A Huge Mistake
About 18 years ago, a company built a brand new distribution center in Edison, and I was fortunate enough to be asked to recruit three high-level information technology professionals to get their operations center up and running. The technology being installed was chosen to be compatible with that of their primary retail customer. This was not the most popular system used in NJ at that time and the jobs posed a challenge to fill.
From snooping around (internet was not very helpful back then), I learned of a retail company who had just about shut down their distribution center a few miles south that used similar IT packages. Word got to me that the people I needed were operating their job search efforts out of a small office in New Brunswick called the Professional Services Group (PSG), run under the support of the NJ Department of Labor. I established contact with this group and filled all three positions in less than a month. From that point on, I have always networked with the PSG when looking to find candidates with deep experience for hard-to-fill opportunities.
Fast forward to 2011 for a moment. My wife went to work one April morning to find out that her position with a major telecommunications company had been suddenly eliminated after 24-plus years. She was offered three months of assistance from an outplacement service which was good but not spectacular in quality. As her unofficial coach, I strongly suggested she check out the PSG in Somerville. Even after she returned to work, she has kept her ties with them and volunteers whenever possible.
The PSG consists of 11 groups throughout NJ staffed primarily by volunteers who provide a wide range of services from career coaching, resume writing, and cold calling skills to career fairs and workshops delivered by professionals from a variety of backgrounds at no financial cost to those who are unemployed. The only cost is to donate a few hours of your time each week to serving on a committee, running coaching sessions, etc. Through this effort, I know scores of friends, former colleagues, and clients who have gotten back to work relatively fast regardless of the environment. Check out this link to learn more: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wnjpin/findjob/career/PSG.html
Unfortunately, you may have to act swiftly to participate as NJ's Department of Labor is attempting to shut down the PSG at the end of May, http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wnjpin/findjob/career/PSG.html and reinvent the process in July as job clubs according to Associate Commissioner Mary Ellen Clark. She cites costs that seem unrealistic to me as she mentions each group has a dedicated facilitator which is not accurate. After staffing cutbacks last summer, each group sees a facilitator stop by a few hours per month at best as part of their larger job duties. She claims that only 1 percent of the state's unemployed utilize the PSG for assistance. Perhaps this number would increase if unemployment offices were better trained to promote this service. My wife would never had known of them if she did not hear about them from myself and other friends who had benefited from their programs.
In all fairness, the PSG could probably use some tweaking to remain current and effective but not a complete dismantling. Please read the article I cited in the prior paragraph and also ask around and learn about the great work of the PSG. If you agree with me, contact your local Assembly and Senate representatives and ask them for help. Of course, feel free to share your observations and constructive comments with me as well!
Steve
10:44 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I never heard of the PSG as well. Sounds like the program needs more money for promoting it then cutting it in this economy. However when I got furloughed temporarily a few years back I filed for unemployment on the web site as did most of my professional colleagues that were part of the furlough, I never went to an unemployment office that could have directed to the PSG. Is the PSG on LinkedIn and other social media sights? With cut backs the PSG may want to go virtual.
Harold Levin
10:54 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve, here is how hey are listed on LinkedIn: Professional Services Group at NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
Steve
12:15 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Oh well Harold, looks like they are vetting who can join.
"Thank you for your interest in the PSG’s of NJ (Statewide) LinkedIn group.
Only verifiably active members and graduates of New Jersey Department of Labor Workforce Development sponsored Professional Service Groups are eligible to join.
Membership in the local PSG LINKEDIn GROUP is a prerequisite for approval and must be displayed in members’ profile"
Harold Levin
12:28 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve, My interpretation is that the actual LinkedIn group is restricted to people who attend or have attended their programs and does not refer to joining one of their local programs in person. However, the wording is not terribly clear about this.
