Thursday, December 18, 2008

The new social network trend; Jobless clubs

Got laid off? Can't find a job? Join the club.

The jobless club, that is.

As layoffs rack the nation, jobless clubs are springing up. These clubs are places to socialize with others who are unemployed and to share career tips and advice. Members of jobless clubs interviewed by USA Today described these clubs as a lifeline out of anger, fear and loneliness.

In San Francisco, there's the "Job Club," which gathers unemployed members each week to share advice and support, according to USA Today. In Charlotte, North Carolina there's a "Golfers in Transition" club that gathers out-of-work professionals to network and socialize, according to AllBusiness.com.

New York is starting to see its share of clubs for the unemployed as well.

For laid-off media workers in New York, there's ASSME - The American Society of Sh**canned Media Elites - a play on the acronym ASME, which is the American Society of Magazine Editors.

ASSME is a "support organization for newly downsized members of the magazine, newspaper, book publishing, advertising, TV and web industries. Through time-tested methods (alcohol, social interaction), we seek to sustain and inspire this beleaguered professional subclass." In short, it's a way for newly laid-off media workers to get together and have fun.

"ASSME launched one week ago, and we're already well over 300 members," said Shawna Seldon, the ASSME publicist.

There's also the New York Unemployed Meetup Group, which is designed to be a networking group for people who want to exchange feedback on cover letters and resumes, as well as get advice and support from other people in the area who are unemployed.
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/12/17/2008-12-17_cant_find_a_job_join_the_club_jobless_cl.html

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a very interesting article, "social networking" for the unemployed.

I work as community web manager for Wall Street Survivor, the leading stock market platform in the industry, and we see a diverse population on our forums; i.e. people that are going through career transitions to the unemployed.

Here at Wall Street Survivor, not only is the platform great for learning about trading, it is also a great resource for the exchange of ideas.

Thanks for sharing the latest "user" trend in social networking and I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Regards,

Alicia
Wall Street Survivor
http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com