JumpStart
Since POAC's inception the JumpStart program has become the basic starting point for well over
35,000 professional, technical and managerial people who have turned
to POAC for career management assistance.
POAC recently introduced a totally new JumpStart program titled Re-Engineering Success, in
response to the demands of the changing labor market. In 1993 when
POAC opened its doors near the Baltimore Washington Airport, the
region's labor market was reeling from large corporate downsizings and
massive restructuring. Although layoffs and restructuring
continues, the labor market has become more sophisticated and
competitive. Job seekers in today's labor market are not merely
searching for jobs, but they must compete for those jobs using
the traditional methods and the numerous and sundry Internet
based application systems.
Today's successful worker must
stay ahead of their occupation's power curve, while earning a livable income. Job search today
requires new skills, new strategies and an entrepreneurial approach to career management.
The job market today is radically different from past years, with a burgeoning number of
employers using a contingency (temporary) workforce, augmented by contractual and
part-time workers.
All indicators point to these
trends continuing to shape the labor force. At the POAC we want our services to reflect where
the marketplace is going; not where it has been.
POAC staff has made a significant effort to help its customers gain a major advantage in
this extremely competitive environment. The JumpStart Re-Engineering Success program is a three-day
state-of-the-art-training program for the job seeker designed for the
job acquisition in the new millennium. The
methodology used in the delivery of this program has a research base of more than 10 years and
has been updated with the knowledge and experiences gained in the more than eight years of
collaborative employment programs. It encompasses the collective knowledge of several
of the most well respected career coaches in the region, who during their careers have
provided career guidance and training to well over 150,000
workers. The programs are under the supervision of a Certified
Professional Resume Writer and Certified Interviewing and
Interrogation Specialist.
JumpStart draws from the pioneering research work and field experiments conducted by
Robert D. Caplan Ph.D, Amiram D. Vinokur Ph.D and Richard H. Price Ph.D under grants
from the National Institute of Mental Health to the George
Washington University Center for Family Research and Department
of Psychology, and the University of Michigan Prevention
Research Center. The staff of the POAC stays in regular
communication with these university research programs.
POAC's program also embraces a
variety of techniques and principles drawn from group and individual counseling, as well
as, the career management field. The program uses current ideas and trends in the fields
of management research, organizational development and economic ideas developed by
people such as Warren Bennis, Patricia Ward Biederman, Tom Peters, Faith Popcorn, William
Davidow, Michael Malone, Charles Handy and Jeremy Rifikin, to name but a few.
The JumpStart program is
delivered in a participatory style that is designed to provide the customer with an experiential
"hands-on" understanding of the ideas and techniques embraced by POAC. Subsequent
skill building workshops and seminars are also presented each month.
Employment Reference
Resource Library
This area contains a focused collection of audio tapes, videos,
books, periodicals and newspapers specifically selected to support the job seeker.
The materials selected for the reference resource library cover a wide range
of topics.
| Job Search |
Communication Skills |
Internet Access |
| Job Retention |
Resumes |
Professional Trade Publications |
| Entrepreneurship |
Motivation |
Negotiation |
| Goal Setting |
Self-Esteem |
Cover Letters |
In addition the library contains a variety of local, state and regional employer
directories and other periodicals.
Computer Resource Lab
Computers are available to registered POAC customers where they can work on their resumes,
cover letters, maintain their proficiency in basic computer software skills, enhance their
proficiency in the various software packages or through software specific training, add
new skills to their employment related repertoire. Internet access is available free of
charge. POAC also offers a complete MS Office and Corel Office in self-paced CD-ROM tutorial
library for the acquisition of new skills.
Telephone Work Stations
(local/toll free)
The job seeker is provided with a semi-private space to draft resumes, cover letters,
conduct their networking, employer research and telemarket to potential employers.
Seminars
Seminars, workshops and simulations are regularly conducted
covering a wide variety of topics focused on job search, employer research,
resumes and cover letters, communication skills, interviewing, compensation
negotiation and Internet training. These seminars, workshops and simulations
are only available to registered POAC customers. The seminars are led by the
Center's staff and visiting professionals.
Peer Training and Counseling
Within the ranks of POAC's unemployed
professionals is a wealth of talent which, in many cases, can be tapped to
provide other unemployed professionals with skills and knowledge that would
enhance their marketability. The Center's staff identifies those individuals
with the potential to provide training or peer counseling and begin to work with
them to develop the seminar framework and related training materials. Many
useful training seminars have been conducted covering a variety of topics
including: TQM, ISO-9000, Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, Stress
Management Workshops, C++ basics, patent and copyright processes, desk top
publishing and LAN and WAN administration, to name a few.
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