Steve
12:40 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Looks like I would have to go the local group location, join up and then get in the local group's LinkedIn group, and they wonder why they only get 1 percent participation. Although I am looking, I am currently employed, so I don't have interest in going to a local meeting since i could not take advantage of the free help. However I do come across opportunities that I may be able to refer people to. And I do have colleagues and friends that have been unemployed that I could refer to the group now that I know about it.
Curt Carnes
7:51 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
So Harold, Because you not only financially benefit from this taxpayer supported program, but it makes your job easer too, you think I and every other working person in the state should reach into our pockets and help pay you?
Here’s a great opportunity for you to make a difference. Start a private company that replaces the government funded PSG. After all you seem to think this program is critical to NJ, so your new company should be a huge success!
Steve
9:30 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Curt, that was just a little bit harsh, lol. I don't know the total cost to the tax payers but he does say that it is staffed primarily by volunteers. Any if we have to spend a few tax dollars to get people back to work to they can go back to paying their taxes then i am all for it as long as the benefits out weigh the costs. But as was stated only 1 percent of the state's unemployed utilize the service. My suggestion is to take it virtual to cut cost and use the savings for promoting the service. Perhaps this new "job clubs" will be better. Let's hope Associate Commissioner Mary Ellen Clark has both the tax payer's and the unemployed best interest in mind. So Harold found a way to leverage a government program as part of his business, that is capitalism. If he got people back to work and off unemployment that is a win, win. :-)
Curt Carnes
6:49 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Steve, is this the chicken or egg question?
Are people unemployed because of high taxes, and big government? I just had to furlough 7 employees for the rest of the summer, because government programs and tax costs prevent me from keeping them on payroll!
Was I harsh to Harold? I guess I was, I wasn’t in the best of modes this morning.
However, harsh or not, my point still stands. If this is such a needed service, I think Harold should jump on it, take it private, make it work, and profit heartily from it!
I’m sorry, I’m just not a “Field of Dreams” guy. I’m more pragmatic because I know the truth at the EOD is I have to have enough money in the checkbook to make payroll, if I want them to come!
And I know this truth too -- Government can give someone nothing it first doesn’t have to take from someone else!
Steve
7:40 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Curt, I hope you told those employees about the PSG and hope they get back to work ASAP.
Robert
9:00 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
I only heard of PSG a number of years ago from my brother, who learned of them from word of mouth. Perhaps if DOL would've done at least a half-baked job or promoting the group/service, more would have benefitted from the services. Typical of government - with unemployment at record levels, that's the time to shut down a great employment search service!
RDS
9:26 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
I am an alumna of the PSG. I was laid off in April 2009 without warning. After 8 months of fruitless job searches I found out about the Somerville PSG. To become a member you must complete their 5 half-day training session on topics such as resume writing, interview skills, networking and using LinkenIn to become a rull member of the PSG. They have weekly meetings, quite often featuring a recruiter or a representative of a company looking to hire. A job search takes effort and you get out of it what you put into it. Maybe the 1% who avail themselves of the PSG are willing to work hard, attend classes, volunteer their time to the organization, and work what the PSG teaches. After 8 months of nothing, following the PSGs guidelines and by networking within the group I landed a better job than I had "lost". By using a tip from a recruiter who made a presentation at a PSG meeting, I was able to stand out from the competition and receive a job offer within 24 hours of interviewing. I could not have done this without the connections I made and the lessons I learned at the PSG. It is disheartening to hear of the state's plans to fix something that isn't broken. Yes, those who are currently employed cannot avail themselves of the services of the PSG, but those are currently unemployed and not using the services are missing out on a great benefit.
Harold Levin
10:04 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
RDS: I am happy to hear of the success you had working through PSG. Curt:Over the last 15-20 years, I have successfully placed perhaps 5-10 referrals from PSG but have assisted dozens of their members with job search and/or resume advice at no cost to anyone. When an organization like this helps me I make sure to give back as much as I can! Robert: I do agree that publicity and communication from the DOL could be managed better than it is.