Jewish Family and Children’s Services reaches out with career services

Fall marks a critical transition- from a time of play to a season of seriousness, especially when it comes to asking relevant career questions: Where am I and where do I want to be? With unemployment rates high and opportunities scarce, it can seem daunting to seek out career information when you’re not feeling all that confident in your skills, resume or experience. And it can seem even more unnerving to go about this process alone, which is where the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis (JFCS) can make a difference. Since 1910, JFCS has been supporting the community through various ventures.  A century later, the wisdom and values that founded the organization still act as the compass by which JFCS operates and advances. Ethics, professionalism, empathy and equality are just a few of the many qualities that infiltrate the culture and mission of JFCS.As the years passed, the organization expanded its arms to reach even more individuals by adding career counseling, vocational rehabilitation, career enhancement services, skills training, and networking opportunities. According to career and community services director Margie Earhart, the organization would welcome the opportunity to  partner with businesses in the Lake Minnetonka community that are looking to hire qualified candidates in order to connect those needing help with those hoping to help.JFCS has a specific branch committed solely to offering career services to those looking for guidance. “The goal is to help individuals meet their fullest potential by providing them with the advocacy, support, training and resources to prepare them for the [job-finding] process,” Earhart says. Within this wing, there are many different services available so every individual can find the right service to meet his or her needs.One of the differentiators for JFCS compared to other career-service organizations is that they do not do job placement—in other words, their goal is not just to find someone a job but rather to go far beyond that by supporting individuals so they can seek out and secure the right job for themselves. By taking this approach, JFCS hopes to position the person to achieve short-term and long-term success by instilling skills that are useful now and later.JFCS also practices a personalized process by treating each client as a unique case. This approach eliminates the one-size-fits-all mentality and respects the nuances that each person’s story is bound to carry. As Earhart puts it, “We want to get to know you, we want to listen to who you are, we want to see you as you are—all so we can provide you the services that make sense for you.” And yet, just because it’s personalized doesn’t mean it’s not holistic. The career services arena fits within its broader multi-service agency, so as needs arise or questions emerge, JFCS can connect clients to internal and external partners who will be able to help.Communications director Robin Segal summed up JFCS’s services by quoting the well-known Chinese proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. As Segal puts it, “It speaks volumes to the work we do that strengthens the community, one person at a time.”More information about JFCS’s career and community services is available at jfcsmpls.org.