We tend to think about a job search as a solitary endeavor, but that is a mistake. Job searches are most effective when you employ a group approach, expanding your network and leveraging the experience and connections they have. One way to do this is to take advantage of a job support group.

 

According to Forbes, “Job support groups, also known as job networking groups, come in many varieties: Some are online, others are local and in-person; a few combine the two. In certain cases, they’re initiatives facilitated by nonprofits and private membership groups like ExecuNet.com, that include networking groups as part of their offerings.”

 

These support groups can serve as safe places to share stories, experiences, and fears. Participants help each other grow, gain confidence, and practice essential skills like interviewing. 

 

Searching for a job can be a discouraging process. As time goes on, it’s easy to begin to feel depressed and hopeless. At times like these, connectivity with other job seekers can make all the difference between exhaustion and enthusiasm. It takes guts to join any support group; to sit in a roomful of strangers and share your story. But if you’re wondering where you went wrong in your search, where to look for new contacts and how to make the most effective use of your time, a support group can help break you out of that rut and into a more productive job search.

 

You can track down a career support group without much trouble, as long as you know where to look. One great source is the job search support page of Job-Hunt.org. This page lists support groups by state, and also includes contact links for more than 250 company, corporate, military and government alumni groups, as well as more than 1,500 professional associations and societies – all of which can broaden your networking even further. If this page doesn’t list a group in your area, just contact a group in a nearby city and ask for a point in the right direction.

 

Another alternative to in-person support group meetings is an online support group. Though these groups can’t provide the direct personal interactions of real-world meetings, you can access them from wherever you happen to be at the time, regardless of whether there’s a real-world group in your area. An online discussion can also prove easier to fit into your schedule than a drive to a meeting place would be.

 

An online discussion can be easier on your schedule than a drive to a meeting place would be…

 

According to HelpGuide.org, one of the most popular online career support groups is the Job Loss Guide Network, created by a career coach in Tennessee. This website provides a place to share your stories, ask questions, express concerns and to get support from others who understand what you’re going through. A more specialized support group is Cancer and Careers, a site designed to help women, their caregivers, their colleagues and their employers deal with cancer by providing a single source for information, news, strategies and support.