This post is from our friend Dave O'Farrell and the good people of JobSeekers in Peachtree City. Read down to the testimonial from the Jobseeker who braved tornado weather to interview for--and land--a new job!
Helping People Find Good Jobs, Close to Home, in Minimum Time
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If you're not looking, forward this message to someone who needs it.
In This Issue
1. Inspiration: Christmas from a New Perspective
2. Success Story: Tornado Warnings Don't Deter Scholarship Recipient
3. This Week's Meeting: Using Testimonials to Build Your Brand
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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1. Inspiration: Christmas from a New Perspective
If you are unemployed at Christmas for the first time this year -- or for the first time in many years -- I suppose you're looking at Christmas from a new perspective. (If you've had any other major life events this past year, you're probably looking at Christmas from a new perspective too.)
When your life and career are rockin' and rollin' along it's easy to say something like, "Money is nice, but it's not what makes me happy; I could live on a lot less." Or maybe something more like this: "Being a manager in a well-known company and having over 20 years of service is nice, but it's not what makes me happy; I would be content no matter what my circumstances."
Now that you've hit an inevitable bump in your life and career, maybe those words don't ring so true anymore. If they don't, I encourage you to listen to the disquiet spirit within you to figure out what your spirit saying. The message is important; it's up to you whether you listen and take heed.
When I hit a rough spot in my life and career, I had my prideful self-talk dashed against the rocks and pounded by the waves. Now I am learning not only to look at Christmas from a new perspective, but at all of life from a new perspective as well. I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind. (Notice the present tense here; I have a long way to go.)
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what's God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will." -- Romans 12:2
The pattern of this world is "success." The world measures success in titles, degrees, income, houses, cars, toys, vacations, children and spouses. In Joy That Lasts, Gary Smalley describes how his life changed when he hit a rough spot: "For the first time I began to realize my major mistake: I was expecting to find fulfillment in people, places, possessions and position."
The pattern of the kingdom is "significance." Life is about moving from success to significance. It's about moving from the sinful, human nature that is within all of us toward a higher, Godlier nature. I wrote this a few years ago when I was struggling with this issue:
Christmas isn't about the money we spend; it's about the time we spend with God.
It's not about the gifts we give; it's about the love we give to one another.
It's not about preparing our homes for guests; it's about preparing our hearts for Christ.
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Arriving at Christmas without a job is one more mile on your journey of faith, one more step in your sanctification process, one more call from God asking you to allow him into your heart -- or into the deeper recesses of your heart. In Ephesians 4:22-24 Paul said, "Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Here are three quick points from Paul's words above:
1. Put off your old self.
He lists deceitful desires elsewhere in his letters; they include: anger, greed (which he says is idolatry), selfish ambition, lust and envy. (These five desires are selected from Galatians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:5.) Referring to these desires in his song, "The Change," Steven Curtis Chapman sings, "I got this way of living that I have to die to every single day." Chapman says that even though he's a Christian, he still has to suppress his human nature every single day.
2. Adopt a new attitude.
You might have to fake it 'til you make it, but put on the best attitude you possibly can (except with God and about three close confidants). Nobody wants to hire Eeyore, so stop acting like him and start acting a little more like Tigger. Follow Paul's instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
3. Put on the new self.
Here's where the growth occurs. God speaks to us through our feelings. If we are experiencing negative feelings, he is showing us an area for growth. As we grow we become more like Christ, as Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." As we grow we are transformed in Christ's likeness.
Christmas is about God's presence in our lives. He sent his Son, born a lowly birth, to live and die as one of us, a perfect example for all mankind. Take the three steps above; you will begin to experience God's peace and feel his presence in this Christmas season. Here are two final words for this week from Paul:
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." -- Romans 8:5-8
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -- Romans 15:13
See you tomorrow at JobSeekers, where life and joy and hope and peace and power abound.
Copyright © 2010 / Dave O'Farrell / All Rights Reserved
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2. Success Story: Tornado Warnings Don't Deter Scholarship Recipient
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.
Last Thursday morning I made an appeal for donations to our scholarship fund. Last Thursday evening I received this message from a recent scholarship recipient, Bert J. For the first time ever, I am publishing a letter from a recipient who mentions this gift in his or her message. Thanks Bert!
You don't realize it, but you've read messages from other scholarship recipients. This is the fourth letter this year. Other scholarship recipients have spoken at JS when they landed their jobs, and three have done the devotional this year. It's really cool to see God's hand at work as their lives are transformed in the midst of the fire.
» Rekindle a career. Save a home. Transform a life.
