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Community Corner

Success is Sweet for the Farmington Valley Re-employment Group

Organization celebrates with a fresh batch of cookies.

Although unemployment claims have dropped and market conditions have improved, many Farmington Valley residents are still out of work, facing an 8.7 percent national unemployment rate, 8.9 for Connecticut. 

David Flowers, a West Simsbury resident, has been out of work for over a year after losing his job in the real estate industry. Despite submitting applications to employers online and in person, he’s had trouble getting interviews.

“I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong,” Flowers said.

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Jim Leone, a West Hartford resident, has been unemployed for the last five months. His tagline is “I sell” and that’s exactly what he’s done since he was 17. Yet, despite his extensive experience in sales, he’s struggled with interviews. 

“I’ve had a lot of interviews. Then you don’t hear from anybody. You don’t get feedback,” Leone said. 

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Both Flowers and Leone attend weekly meetings at Farmington Valley’s Re-Employment Group in Avon, where they receive advice and support with their respective job-searches. 

“It’s a really good group because you get an opportunity to hear a lot of different view points and [they] make you think about the things you need to do,” Flowers said. 

Brian Jud established the group in Dec. 2002 with the objective of helping members develop their job search and networking skills in a supportive environment. Approximately 15 to 20 unemployed members attend each meeting.

Meetings begin with an open discussion, giving everyone the opportunity to ask questions or share experiences with the group.

“If anybody has had any tough situations that come up during the week or interviews or is just stuck…we always try to answer those questions first before going to our topic of the evening,” Jud said. 

Past topics include: the basics of resumes, cover letters and networking. During the holidays, the group discusses ways to maintain a positive attitude while unemployed. 

“It’s an important topic because…when [someone has been] out of work for 6 months or more, it’s tough on the family…attitudes…[and] finances,” Jud said. 

According to Jud, job applicants commonly make the mistake of discussing skills instead of results while interviewing. He encourages the group to think in terms of how they can benefit the employer.

“We have a couple of basic techniques that we talk about regularly. One is called Problem, Action and Result (PAR) statements," Jud said. "We tell people to think of a problem or a situation or challenge they’ve had and what action…they [took] to address that challenge."

Jud empathizes with group members because he’s been out of work before too. Over 20 years ago, he was laid off from a marketing job. Instead of searching for another marketing position, he wrote the book, Job Search 101, which discusses how to get a job from a marketing perspective.

“Look at yourself as a product: how do you package, promote and price it?” Jud said, regarding the topic of his first book. 

The re-employment group members have only one requirement: to bring in cookies when they get a job.

“We’ve had times where two or three people have brought in cookies and then we go a couple weeks without cookies. I always tell them to bring oatmeal raisin cookies because that’s my favorite,” Jud said.

The most recent batch came from a woman who recently moved to the area from Portland to take care of her mother. After attending meetings for three months, she landed a job in the healthcare industry.

“[It’s] encouraging for everybody…to hear the story, the success and how it occurred,” Jud said.

The group meets once a week on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Church of St. Ann at 270 West Avon Rd. at the intersection with Arch Road. Meetings are free and open to the public. Members have access to a library of books and audiotapes on a wide array of job-search oriented topics. 

For more information, please contact Brian Jud at brianjud@comcast.net

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