Career Development Program

North Metro Church

 North Metro Church Members
• 80% White, 20% People of Color (Black, Hispanic, South Asian, East Asian)
• Marietta, Kennesaw, Powder Springs, Acworth, Smryna, Austell, Mableton
• Ages, 24-70
• Men and Women
• Socio-Economic Status – across the spectrum
• Education – across the spectrum
• 100 Church Members
 Executive Summary
This document describes a program of services that will be initiated with
100 church members who have various needs:
• Those presently unemployed and looking for jobs
• Those presently underemployed and looking for a different job
• Those presently employed, but looking for a different job
• Small business owners looking for employees
• Any size organizational managers looking for employees
• Those presently employed, but looking to retire
 Executive Summary (continued)
The program focuses on assisting all participants to take their next career
step (some need to learn and practice job-search skills so they can find
another job, some need assistance in discovering life after their working
career, and some need the opportunity to meet and hire possible
employees). Individuals involved in frustrating job searches will also be
offered the opportunity for counseling. The program will utilize John
Holland’s Theory of Types and Person-Environment Interactions as well as
theoretical concepts from the Work-Adjustment Theory. Most of the work,
however, will focus on practical steps of finding a job and preparing an
individual for the job interview.
 Needs
• Some members are understandably in a state of shock, anger and denial
because they have just recently lost their job
- They need an opportunity to talk about their present situation
- Instill hope they will get through anger and denial and move quickly to
formulate a plan for reemployment

• Some members are discouraged because they have been looking for a job for
many months now and cannot find what they are looking for
- They need an opportunity to talk about their present situation
- Instill hope they will get through discouragement
- Then, they will formulate a plan for employment
 Needs
• Some members are discouraged because they have been looking for a job for
many months now and cannot find what they are looking for
- They need an opportunity to talk about their present situation
- Instill hope they will get through their discouragement
- Examine what they have been doing so far in order to make changes

• Some members are discontent with present employment and looking for a
change
- They need an opportunity to assess resources and barriers to change
- They will consider possible choices and to draft and realistic action plan
 Needs
• Some members are frightened because their extended unemployment has
placed their families or homes in jeopardy
- They need an opportunity to talk about their present situation
- Instillation of hope they will be able to get through their fear
- They have need to examine actions so far and make changes
- Finally, they need to formulate a new plan for employment

• Some members are excited to find potential employees

- They need an opportunity to meet with potential employees
 Needs
• Some members are excited about the prospects of retiring, while others feel
trepidation
- They need to understand the implications of a career change
- They need to assess resources and barriers related to making a change
- They need to draft a realistic action plan for making the change
 Objectives

• At the end of this series of workshops, members will be able to:

- Recognize the situation they are facing is a result of economic conditions
- Recognize that the situation is also because of corporate decisions
- Recognize that the situation has nothing to do with their work performance
- Accept that the situation is unfortunate and stressful
- Accept that the situation is not catastrophic - transitions are possible
- Write an effective resume in multiple formats
- Participate effectively in mock job interviews
- Describe three ways of finding job openings
 Objectives (continued)
- Describe realistically the transition they have chosen to make
- Identify forces for and forces against accomplishing the change
- State a definite career goal and how they plan to reach it
 Content
• There will be a series of six two-hour sessions, with multiple workshops offered
each week so people can rotate through the ones they desire to attend
- Resume Writing
- Networking
- Interviewing Skills
- Job Search Engines
- Skill Identification
- Process Groups
- Individual Counseling (45 minutes)
 Content

• Resume Writing
- Learn the different resume formats
- Learn how to express skills and experiences
- Good examples will be provided
- Individuals will be given time to prepare his or her resume
- These resumes will be looked over and feedback will be provided
 Content

• Networking
- Company specific networking
- Industry networking
- Do’s and don’ts of networking
- Networking applications or web sites
- Value of networking
- How to begin your network – participants will identify their network
 Content

• Interviewing Skills
- Various stages of job interview will be explained
- How to research companies
- How to help hirers see how interviewees and company have synergy
- Good interviews will be role-played as examples
- Provide a checklist that outlines the characteristics of a good interview
- Group role play in triads (manager, interviewee, observer)
 Content
• Job Search Engines
- How to find job openings
- How to use placement agencies, web searches, social networking, direct
applications to companies
- How to find job openings that are never publicly listed
 Content
• Skill Identification
- Participants will take three Web-based assessment inventories
- Assess participants’ skills, interests and values
- An interpretation using fictitious composite scores will be given
- Group members will have the opportunity to ask questions about scores
- Group members will have the opportunity to share career hopes
- Group members will compare career hopes with assessment results
- Group members will identify some specific goals
 Content
• Process Groups
- Group members can share changes they seek
- Group members can share supports and barriers they are confronting
- Group members can express anger and grief about a recent job loss
- Group members can express frustration with job search failures
- Group members can express fears of familial consequences
- This workshop will be less structured than the others
- This workshop lets and encourages people to talk about their feelings
 Content

• Individual Counseling
- Group participants will have an opportunity to meet with the counselor
- A sign-up sheet will be at the sign-in table with nametags
- The counseling session may involve triage, referrals or plans for follow-up
 Expected Outcomes

• As a result of the delivery of the program, the following outcomes are anticipated:
- Terminated employees will be able to get rid of some anger and begin
needed job search with a more positive attitude
- Underemployed and exhausted members will be able to get rid of some
frustration and continue their job search with a more hopeful attitude
- Employed members looking to make job change will improve chances
- Employed, under employed and unemployed looking to change jobs
or find a job will improve chances of finding job within a reasonable time
 Expected Outcomes (continued)

- Members will have a specific plan for making a career change

- Members will have realistic career goals in keeping with information gained
- Members will experience the support of the counselor and the group
- Small business owners and managers will have qualified potential hires
 Resources Needed
• For the first session a meeting room equipping with computers and Web access
that will hold 100 people. Meeting room space with computers will also be needed
for an additional five consecutive weeks
• Equipment to display a PowerPoint presentation at each session
• Counselor time for preparing PowerPoint presentations, facilitating the six
workshop sessions, and conducting individual counseling sessions
• Additional six rooms for breakout sessions
• Additional six facilitators for content in the breakout sessions
• Permission to invite members to come to the workshops and help with promotion
• A budget for refreshments
• Permission to use Survey Monkey to conduct a follow-up study
 Methods of Evaluation
- Provide a questionnaire that participants will complete at the end
- Follow-up with a random sample of participants 90 days after completion of
workshop to determine if they have found a job and if the workshop content
helped them
- Tally the number of members who attend each workshop
- Do a follow-up survey with all participants one year after workshops
- Follow-up survey addresses what percentage still have jobs, degree of
satisfaction
and how they believe the workshops helped them to find and acquire
employment