» Donate to JobSeekers.
If your life has been positively influenced by the JobSeekers ministry, please make a financial contribution before the end of the year. Any amount will help, and the donation is tax-deductible. Please send it to: JobSeekers of PTC, P.O. Box 2124, Peachtree City, GA 30269. Thanks to the generous people who have donated in the past week; bless you all.
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By the way, this job is perfect for Bert. He spent his early career at Marriott and his recent career in entrepreneurship. At Marriott, he was a Sous Chef, Banquet Manager, and Food and Beverage Director, among other things. You may be familiar with The Plumyumi Day Spa; he founded it in 1997 and sold it in 2004.
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Hi Dave,
On Tuesday, November 23, I sat down at my PC and decided I'd look under some rocks; I went online with Craigslist to search postings for every Craigslist city in a 500-mile radius from Atlanta. I knew beforehand that only 5-8% of all jobs are found through newspapers and job boards. Additionally, this search put me way out of my target geography.
I sent my resume and appropriate cover letter from my communications plan to four CL postings. Six days later, on Monday, November 29, I had a phone interview with the owner of a bed and breakfast inn at Hotel Defuniak in Defuniak Springs Florida. He had already filled the position; however, three days earlier, the person he hired backed out for personal reasons. They wanted me to come the next day for an interview in Defuniak Springs.
I left at noon on Tuesday in the middle of tornado warnings and a torrential downpour. Concerned that my truck might not make the drive, I went in a borrowed sub-compact. In the severe weather, the usual five-hour drive took over seven hours. A mile away from the hotel, I pulled into an abandoned gas station, still in a downpour, and changed into a pressed dress shirt and dress shoes. I walked into the hotel lobby with my best-ever first impression smile across my face, eye contact and firm handshake. The only thing I could hear was seven hours of the windshield wiper's "SHWISH-SHWISH-SHWISH-SHWISH" going through my head as I introduced myself.
I got a one-hour interview, a two-hour three-course dinner, an overnight B&B suite, breakfast the next morning, another two hour conversation, and a job offer on the spot. I just signed my offer letter.
My package includes half of my target income, however I will receive a furnished innkeeper's suite, all utilities, cable and phone provided plus breakfast every morning and my suite cleaned for $10 a week.
I will live a half hour from the beach.
OK, I can do this job!
A nice bonus package was also included.
I got major points for:
§ Leaving some old but very relevant work history in my résumé.
§ Offering that a trip to Florida the very next day was no problem.
§ Driving seven hours through tornado warnings to get there.
§ Initially they asked if I could start on Sunday, 12/5 and I told them, "absolutely no problem" (when it really was a huge problem).
There is nothing about finding this job lead or the immediacy of the interview or the borrowed car or the tornado warnings or changing in an abandoned gas station in a downpour or having to endure a really nice dinner and deluxe suite that was orthodox.
Everything about this process was so totally off the wall, but hey Dave, I got the job!
My word to other job seekers is to expect the unexpected and GET OUT OF THE BOX and out of your comfort zone – and something that seems really weird and requires you to do really weird things (like changing in an abandoned gas station) might end up being a job.
I got this job only because of the generosity of others.
The generous love, support and encouragement of my fellow JS and small support group members. The generous support and encouragement of ALL the Ship's Crew. The generous financial contributions of others to the scholarship fund made your workshop a reality. So please, get a jar and put a "Scholarship Fund" label on it and stick it at the end of the doughnut table.
I shared my season of loss and sorrow with you and the Ship's Crew. I did not know, when I found my new job, how I could possibly afford appropriate clothes or how I would be able to afford new housing or utility deposits or if I did find something out of Georgia how could I afford moving my stuff. Enter God, stage right. All handled. Just like that. All I had to do was drive seven hours through a tornado warning.
Thanks for everything Dave.
Bert J.
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3. This Week's Meeting: Using Testimonials to Build Your Brand
This week you will learn (or learn more about) how to use testimonials to build your brand. I've had several clients credit this specific process and the accompanying tool as the key to landing a new job.
To be better prepared for the meeting, bring letters of recommendation, performance evaluations with strong praise in them, and hand-written "thank you" notes that you have received. Come Friday to learn the secrets of creating a truly powerful, brand-building set of references!
Who: All are welcome; the topics are targeted for professionals, managers and executives.
What: JobSeekers is a nondenominational career ministry.
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 / 8:10 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 14 December 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 go to "newnanfumc.org" 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 8 January. This is a community service of Living Hope Christian Fellowship, 5885 Mallory Road, College Park, Georgia 770-306-9922.
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