During his search for a new job, Richard Burke sought help at a church.
He began going to the free meetings of the St. Chrysostom’s Employment Council, an ecumenical support group for the unemployed. The council meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays at the Episcopal church, 1424 N. Dearborn Parkway.
The council brings in speakers–professionals from human resources, career counseling and psychology–to talk about issues that concern job seekers. Participants also are given materials to read and a chance to network.
In recent months, topics have included resumes and cover letters, networking skills, the use of emotional intelligence in a job search and the relationship between career development and career change. Information about the topics can be found on the church’s Web site, saintc.org, or by calling 312-944-1083.
The council has a mailing list of 150 people, most of whom live in Chicago, though some come from Crystal Lake, Evanston and Oak Park. On most nights, 12 to 25 people attend, up from an average of about 10 in the late 1990s, said Michel Cade, the group’s facilitator and a St. Chrysostom parishioner.
Burke was an office manager and a project director for a marketing research firm in Florida when he lost his job last fall. A one-time Chicago resident, Burke moved back in search of a job and began going to the employment council meetings in December at a friend’s suggestion.
At the council’s March 24 meeting, co-facilitator Fabrice Bonvoisin, a consultant who helps companies market and acquire new technology, told the 20 participants how Burke had found a job only days before as an administrator with the law firm of Torshen, Slobig, Genden, Dragutinovich & Axel Ltd.
“Coming here did a great deal to lift my spirits,” Burke said after the meeting.
“It helps to know that other people are struggling and there is a place you can go to be with them. There was a lot of information that helps in terms of dealing with people, dealing with financial issues and all the things that go with the struggle to find a job in this economy. What I got from here helped me hang on.”
Besides Burke, three other people who have attended the employment council recently found jobs, Cade said. He said news like that helps all participants.
“It shows that there can be a light at the end of the tunnel,” Cade said.
The council began meeting at St. Chrysostom in 1987, the location arranged by the late Oliver Campeau. A church deacon, Campeau had attended a discussion held the year before in a Streeterville home.
“I think it is wonderful to have this program here,” said Rev. Ray Webster, the rector at St. Chrysostom’s. “Our parishioners have helped run it and have used it during their job transitions. People are very supportive of it.”
Founding member
Barbara Olson hosted that first Streeterville meeting. Olson, who now lives in Oak Lawn, was seeking a job in 1986 when she first held a meeting for 15 other job seekers. She said there were simple goals for the council in the beginning.
“The purpose was to bring people who were experiencing job loss together and serve as a support system,” she said. “But more importantly, we wanted to provide information, leads, ideas and advice.”
Olson found a job working as a recruiter for a health-care search firm in Chicago for a few years. She conducted weekly meetings, gave presentations and provided materials for the council until moving away in 1992. Over the next 10 years, she worked in Harrisburg, Penn., as vice president for a health-care association, and in Boston, as a director and consultant for a community college foundation.
When her contract wasn’t renewed in fall, she moved back to the Chicago area and began attending sessions at the employment council as she seeks a senior-level management position with a non-profit organization. Olson recently gave a presentation on how to negotiate a compensation package.
Self-esteem issues
She said unemployment often brings a loss of self-esteem because unemployed people feel they are failing to contribute to several institutions, such as a family.
“I wish there were more people who realized how important it is to pick up the phone and call somebody who is unemployed,” Olson said. “People don’t have to have advice or leads or job openings or information to be supportive of someone who is unemployed. A phone call, a note or an e-mail to let people know that they are there goes a long way in helping a person through the difficult times of being unemployed.”
Several people have led the council over the years. The other co-facilitators include Lisa Coleman, a principal of 7A Inc., a Chicago consulting firm, and John Grubbs, first vice president of human resources for LaSalle National Bank Corp.
“In the good times, we have seen more career changers,” said Grubbs, who has participated in council activities for about 10 years. “As the times turn downward, we have seen people who are re-entering the work force and people who fear that they will lose their job.”
Cade, who operates a Chicago communications firm that produces newsletters, brochures and community reports for companies and not-for-profit organization, also has been a leader. He began attending the meetings shortly after the council was formed and said the support it offers goes beyond the job search.
“There is a definite spiritual component in this process,” he said. “Individuals who have been traumatized by the loss of a job are reinforced in looking at their self-worth based on the person they are and how meaningful they are to family and friends and not on their career.”
The council acts as a referral to the Career Transitions Center in Chicago (see sidebar), Cade said.
St. Chrysostom’s is one of the founding faith communities sponsoring the Career Transitions Center, on the campus of Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in the near West Loop. The council’s schedule is also listed on the CTC Web site, ctcchicago.org, and the center’s executive director, Tom Murray, has spoken at the council’s meetings, Cade said.
Recently career management consultant and executive coach James Kacena of Naperville spoke to the council about interviewing techniques, drawing on his 25 years in human resources.
Kacena said interviews often become a “chemistry test” between the applicant and the interviewer. He said an applicant should limit an answer to no more than 90 seconds and the person should ask the interviewer some questions.
Jim Grass attended the session, as he has several times in recent months. He came at the suggestion of his girlfriend, Ann Ertsas of Chicago, who also is unemployed and looking for a job in marketing.
Grass, of Chicago, is a former human relations employee who lost his job in 2001. He said he attends the meetings in hopes of becoming “remotivated” and to learn about subjects related to his field. He added that Kacena’s presentation helped.
“He said some things that I have hit upon in my search recently,” Grass said. “It is interesting to listen to the group itself, because I’m not the only one in this boat.
“[Richard Burke] just found a position and you hear that things can turn very quickly. It is nice to hear that. I can use that as a motivation as well. And it gives us some support.”
