The Job Hunter

By Rabbi Mordechai Kruger

After writing ten articles that talk about the frustrating, and often depressing, world of the job hunter, it’s time to start bringing out some sunshine and optimism. Although I may have already made some people feel better by showing that I “share their pain,” what I really want to do is make them feel better by helping them find a really good job. So now I’m going to spend several columns describing what career-choice and job-hunt coaching is, and how it can lead to finding a job. Before I start on a sample case, let me address a few important points.

I have already written about headhunters/recruiters and job counselors. These professionals are important components of the process for the candidates they are able to help. The first point I want to make about job-hunt coaching is that it can address a much broader clientele, including many who were not helped by these professionals. To anyone who is thinking, “I’ve tried to get help from experts; why should I go through this again?” I am saying, “Job-hunt coaching is different, and may be worth a try. I hope you’ll give it a chance.”

I want to state clearly that I am going to describe what would happen in a few sample cases that might come to me at Pathways to Parnassa. Other job coaches may do things differently. Pathways is a nonprofit organization serving our community, utilizing the resources of our community. Because of this, our fees are lower than those found elsewhere, and are even lower for clients in kollel and for those who have lost their jobs. This is also the reason why I’m publishing these columns here and posting them on my website. Most importantly, the way that our clients will use networking is much easier and much more powerful than what would be done in the general population. This is because Pathways represents the effort of the entire Jewish community to help its members get good jobs, and as quickly as possible.

The most important step in starting this process is to leave your assumptions behind. For most job hunters out there, what Pathways will do is very different from what you are expecting. We will help you choose a career path, but we will not use standardized tests. No aptitude tests, no personality measurements (except as it relates directly to finding the work environment that is best for you), no anything that makes up your mind for you. We will help you dig through your background, interests, experiences, and, most important, your dreams. Then we will help you assemble the pieces into a possible job description, and teach you how to gather the information that you need so you can refine and develop your idea into a real job possibility–a unique, personal goal that you can pursue.

We can teach you how to search for it, and how to land the job once you have found it. Most of all, we will teach you to leave behind all the times when smart, well-meaning people told you things that include the word can’t. Once you shed that word, the work of getting to work can begin.

Research shows that job hunts that use our methods have a success rate of over 90 percent. There is no other approach that comes close to that. Let’s get started. v

Rabbi Mordechai Kruger is the founder and director of Pathways to Parnassa, an organization providing job-search and career coaching to our community. He can be reached at myparnassa@gmail.com.

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