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In today's economy, it's no secret that people are losing their jobs and struggling to find new ones. The "Boot Camp for the Transitioning Professional" workshop, run by Paska Nayden at the Easton Library on Wednesday, brought some of them together for discussion and advice.
"When you're laid off...you're going through a major turn, you now have all this down time to really do a lot of introspective research on yourself," said Nayden, who owns an Easton-based franchise of The Entrepreneur's Source, an international company that helps people find jobs and assess their career goals.?Getting laid off from work might just give individuals the opportunity to switch their career completely or do something they always wanted to try.
Matthew Witherbee once worked for a single family as an estate manager, but was laid off. Now he works as a handyman, mostly for friends, clocking an average of four hours of work a day. "I enjoy it, but I'm just sort of stuck in limbo as to whether or not it's something I want to continue to do," he said. Ellen Steele has a PhD in Spanish and worked as an educator until she lost her job a year ago. She has eight certifications, but she is so qualified and so expensive that many school districts are more interested in hiring recent college graduates for less. Alka Soud gave up a medical career years ago and although she wants to change her career, she is not exactly sure what she wants to do.
The discussion, encouragement and brainstorming among workshop participants is something Nayden says is incredibly valuable to figuring out which path works best for each person. In the second half of the workshop on July 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., participants will learn résumé writing skills and financial tips from a professional.
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