s bills threatened to bring her to her knees, she landed a job.
On March 21, Wilson returned to AT&T as a project manager. Unlike her last stint with the communications company, Wilson is not obligated to leave once her yearlong contract expires.
Wilson credits her comeback to tenacity and some invaluable assistance from the university’s Job Success Club.
“My morale was just busted. I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “(The Job Success Club) is so supportive. For me it just made all the difference.”
Lengthy job hunts like Wilson’s are becoming more common. According to a recent study by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, more than six in 10 of those unemployed (64 percent) have been on the job hunt for at least one year with one-third (35 percent) looking for more than two years.
Enter the Job Success Club, founded this fall by 1986 Rutgers alumnus Len Garrison in response to such statistics and a growing number of alumni utilizing career services. Garrison began working for the university as a paid part-time career coach in 2009.
Though he assisted the university with implementing several career-focused alumni programs, including those on resume writing and navigating social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Garrison sought to create a group that met more frequently and served as support group for unemployed alumni.
There was just this feeling of ‘What can we do?’ ’’ he said.
Garrison’s own career shift from vice president of finance for Prudential Financial to self-employed financial recruiter in 2001 is a valuable asset to those he mentors in the Job Success Club, said Richard White, director of Rutgers’ Career Services in New Brunswick. “Len brought a lot of expertise and talent to the table working with the alumni, many of whom are experiencing the same career transitions he did,” White said.
Initially, four sessions were planned for the first semester, but attendants’ interest was so high that the Job Success Club quickly expanded to eight sessions. Now the club meets from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month in the Cap and Skull Room of the Rutgers Student Center. Attendance fluctuates from as few as three to as many as a dozen people.
The March 16 meeting drew 12 participants, ranging from middle-aged alumni in the midst of career transitions to students trying to get a leg up in this tough market before graduating.
Garrison greeted a group of four newcomers with a cordial, “How’re you doing?”
“Can’t complain,” one woman replied.
“That takes us to rule no. 1 of the Job Club,” Garrison said with a grin. “You get one minute to complain and then you’re done. Try to keep all positive energy.”
Then he turned to Wilson and invited her to share her news with the group. She beamed as the club applauded her recent achievement and offered words of encouragement and explanation about the role they can expect the Job Success Club to play in their employment search. If they came only for job leads, Wilson warned they would be disappointed. But if they came for a supportive environment where they can hone skills to help them navigate the modern the job market, then they came to the right place.
“We used to get rejection letters. Now we just get ignored. It’s depressing,” she said, as the group nodded in agreement. “Keep coming. Keep listening. Keep sharing. You just got to keep going. If you implement (these skills) I guarantee you’ll get a job too.”
Wilson went on to detail her aversion to social networking sites like Facebook and her hesitancy to join LinkedIn, until Garrison explained the employment potential she was missing out on. Tips on networking, elevator pitches, interview etiquette, how to create a polished, job-specific resume and other tricks of the recruiter’s trade are all part of Garrison’s informal agenda.
“Recruiters are looking to exclude you not include you. If I have one job, do you think I’m going to go through 500 resumes?” he said. “You never want to have a reason for someone to eliminate you right off the bat – typos, crazy e-mail addresses at the top of your resume – nothing to bring attention to yourself in a negative way.”
Of the core group of eight regulars that began meeting in September, four have found jobs. While Garrison is pleased with the club’s success, his ultimate goal is for it to become unnecessary.
“My dream is to be the only one here,” Garrison told the roomful of alumni. “It’s the only club at Rutgers where we want to lose members.”
For more information about the Job Success Club or to register for a meeting, visit www.careerservices.rutgers.edu.
