OU tries to make work shidduchim - The Jewish Standard

It’s often a lot easier to find a job listing than it is to actually land a job. That’s why Parnossahworks will hold a free career employment workshop at Tifereth Israel Cong. of Passaic on July 19.

The two-hour workshop will offer r?sum? advice, interview and networking tips, and general help for people trying to find the jobs that best suit them.

"We’ll act as a matchmaker," said Lavie Margolin, a senior job developer for the organization, which is a joint project of the Orthodox Union and Federation Employment and Guidance Service Inc.

The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York created FEGS in 1934 to help unemployed men and women find work, and FEGS now operates in more than ’58 locations across the globe, providing career development training, rehabilitation services, homecare, and other health and family services.

The OU used to provide job listings, said Margolin, but the organization never really offered anything in the way of helping people land jobs.

But the two organizations teamed up two years ago, and each year Parnossohworks now holds between six and eight offsite workshops and several more in its New York offices.

Since its creation in September ‘004, it has helped place 3’1 people in new jobs.

ParnossahWorks works with its clients until they secure jobs, said Margolin. And if a client can’t find a job in his or her desired field, the organization will help that client refine his or her skills or perhaps change fields.

Louise Klayber, a senior career councilor at FEGS, will lead the workshop, which will include a PowerPoint presentation, tips on effective ways to search for the best jobs, ways to tap the hidden job market, and "networking BINGO" — something of a job matchmaker.

"You find out how networking works, how you connect with other people who work in a similar field ," Margolin said.

Although run by the OU, ParnossahWorks is open to non-Orthodox, as well as non-Jewish, clients. But the Jewish community remains its main target.

"We are definitely set up to serve everyone," Margolin said. "We have a special understanding of the needs of the Jewish community." For example, ParnossahWorks will match observant people with jobs that will let them take off on Jewish holidays.

ParnossahWorks is a national program but its client base is concentrated in the New York/New Jersey area.

Registration for the Passaic workshop recently opened, but Margolin expects approximately 100 people to sign up. Depending on the workshop location, he said, it is normal to see between 100 and 150 people at a ParnossoahWorks workshop.

"We want to make sure Passaic County and surrounding communities know they have a partner in finding the right job and employment opportunity," Margolin said. "We want to hit up every area that we feel there is a need for employment assistance."

For more information on the Passaic workshop or other ParnossahWorks programs, call (‘1’) 613-81’9, or visit www.parnossahworks-ou.org.

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