JobSeekers of Peachtree City

Thanks again to Dave O'Farrell, one of the leaders of JobSeekers of Peachtree City, for permitting us to share his newsletter, shown below:

JobSeekers of Peachtree City
Helping People Find Good Jobs, Close to Home, in Minimum Time

Get out and about. Come to JobSeekers this week. Bring a friend.
If you're not looking, forward this message to someone who needs it.

In This Issue
1. Inspiration: Commit to the Lord All You Do, and Your Plans Will Succeed
2. Success Story: Cajide Adopts the Right Attitude, Keeps the Faith, Snatches Victory From the Jaws of Defeat
3. This Week's Meeting: Acing the Behavioral Interview
4. Networking: ABC from 10:15 to 11:30
5. Job Leads: Leads and Links in South Metro Atlanta
6. Contact: Chaplain and Ship's Crew
7. Donate: You Could Help Save a Career, a Home or Even a Marriage

JobSeekers of PTC Website | JobSeekers of PTC on LinkedIn

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NOTE: Part of Willowbend Road is closed. If you are coming from the east (i.e. from Fayetteville)...take the second entrance to Willowbend. Go under the golf cart bridge and take a left at the traffic light.

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1. Inspiration: Commit to the Lord All You Do, and Your Plans Will Succeed
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." -- Proverbs 16:3

This verse appears beneath my biography on the last page of my book, "Market-Ready in Minimum Time." What a great promise! What a simple formula! When I think about this verse I substitute "all you do" for "whatever you do." "All you do" seems more encompassing.

Today, I ask you to pray about your own situation. Have you committed "all you do" to the Lord? I'm speaking to those of you who have been in your search for several months; I'm also speaking to those of you who are early in your search. For those of you who are just getting started out, I implore you to save yourselves some time and heartache by examining your life and making the changes God wants you to make.

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you -- unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test." -- 2 Corinthians 13:5-6.

Paul was writing to the church in Corinth, which was the Las Vegas or New Orleans of his day. The Corinthians wanted to have it both ways; they wanted to be both secular and spiritual.

For those of you who've been at this for a while, examine all that you do to see if it is pleasing to God. I often ask a client or JobSeeker, "What does God want you to learn from this?" When you get the answer to that question, you've taken a step in the right direction -- the direction of His will.

A while back I met with two troubled JobSeekers on a Saturday morning. One said he had taken some giant strides in his spiritual journey. He was learning and growing in the Lord, but only after he'd been in the midst of his job search for many agonizing months. I asked him what he'd learned. He said, "I learned that God loves us so much that he won't let us move forward until we learn what he wants us to learn." Soon after, Phil found a great job at a large Atlanta employer.

A few weeks ago someone came to my office in a great mood, and he's been looking for a job for way too long. He told me he has a renewed relationship with the Lord and that he had recently learned, as Philippians 4:13 says, that he can do all things through Christ.

Friends, do something selfish. Commit your life to the Lord -- every aspect of your life. I pray that things won't get so bad for you and your family that you have nowhere else to turn but to God, but for some people that is what it takes. God has an abundant life in store for you. He is full of grace and mercy. And he wants you to experience his peace, power and prosperity.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -- Jeremiah 29:11

See you tomorrow at JobSeekers, where we commit ourselves to the Lord!

Copyright © 2009 / Dave O'Farrell / All Rights Reserved

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2. Success Story: Cajide Adopts the Right Attitude, Keeps the Faith, Snatches Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
We love to hear from you when you land a new position. Please write and let us know how you found your job, what you learned from the experience, and how JobSeekers helped you.

Here's the story of someone who was in the midst of his job search for many agonizing months. With just one JobSeekers meeting, he got the wake up call he needed to drive his search with a new attitude. Congratulations and God bless you Al!

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Hello Dave,

You may not remember me as I only attended one meeting but this is all it took, honestly. I'm now in my first week with Alpha Logistics Services as their new Director of Operations for North America in Orlando.

Dave, I have you and your staff to thank for this opportunity. I learned in this one meeting to stop blaming everyone else for my unfortunate situation – unemployed, experiencing job loss after 28 years with DHL. I was laid off in January and when I attended the meeting in July, I was still in mourning for my loss! I was in denial, bargaining – looking for excuses why I couldn't find a job including anger, depression and lack of acceptance of my situation.

I actually stopped feeling sorry for myself after leaving my first visit to JobSeekers. I was asking myself the following questions: Did I inadvertently contribute to the situation? Was there anything I could have done differently to avoid the loss of job? Being able to respond confidently, "no," I walked out of the meeting with a different mindset. Now I was asking: What did I learn at my job in 28 years, and how can I apply this experience in my next job?

I remember you mentioning to the group that you once called a job seeker at home and you could hear the Oprah TV show in the background. This was a wake up call for me; I needed to recognize that in order to find a job, I needed to get off my a**! I had worked hard for six months looking for a job – or maybe I wanted to believe I did?

