Get a Job Faster with Friends in Job Search Councils

We are creating Job Search Councils to accelerate your job search process

Searching for a new job while unemployed can be horrible, lonely, and soul-crushing. Yet, that is exactly what most of us are doing right now. Stumbling blindly through this madness - alone.

The whole reason I started Career Pivot, the whole reason you’ve joined, is to overcome the trauma of unemployment as a group. To never job search alone!

Phyl Terry, author of Never Search Alone, has a proven method to help you find a job faster than the norm. It usually takes professionals like us about 6 months to get a job. His process can shorten that to 3-4 months.

(Those who need a job fast—like now—please see the difference between a job and the job)

How? By forming support groups of peers that help you cultivate hope, motivation, and accountability together. These are Job Search Councils. Working as a team, you can:

• Determine your candidate-market fit

• Build a network to find the right job

• Successfully interview for it

• Negotiate with employers to set yourself up for success

Many of your peers in the Career Pivot swear by the Never Search Alone process that focuses on Job Search Councils. They have seen the power of this process and its results firsthand. I personally would never recommend a process that I didn’t believe in myself. I, too, will be in a Job Search Council and on this journey with you.

What is a Job Search Council?

A Job Search Council is a group of peer job seekers—we’re aiming for 5-7 teammates—who agree to form a mutual support group to help each other find good jobs they love.

Cost = Zero Dollars + Your Time

Job Search Councils are a free service of the Never Search Alone community. We will help match you in groups, and then each group will register with the Never Search Alone community and receive direct support from them. Again, free support.

Job Search Councils don’t cost money, but you do need to invest your time—and you have plenty of that right now. A typical Job Search Council member can expect to invest 80 hours across 3-6 months, with much of the work front-loaded.

And let’s be clear—you are spending more than 80 hours right now doing anything/everything you can think of to find a job. Is it working?

You wouldn’t be reading this if it were.

Dedication = Faster, Better Results

Take a deep breath and step back a moment. This is the way you’re going to move forward, with a structured process that will lead you to success.

Job Search Councils can meet as a fast group—twice a week for 1.5 to 2 hours with the goal of finding jobs for everyone in 3-6 months. Slow groups typically meet once every 2 weeks with the aim of finding jobs for everyone in 6-9 months.

I personally want to be in a fast group, but if you want to take a slower route you can. We are all on our own paths.

Councils will be led by a volunteer moderator—please volunteer!—who receives additional tools and training from the Never Search Alone community and invests an additional 2-3 hours a week in their group’s success. This is a great role for those who want to show (or learn) leadership skills in their next job.

Are you ready for a Job Search Council?

There are two statements you need to agree with to have the best Job Search Council experience:

• I’m absolutely ready to rethink my entire job search process. What I am doing now isn’t working the way I hoped (This is me, and probably you too)

• I am putting a lot of energy into the process, but I am open to taking a deep breath and looking at things differently, even though it will take work and patience

It’s okay if you feel you need a job right now, versus a career you want for the next 5-10 years, or if you’re feeling totally burnt out and need to take time off to recharge. Job Search Councils may not be a good fit for you at this time.

You will get energy, hope and motivation from the Never Search Alone process as a result of the hard work you’ll be putting in. Commitment is key!

Get Matched Today!

We are not organizing Job Search Councils anymore. However, you can still join a Job Search Council in two ways:

• Join a JSC via the Never Search Alone community. Register now and they will put you in a JSC with similar seniority—all mid-career or all senior-level, for example—but with different sector experience. That way, each member can help others, but no one is competing for the same job.

• Join a JSC with International Development peers. Join the APSIA Slack Group and DM Colin to be added to the private Career Pivot channel for ex-USG/public-service job-seekers. Community member Colin Steele runs the channel and has all the NSA resources except for the physical book in the Slack.

Please take action today. Let’s start searching together!