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Young job seekers find inspiration, help

 
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7:00 A.M. EST October 25, 2011 | ROSWELL, Ga. (UMNS)



Zia Griffin, 25, smiles as she looks at a photo taken by Bruce Kromer. Kromer, professional photographer and volunteer, loves to make job seekers smile as he helps them complete their profiles. UMNS photos by Kathleen Barry.
Zia Griffin, 25, smiles as she looks at a photo taken by Bruce Kromer. Kromer, professional photographer and volunteer, loves to make job seekers smile as he helps them complete their profiles. UMNS photos by Kathleen Barry.
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Emily Hatcher, 26, is working overtime to find a job.

She keeps a strict schedule. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday she spends six to eight hours applying for jobs. The other days of the week, she sharpens her skills by taking computer classes online and networking.

The college graduate with a degree in early childhood education works as a babysitter and a substitute schoolteacher.

“I put maybe 200 résumés in before I actually get a call,” says the pretty, quiet young woman, dressed for success in dark sweater, skirt and sensible shoes, attending RUMC Job Networking, a ministry of Roswell United Methodist Church.

“Most of the girls I know are nannies, looking for other jobs,” she says. “It is difficult because of the economy. I know a lot of people my age are looking for other jobs not in their field.”

A dire need

Hatcher is part of a job-networking group that meets at the church every other Monday.



Job seekers Emily Hatcher (right) and Clay Redmond look through the Attire for Hire boutique to select business suits for job interviews.

Job seekers Emily Hatcher (right) and Clay Redmond look through the Attire for Hire boutique to select business suits for job interviews.
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The table host for the 21/29 group is Mark Reynolds, 26, who has been a member of the church all his life. As he puts it, “I started out in the babies’ class.”

Katherine Simons, coordinator of the job-networking ministry, approached Reynolds about starting a group for young job seekers last year. “She said she thought the need was pretty dire,” Reynolds recalls.

He has 53 people on his contact list for the group.

He says one of the first lessons he learned was “to manage people’s expectations.”

Young people coming into the church have degrees from schools like Penn State, Georgia State, Tennessee, Colorado, Vanderbilt and Boston – even Harvard.

“A young woman came in last week, and she has an MBA from Penn State,” Reynolds says. “An MBA from Penn State is considered one of the best in the nation.”

Still, she has not been able to find a job.

“Some of her confidence has been shattered; some of her ability to portray herself in the best light has been shattered,” Reynolds says. “The job I have and the job others here have is to restore some of that confidence and introduce her to Christ and a faith-based confidence, rather than skills and talents-based confidence.”

It is his job to remind her that her potential is just as high as it was when she graduated.



Mark Reynolds, 26, is table host for the 21/29 young adult group. Table leaders share Bible verses and encourage job seekers to make God part of their job search.
Mark Reynolds, 26, is table host for the 21/29 young adult group. Table leaders share Bible verses and encourage job seekers to make God part of their job search.
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Building a network

Juanita V. Pierre, 24, just graduated with dual degrees in accounting and Spanish. In college, she focused all her energy and time on making good grades. She expected to graduate, get a job and start her life.

Now, like many young graduates, she is living back at home with her family. She values the time she has now to reconnect with her family, but her dream is to be a forensics accountant working with the FBI or the IRS.

“I know how strong I am, and I believe in myself,” she says. “I am hard working, and they are going to see that. They are going to hire me. I feel like maybe in the next six months, hopefully, I will get exactly what I am looking for.”

David Hampe, 25, just graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He has a part-time job at the school from which he graduated but is coming to Roswell to “launch my career right the first time.” He says he is technically homeless. All his stuff is packed in boxes, and he lives at his sister’s house during the week and goes to his parents’ home on the weekends.

“Nobody is designed to go through this job search on their own, to go through life on their own in general,” he says. The 21/29 group gives him accountability with people his age and introduces him to a new group of professionals outside the range of his normal group of friends.

“When you build and establish a relationship with people who are in a job search with you, you build a bond of people who care and are willing to pay it forward to help everyone out until everyone in the group is hired,” he says.



Juanita V. Pierre, 24, chats with Mimi Kelly (left), who works the volunteer information desk as part of RUMC Job Networking.
Juanita V. Pierre, 24, chats with Mimi Kelly (left), who works the volunteer information desk as part of RUMC Job Networking.
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Finding hope

Hatcher says everyone told her to go to Roswell United Methodist Church to join the job-networking ministry.

“I have actually gotten more interviews through their job postings than other job postings. Instead of just going online and applying for jobs, I have had a lot more contacts through career networking,” she says.

“A lot of people find their identity in their job,” she adds, “especially when you are young and trying to find your fit. I think a lot of people think their career is who they are.”

That’s where faith steps in, she says.

“We talk about that at RUMC, that you are God’s workmanship, that he created you with special qualities and spiritual gifts. He is going to use those as long as you know who you are and you use them in the best way you can.”

Hatcher, her older sister and brother – all in their 20s – are living at home with their single mom, who is caretaker for her mother. Hatcher feels blessed to have her family, and she knows God will take care of her.

“I just keep applying, keep looking, and I think the economy is going to get better. That’s my hope. I think there will be a lot more jobs created.”

Learn more about job ministries.

*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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