I soon realized I had not done everything possible and was only hindering my opportunities of finding a job if I continued to be complacent – comfortable that there was nothing I could do but wait for an offer! I had contacted all the saved names in my cell phone, looked through our address book, checked out all the saved names in my computer in box, and worked four or five hours a day or more searching, applying for jobs online, talking with neighbors, friends, acquaintances but nothing. However, I must admit that the fire under me was fading rapidly and it was your class, invited speakers, other members' inspiration, prayers, faith in GOD that rekindled the fire for me again.

Here's how I found this job: I had followed a lead from a friend of mine that used to work at DHL and I was actually quite excited about my chances since I was in my third and final interview for a General Manager's position with a company in the transportation sector. At the end of the interview I was informed that the company was not moving forward with me as the ideal candidate and I was kindly thanked for my time.

I used this opportunity as a positive instead of a negative. I kindly returned the gratitude to the interviewer for his time and consideration than asked politely if the interviewer would help me with my future job search by explaining why I wasn't chosen for the position. I wanted an honest, objective response and knew in advance that regardless of the comments, never interrupt the interviewer. Upon completion, although I was not fully in agreement but understanding the reason, I kindly thanked the interviewer for his honest response.

When I got home from the interview I just simply forwarded the interviewer a follow-up email, thanking him for the consideration of job, for his honest and objective response about the reasons why I was not chosen and asked to be kept in consideration for future opportunities. Here I also added, if he knew of any similar industry contacts that might be in need of someone with my background and experience. Two days later this interviewer forwarded me an e-mail address and phone number for Alpha Logistics, now my current employment opportunity.

It seems that I may not have been the right candidate for the first job but my graceful exit and follow-up e-mail was sufficient for another opportunity. My point being that even when all things look bleak, with the right attitude, follow-up and faith, you can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

I encourage each and every one of my JobSeeker friends and members to keep the faith; keep attending every Friday, accept the current situation you find yourself in today and recognize it is not your fault. However, you must also accept ownership responsibility of finding a job and never break the network chain.

My best to all; my prayers will be with you and family, hoping for timely employment opportunities.

Sincerely,

Al Cajide

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3. This Week's Meeting: Acing the Behavioral Interview
This week's topic focuses on one of the most common types of interviews. If you don't understand the employer's strategy, you may not do well in the interview, even if you are a well-qualified candidate. Come tomorrow for this important topic -- and for a great learning experience.

Who: All are welcome; the topics are targeted for professionals, managers and executives.

What: JobSeekers is a nondenominational ministry for people who are making a career transition.

When: Friday mornings from 7:30 to 10:00 am.

Where: First Baptist Church in Peachtree City; 208 Willow Bend Road.

Why: We work with you to find a job, and we walk with you on your journey of faith.
Attire: Business casual.

Agenda: 7:30 coffee / 7:45 welcome and devotional / 8:05 introductions and announcements / 8:45 job search training module / 10:00 adjourn to the Atlanta Bread Company
We look forward to seeing you on Friday!

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4. Networking
Atlanta Bread Company

After the JobSeekers meeting, we go to the ABC from 10:15 to 11:30 for an informal gathering. There's no agenda; we just have fellowship and help each other out.

Newnan First UMC Job Networking Ministry

Come join us at our next meeting on Tuesday 10 November 6:00 PM.

Meetings are always held the second Tuesday of each month in the Parish Hall of Newnan First United Methodist Church. The church is located at 33 Greenville Street in Newnan. You may reach them by telephone at 770-253-7400 or click here and select "Job Network" under "Resources" on the left side of the home page. We look forward to seeing you there.

College Park Job Seekers

Have a family member, friend or neighbor concerned that they may lose their job, and they cannot take time off to attend a job seekers group? Attend the College Park Job Seekers Group which meets the first Saturday in every month from 9:00 am – 11:30 am. The next meeting is Saturday 7 November. This is a community service of Living Hope Christian Fellowship, 5885 Mallory Road, College Park, Georgia 770-306-9922.

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5. Job Leads
For Employers

Our goal is to help our members find good jobs, close to home, in minimum time. Most of our members are salaried employees from the professional, technical and supervisory level all the way up to general managers and other senior executives. If you have a job lead with the three criteria below let us know.

Please send a brief position profile and tell us how you would like to be contacted. We run the lead for three weeks unless we hear from you to remove or extend the listing.

This service is FREE!

1. The position is salaried; or it is a higher-level hourly position

2. The job is located on this side of Atlanta, especially in Fayette or Coweta County

3. The compensation is not 100% commission-based; this includes MLM's

If your job lead meets these criteria, please submit it before noon on Wednesday.

For JobSeekers

Leads are updated each week, or when I get a chance! Please forgive me if they are a little out of date. Click on this link (or copy-and-paste the following one into your browser) to view this week's jobs:

http://jobseekers-ptc.org/js/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=71

For more leads go to: JobSeekers of PTC on LinkedIn; go to the 'jobs' tab.