Job search support group aids professionals in career transitions – LINK nky

There’s a jubilant celebration leaking out of the Anne-Bronte Meeting Hall deep inside the Erlanger Public Library.

The applause and well-wishes are for Jim Kelly, who after two months of meeting with people at coffee shops, dinners and improving his network, received a job offer from the Greater Cincinnati Area United Way as a project and event manager reporting to the president. He’ll begin his new position later this month after he gets home from a well-deserved vacation.

Kelly, who retired in December of 2023, spent the previous two months searching for a job in the nonprofit space. For him, it’s the end of a short-lived journey. For others in the room, it’s a great reminder that there’s an end to the job search challenge.

“It’s impossible to make this journey alone,” Natalie Ruppert, manager for the career and jobs services division at the Kenton County Public Library and emcee of the Wednesday morning Northern Kentucky Accountability Group, said to a room of about 35 new job seekers.

The support group is for professionals in career transitions due to layoffs, business closures, changes in life situations, or simply a desire to switch careers. But the weekly accountability group meeting is just the tip of the iceberg for these students of the job search.

The library’s support group offers classes throughout the month to prepare members for the job search, helping them with classes on resume basics, workshops on digital skills such as learning to use ChatGPT and Microsoft Teams, and working with community partners helping job hunters find work.

Take David Anderson, 63, for instance.

Anderson, a former IT manager turned electronic data interchange business analyst, has been on the job hunt since his most recent employer laid him off the week before Christmas 2023 after the company was sold.

“This is the first time I’d ever been laid off, and it was an eye-opener,” Anderson said. “The internet didn’t exist the last time I looked for a job. Now most of the interviewers are younger than my children.”

Anderson is learning new tricks for resume writing, so his resume can get through an applicant tracking system and in front of human eyes, and tips for writing stronger cover letters.

Anderson said it’s been hard to go this long without landing a full-time job in EDI, but the camaraderie of the others following similar journeys keeps him coming back to the meetings each week. 

He’s not alone in this thought. Others in the room would admit they attend this meeting simply to remind themselves they aren’t alone.

Aaron Wilson, an alumnus of the support group, now working as a certified workforce development professional manager with the Kenton County Public Library, said the job search doesn’t have a specific end date, and that at times it can feel lonely.

“There’s this sense of relief and comradery that happens,” Wilson said. “I think it’s fun to watch people when they first come in, the anxiety and stress gets lifted as they meet people and start making headway.”

Ruppert said it’s common that those not job-seeking don’t understand how difficult it can be to land a new position.

“Looking for a job is a full-time job; it’s really hard work,” Ruppert said. “Most people who lose their job have a spouse or significant other who gets nervous, often asking, ‘Why aren’t you finding a job?’

They just don’t understand how hard it is, she said.

“So coming to a group like this, people instantly recognize they are not alone and they find out from others how to make connections,” Ruppert said.

Since 2020, when many businesses shut their doors — some allowing workers to work from home and others closing permanently — the job market has shifted. Ruppert said remote jobs in particular face a global job collection pool. 

Other companies complain of a lack of laborers with specific skills, while other employees see their jobs replaced by Artificial Intelligence, leaving those on the hunt feeling like the job market is an impossible beast, combined with a little bit of chance and luck.

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, the unemployment rate for the Commonwealth in 2023 was 4.2%. This is an increase from 4% in 2022.

Ruppert and her team of 20 volunteers offer their services for no cost, a game changer for those with no income. Ruppert said professional career coaches often charge upwards of $100 an hour for their help.

“Another thing is we are open and welcoming to all kinds of people. Losing a job can be a big equalizer for people,” Ruppert said. “What I find is that no matter who you are, which side of the river you live on everybody is in the same boat.”

She remembered one group alumnus, an immigrant who needed help finding employment.

Of his celebration day, Ruppert remembered, he compared himself at the start of his journey to rowing upstream in a little canoe.

“And after being at NKYAG for several months and figuring it out, when he landed, he said he felt like he was on the ocean in a big luxury cruise ship because he had so many resources and people to help him,” she said. “If you come to the Northern Kentucky Accountability Group, we will teach you the process that will help you win because finding a job is a game and you have to learn to play the game in order to succeed.” 

Wilson believes there’s a job out there for everyone actively searching and putting the work in to find a job.

“We do have data that shows those who put the work in will land somewhere,” he said. “There’s no magic bullet or golden ticket.”

So, the NKYAG briefly applauds their newest alumnus, Kelly, who put in the work, met with the right people and mastered the game of the job hunt. Delivering hope to the remaining members of the group.

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