by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Bureau Chief/Central

July 23, 2009

There was jubilation at Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey when they found Sheri Brown. It wasn’t just her skills that they valued, but also how she had acquired some of them.

Brown was hired earlier this month as a vocational counselor. Together with social worker Carol Einhorn she will run the agency’s Economic Recovery Initiative, a program funded by the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey.

Finding just the right person proved harder than expected. Job placement expertise turns out to be a high-demand area, as more and more people find themselves wrestling with unemployment and career changes.

Brown had been through eight months of that struggle herself — an experience, she said, that gives her great empathy with what her clients are going through. After 22 years with the same company, American Management Association in New York, working in various capacities, late last year she found her department disbanded and herself out of a job.

After happily building up her skills in hiring and training personnel, arranging seminars — some for as many 2,000 people — and training others to do the same, she was out in the cold.

Brown said she was shocked and hurt. “But within about three days, I found myself reassuring my ex-boss, who was very upset that she hadn’t been able to help me, that I had a feeling it was actually for the best,” she said, talking in an office at JFS headquarters in Elizabeth.

That didn’t mean she was happy to find herself idle; Brown buzzes with energy and clearly wasn’t going to sit back like a lady of leisure, even with a reasonably good severance package.

One of the first things she did was join a support group for unemployed people run by the Jewish Family Service in Teaneck, close to where she lives with her husband in Secaucus. “As soon as I saw what they were doing, I knew that I could help,” she said. She signed up as a volunteer and began facilitating meetings. Members were so engaged by the group, when their scheduled meetings ended, they opted to carry on meeting with one another.

‘Perfect for the job’

Volunteering, Brown said, is one of the most constructive things you can do when you’re unemployed. A longtime activist herself, from her teen years in United Synagogue Youth, she said she believes “you get back as much as you give. Most people really get pleasure from helping others.”

Volunteering not only boosts one’s self-esteem, she said, it opens up networks and provides experience with other work options. And in this tough job market, it’s particularly important to be flexible and open to as many possibilities as possible.

Volunteering also fills what might be a long gap on one’s resume since the last paid position. “It makes you relevant,” Brown said. “I don’t mean to sound like Oprah, but it’s true. Employers see that you’ve been willing to step up and take initiative.”

That certainly proved true in her case. Her employment had given her in-depth experience in interviewing applicants and reviewing resumes, but now she also had a broad overview of the job market and the emotional stress facing job seekers.

She came across the JFS position on Jewishjobs.com, a website she was introduced to through the support group. She had urged others to look for “a warm contact,” some kind of personal connection to back up any job application. She realized she had a very good connection — her sister, Toby Brown Ehrlich, marketing director for Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence on the Wilf Campus for Senior Living in Somerset.

Einhorn said she was thrilled when Brown applied. Her professional background was right, and her volunteering experience completed the picture. “We knew she was perfect for the job,” she said.

For Brown it was a big change from her previous job, but one that she welcomed. “I wanted to work with the Jewish community, and I felt this was my chance to give back,” she said.

Working at area synagogues, the JFS, or other venues, she and Einhorn offer free one-on-one counseling for anyone dealing with unemployment and the financial and emotional stresses that come with it; they also help people tailor more effective resumes and hone their interview skills.

They are working closely with Temple Emanu-El in Westfield, Congregation B’nai Israel in Basking Ridge, and any others interested in their services. To ensure that their resources are directed as effectively as possible, they have surveyed Emanu-El members and will doing the same thing with the Jewish Educational Center, the Jewish Community Center of Central NJ, and other groups.

They are also offering a series of seminars. The next one, on Monday, Aug. 17, will be led by sales trainer Gene McLouglin and will deal with “the job search as a sales process.”

The next seminar will feature a panel of headhunters; others will focus on the emotional aspects of unemployment, reviewing resumes, preparing for interviews, and how to use social networking sites. JFS is inviting members of the community with the appropriate expertise in those topics to volunteer their services so that as many people as possible can get help.

In addition to all this, Einhorn and Brown plan to establish a casual meeting place for those who are out of work, a place for people to share stories and support one another. There will also be computers available for on-line job searches.

“You don’t have to deal with this alone,” Brown said. “It’s really important to reach out and get help — and to give help where you can.”

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