Need a Job? Ask Your Neighbor

A year ago, John Fugazzie was unemployed with no human resources of public relations training. From this unlikely founder came the concept of Neighbors helping Neighbors, an organization offering free support and networking for people actively seeking employment. The program is volunteer led and library based, including a Jan. 30 meeting at the .

“We started out in River Edge in Bergen County. We started up a year ago and have been having weekly meetings ever since,” Fugazzie said. “We now have 15 library based programs in northern New Jersey with several additional locations just waiting for us to find volunteer moderators.”

Fugazzie describes Neighbors Helping Neighbors as a group with a “pay it forward” model, and an environment in which group members assist each other in job search techniques and suggestions based on personal experience plus personal and professional networking. Resources are available at host libraries to assist with computer job searches and other useful resources.

The success of the program is not only in its growth. “40 group members have found jobs or consulting opportunities as a result of attending meetings,” Fugazzie said. “They each benefited in some way from the helpful suggestions, networking and support they have received. Our group is extremely proud of the work it has done and the large number of success stories of members getting jobs.”

One of the first success stories of the group was a young woman who was working in New York City and she has a daughter with autism, which required her to leave work frequently. The group members all pitched in and helped give her feedback on her resume, and gave her ideas of where to look for a job within an area closer to her home. This new way of thinking helped her find a job with a local bank in New Jersey not far from her home in New Milford.

Another attendee was close to giving up when he found Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Steve Cossi credits the group with keeping him going. "I had been looking since the beginning of the year, and I had been getting horribly frustrated," Cossi said. "I kept getting interviews and I would interview with the hiring manager and pass the technical interview, most of the time with flying colors, and then I would have the human resources interview, and they always found a reason to reject me. The group members kept my hopes up.”

It was the support of the group that helped keep Cossi going. "I guess the moral of the story is don't give up hope, because I was really getting there,” the Washington Township man said. “I was seriously thinking I was never going to work again. But I still feel I have a lot to contribute to the world."

According to Fugazzie, the group is always in need of volunteers to moderate and he encourages those who might be reluctant to give the meetings a shot. “The more people know about how our meetings are and about how we run them the more comfortable they are ,” Fugazzie said. “Its a big step for people to come out and share their situation, but the ones who do feel great relief that they are not alone.”