Gene Nokes

"Tips from the Career Coach"

Gene Nokes is a Career Coach and Business Development executive with a 3o year record of achievement in high-tech markets. Gene has also ministered to the unemployed and underemployed a St. Raymond's Catholic Church, in Dublin, CA since 1995. His specialty is coaching individuals in the high-tech industries of Northern California. He is also very interested in assisting mature workers find meaningful and rewarding work. He offers private career coaching as a lay minister to Christian Churches throughout Northern California.

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Surrender and Your Career Plan
June 29, 2011 by Gene Nokes

Unemployment Office, One-Stop Centers, Churches

Sometimes the loss of a job can be so devastating to the worker that they feel “broken” and that their life is in utter chaos. This article is dedicated to these people that feel their life has become “unmanageable”.  Our country has several safety net organizations where a person can reach out for help, for example the unemployment office is a beginning place, see http://www.careeronestop.org/ReEmployment/UnemploymentBenefits/WhatisUnemploymentInsurance.aspx
 
Sometimes people, such as the self employed or Church workers, don’t qualify for unemployment benefits. Fortunately there are over 600 One Stop Career Centers in the US which offer employment information and inspiration, see http://www.careeronestop.org.  
 
Many local Churches and faith organizations offer group self help programs, which many people find helpful because the groups are often small and intimate and members tend to do job coaching with each other. The best way to locate these groups is to call your local church and ask for a referral to a Work Ministry Group.
 

My name is Gene N. and I need to recover

Some people will find themselves so devastated by the unmanageability of their circumstances that they need to somehow recover before they can craft a professional career plan. Fortunately for people in this condition they will find compassion and understanding at most AA meetings. Yes, I mean an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. This may seem odd, but AA meetings are open to people that need to recover and there are AA meetings in virtually every city in the US. 
 
It is a good idea to be honest as to why you are at the meeting. When asked to introduce yourself, you might answer in this fashion:
 
“My name is Gene N. and my life has become unmanageable due to a devastating loss of my job. I have no place to go so I came here with the hope of learning how to recover.”
 
You may find that some meetings are closed to new members because they have reached the maximum size for a good AA meeting. Others may be for Alcoholics only, but there is a lot of recovery at these meetings. You can simply listen or ask to stay to talk with potential sponsors that will teach you the 12 Steps of Recovery. It is important to find a temporary sponsor at these meetings; someone that can guide you through the 12 Steps.
 

The 12 Step Process

 
The 12 Step process has helped countless individuals recover from broken lives. The 12 Step program can be a tool to relieve suffering, admit your needs and meet others who have recovered control over their lives. It all starts with Step 1, see http://www.12step.org/the-12-steps/step-1.html
 
“We admitted we were powerless over our condition - that our lives had become unmanageable“
 
I have substituted the word condition for the word addiction. It may require some courage on your part to attend these meetings, but my advice is to keep going back. People there don’t share last names, or talk about others at the meetings. It is a safe, non judgmental space. 
 
This quote from the Newcomer’s Guide at www.12step.org is the best advice anyone could give:
 
“See if you can find a face-to-face meeting in your area. There should be people in those meetings with varying levels of experience, sobriety and wisdom. Don't be afraid of going. You may be amazed at the warm reception that you find. Many people have said that they finally felt like they were coming home when they went to a meeting. They no longer felt alone.”
 

The Concept of Surrender

Step One helps in that it acknowledges the need for help and the fact that you need help to recover – you need others to help you. This act of “Surrender”, admitting the need for help, begins the process of recovery. You may find that you need not only your 12 Step group, but you need the One-Stop Career Center and your local Church group. You may need all those meetings with well meaning people to begin to conduct a professional job search and renew your career.  Sometime our greatest achievement is to recover.
I would like to close this article with the 12 Promises from pages 83-84 of the Big Book of AA:
“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through . . . “
  1. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
  2. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
  3. We will comprehend the word serenity.
  4. We will know peace.
  5. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
  6. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
  7. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
  8. Self-seeking will slip away.
  9. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
  10. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
  11. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
  12. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
“Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. “
Categories: Career Plan, Career Management & Transition, Other Resources, Job Search Help, Health, Things You Need to Know
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