Local networking group to host job fair June 9

The loss of a job can be devastating. However, locals in that situation can rest assured they have plenty of help available.

Monroe County is home to a vibrant community of networking and job-search groups, attracting people from all over upstate New York. The largest is The August Group (TAG), a volunteer-run organization that focuses on networking as the key to success.

 “Your résumé can be irrelevant to some extent,” said Tracy Aiello, the group’s leader of operations. Aiello currently works as a financial planner, but still volunteers 20 to 40 hours a week with TAG.

There are signs that the job market is beginning to come back, and that the skills developed by TAG are paying off. The group says 170 members have been hired since January. And they hope to help others find jobs through a career fair June 9 at Monroe Community College, which will feature representatives from 26 employers have been confirmed, including Wegmans, Paychex, and the University of Rochester. For the full list, visit www.augustgroup.org.

Group members say many jobs are not publicly advertised, and often employment is found through developing contacts with people in a wide variety of companies.

“Most people are afraid to ask for help,” said Aiello.

Recruiter and financial planner Greg Taylor founded the group in 2002 to help his friends find jobs after a huge series of layoffs.

“I’m a teacher by my nature,” he said.

He invited eight people to the first meeting — two showed up. But the group kept growing, eventually expanding to the roughly 4,000 members that make up TAG today.

The Bagel Bin, in Brighton, has become the unofficial headquarters for TAG. Members can be found their nearly every day, participating in workshops, meetings, or other networking activities.

Taylor is currently employed, but he still volunteers quite frequently with the group. Calling himself Sir LinksaLot, he teaches job hunters how to use networking sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter. He believes that the job market is undergoing a fundamental shift, but that there are still things seekers can do to significantly boost their chances of getting hired. Most important: listen and ask good questions.

“Most people start talking, hoping to be heard,” he said. “An interested listener wins respect.”

Smaller networking groups have sprung up alongside TAG, creating a series of loosely-connected organizations while still maintaining a small-group feel.

One of these is the ABC networking group. ABC stands for Always Be Connected. The group was founded by John Adams, of Pittsford, and meets weekly in the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in Brighton.

“We just want to keep the group a little smaller,” said Adams. This small-group mindset can be beneficial to many, and some members of TAG also attend ABC meetings.

“It’s a great group of fantastic people,” Adams said.

For many, the social aspects of networking with other unemployed people are almost as important as the practical aspect. They can receive encouragement from the positive mindset of the groups. At ABC, participants are urged to stay away from terms like “laid off” or “downsized.” They are instead encouraged to say “liberated.”

Mark Delaney, of Spencerport, has already seen the benefits of networking. He got a job in information technology through a former coworker.

“A lot of today’s jobs are not advertised in quite the same way,” he said.