Supporting the Serious (Job) Seeker

The meeting has the collegial air of an informal classroom.

Members file in, sometimes alone, sometimes in clumps of two or three. They talk amongst themselves, pulling out binders and books and reviewing old concepts. 

The meeting begins with an announcement that there has been a success this week; one of the members is working again.

Jim Gibson, the leader of the group, throws out a few statistics: 85 percent of jobs are unadvertised; only 4 percent of Internet job seekers are successful when Web-based hunting is their only technique.

Gibson, a Cupertino Rotarian and retired sales and communications professional, runs the Cupertino Rotary Job Search Support Group out of the cafeteria on Tuesday evenings.

Each member is given a copy of Richard Nelson Bolles’ What Color is Your Parachute and a binder full of materials, including tips on networking and developing a personalized career path, and a job search diary. 

The program, sponsored by the Cupertino Rotary and free to all participants, runs from September through June and is a “non-sectarian program for the employed, unemployed, under-employed and career changers.”

According to internal reviews and individual updates, the program boasts an 80 percent success rate. Each year, 50 percent of members find work, and 30 percent decide to pursue further education of some kind.

Gibson attributes the success of the program to shared resources, emphasis on effective strategies and a positive community that provides support to its members.

“You’re coming into a room of friends, and we try to help each other,” Gibson reminds everyone in the room.

The group consists of jobseekers or career changers from diverse backgrounds: veterans, consultants, entrepreneurs and long-time workers in manufacturing or food distribution.

The first hour of the meeting is dedicated to supportive conversation on the members’ accomplishments, goals and progress in the previous week. The second hour focuses on strategies to land employment opportunities.

Lorraine McLane, an internal sales professional in the high-tech industry, shared her experiences with the group. A volunteer opportunity that presented itself at a Christmas party a few years ago might give her the experience necessary to qualify for a job interview she attended earlier this week.

“I had a job, even if it was a volunteer job, so when I went in for another job, being able to say I had a job, I think that helped,” she said.

Throughout the meeting, Gibson underscores the importance of passion and enthusiasm, two qualities that have nothing to do with experience or job roles, he said, but comes shining through when talking to people. He also emphasized the importance of informational interviewing instead of relying too heavily on tools like Linkedin.com or job search boards on the Internet.

“A hundred years ago, people went out and knocked on doors. Well, this is the ninth year, and 50 percent of people found work because of this encouragement to knock on doors, to talk to people,” Gibson said.

Chuck Devine, a Cupertino Rotarian and former career counselor, started the service for job seekers in 2001 when the dot-com bubble burst. Since then, members have come from all over the South Bay and beyond.

Gibson himself went to the group as a member and eventually took over when Devine stepped down.

Beverly Lenihan, president of the Cupertino Rotary and supporter of the program, said she believes the group is effective because it provides, “hope, inspiration and lots of practical tips on the importance of relationship building when looking for a new job or career.”

And that formula has proven effective enough to earn the attention of the state Legislature and former Gov. Gray Davis’ office, both of which have awarded the program a certificate of recognition.

Mostly though, Gibson said, he believes the program is important because it addresses some of the deeper challenges associated with job loss.

“Many people lose a part of their identity (when they lose their job). They feel less worth,” Gibson said, “But people have intrinsic value, and I try to help them recognize that.”