Losing employment is one of life’s most difficult circumstances that not only affects finances, but also career aspirations, relationships and self-esteem. Overcoming Job Transition is a local, faith-based nonprofit that offers support and resources to those seeking a fresh start in the job market.
“The job search can be a lonely time for a lot of different reasons,” says Gip Gibson, OJT co-founder. “Some people think they don’t need help. Some people are too afraid or too reluctant, or they don’t have confidence. If I’ve been told I’m being laid off, I may think I’m not worthy for some reason.”
Weekly meetings give attendees the opportunity to share their qualifications and what jobs they’re looking for, as well as hear relevant topics from guest speakers.
“We’ve had speakers talk about how to improve your vocal caliber — do you articulate, and do people listen to you?” says Ed Miller, OJT program director. “We’ve had people talk about body language … how to tell your story in a compelling way.”
The pandemic has changed the job market, and it also appears to have diversified the OJT audience. Miller and Gibson report the past 18 months have brought younger people and more women, as well as those in more varied industries. Two years ago OJT’s audience was mostly men age 50 and up in the engineering and petroleum industries, and the most visited page on its website was “how to write a resume.”
“Now the requests are not so much for resume help, but coaching — coming alongside and helping me figure it out,” Miller says.
Gibson estimates OJT has seen nearly 4,000 job seekers attend group sessions since its founding 13 years ago.
“You lose your job and come to OJT, and you have an immediate network of 10, 20, 30 people,” he says. “Those going through transition help others going through transition. I cannot tell you how many times just that has led to opportunities for others, but people going through it helping other people going through it is just an incredibly powerful thing.”
Overcoming Job Transition meets weekly at various locations. Visit ojttulsa.org for a full schedule of events.
OJT volunteers: Steve Allen, Kim Armstrong, Jim Blazer, Steve Evans, Gip Gibson, Glen Hall, Mike Henry, Penny Horton, Bill Johnson, Russ Knight, Dymian Kritikos, Brenda Melancon, Ed Miller, Scott Pearson, Charlie Pilkington, Leonard Reitz, Tim Smith, Lou Toto, Julie Via and Frank Wantland
Navigating job loss
Gip Gibson and Ed Miller of Overcoming Job Transition
Just after the Great Recession of 2008 a group of local volunteers, including Gip Gibson, gathered to support people losing jobs and changing careers. Thirteen years later, Overcoming Job Transition still meets weekly at First United Methodist and virtually to network and hear guest speakers. Gibson and OJT Program Director Ed Miller recently talked with us about the ministry.
How is OJT different from a local job bank?
Gibson: The purpose of OJT is not to find someone a job. It’s really to equip that person and encourage that person. The person in transition — it’s their job to find the job. We really go along and try to equip and encourage. We provide networking help and resume prep help and interview skill help and (encourage the) use of social media — principally LinkedIn — all of that, but a lot of it’s just, “Hey, come and walk beside me, and we’ll get through this together.”
How do people hear about OJT?
Miller: State agencies will refer people filing for unemployment to us. We don’t ask them to do that. We don’t have any connection or effort. They just know about us. A gentleman got ahold of us two weeks ago because he was a part of a business networking group for people who are divorced. We’ve had people in churches talk about it. The website (ojttulsa.org) does a lot for us. We get between 3,000 and 4,000 unique visitors a year to our website.
Credit: Source link
