Job Seekers Find Comfort in Collaboration

Last October, John Martindale learned that he was not alone.

Four months after being laid off from his job as a director of training for a homebuilding company, Martindale started a group for job seekers of all stripes to get tips on the troubles of unemployment.

"We have guys that worked in manufacturing and presidents of banks that have come to the meetings," Martindale said. "It's a really wide range of folks."

Across that range, Martindale said the need for collaboration and support is the same.

"I was laid off once before in the 1980s," Martindale said, "and you just go through a huge range of emotions from 'I can do this,' to 'Am I ever going to work again?'"

Martindale said that talking to people along the way and realizing that those emotions are normal allows people to stay motivated in their job search.

"A lot of it is just encouragement and knowing that you're not the only one out there," Martindale said.

And the diversity of the group is a benefit, Martindale said, as group members share computer skills, resume tips, and other strategies for finding jobs and getting back into the workforce.

On top of that, Martindale said, underemployment — where people have skills above and beyond the jobs available to them — is a problem.

"Most are trying to get back into what they were doing," Martindale said. "Even engineers and people on the financial side are out of work."

Each month, Martindale said the attendance fluctuates, but he doesn't see that as a negative thing.

"As people get jobs, they're not coming to the meetings anymore and that's what you hope," Martindale said, "but you also want to get the word out to let people know that we're here to encourage and support each other."

In Diamond Bar, the unemployment picture has improved since the start of the year, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor. In January, the unemployment rate stood at 9.5 percent and decreased to 8.5 percent by May.

Since starting the group, Martindale has decided to start his own business with a former colleague, providing contracted human resources services.

The work, he said, has helped him continue to make connections that he can bring back to members of the group, to which Martindale sends along job listings and ads that he picks up along the way.

The type of collaboration is frequent in the group, Martindale said. Job seekers putting together resumes or cover letters have gotten computer tips and recruiting tips from others in the group.

"We talked before about how some resumes are filtered for keywords and if you don't have the right terms, they won't even be looked at," Martindale said.

The tips came from a former job recruiter who attended a meeting.

"From a jobhunter's perspective, you have to be savvy," Martindale said. "If you receive a hundred resumes, it could be tough to look through all of them."

The group meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. in Room 107 at the in Diamond Bar. Martindale said the group is not connected with the church and is open to all.

UPDATED, July 25: The July 26 meeting has been postponed to a future date. Check back for details on the group's next meeting.

The group's next meeting, on July 26, will cover 12 tips to get a resume noticed.