“It is the one certainty in today’s environment – change is inevitable. Dynamic market conditions necessitate the timely and continuous deployment of thoughtful strategies and approaches.”

It doesn’t surprise me that these sentiments lead Mark Stelzner’s business site.
If you haven’t heard of Mark, you’ll be interested to know that he is a human resources consultant who, while pondering the excessive number of layoffs and out-of-work people who could benefit from resources and support, sent out a tweet that started a fast-growing, timely and thoughtful movement to help job seekers!

The tweet:

Apparently, his followers, including many recruiters, were game! The resulting business, JobAngels, has become a viral Twitter phenomenon, growing to over 1,700 followers in just a few short weeks and nearing 3,000 across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn since Mark’s initial message on January 29th. JobAngels now boasts a website (in development) that Mark refers to as the theoretical prodigy of Match.com and LinkedIn. More specifically, he said “If Match.com and LinkedIn had a child, this is what it would look like.”

I recently had a chance to speak to Charee Klimek, Chief Marketing Officer, COO and Guardian Angel. She originally became acquainted with Mark via Twitter, as did the rest of the core organizing team: Deirdre Honner, Chief Connection Officer and Guardian Angel and Chris Bailey, Chief Technical Officer and Community Manager. Charee marveled at how individuals in the community embraced the movement aimed at bringing like-minded people together for the common goal of helping just one person find a job.

Charee explained that JobAngels is working on becoming registered as a non-profit organization whose mission, vision and values will align with the generous outpouring of support this movement has engendered. JobAngels plans to maintain the “high-touch, high-tech” presence they have fostered and maintained since Mark’s original tweet. The organizing “Angels” (all volunteering their time) hope that their efforts to grow and strengthen this movement will serve as “sandbags” helping to stave off the flood of unemployment, one person at a time.

What do you need to know to get involved? If you are interested in helping to network or able to hire someone, simply follow @jobangels on Twitter or join their LinkedIn or Facebook communities and alert them that you are willing to be an ‘Angel.’ If you are looking for a job, feel free to DM @JobAngels with your location and the type of position you seek; they will broadcast your request for an Angel using #jobangels. You’ll also want to follow the hashtag: #jobangels to keep up with the stream of information on Twitter.

I have already experienced the amazing reach of this network myself! I tweeted a request for a client, a photographer in Georgia, and almost immediately heard back from a contact in Chicago who offered to try to help! Amazing!

Charee noted that the Guardian Angels believe that “every bit of help from an Angel, no matter how small, sets the foundation for a successful career search.” JobAngels seeks success stories as a result of this nascent movement. If you have a story to share, they ask that you send it to stories@jobangels.org.

As hundreds of people roll up their sleeves to help – and job seekers recognize the value of “loose” networking connections – it’s only a matter of time before the stories start coming in!

Need help with your search? Assistance using Twitter and other social networking platforms to fuel your search? Contact me – I can help!

 

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