Coping; A Boost For the Jobless
Inside the church, 16 well-dressed professionals are meeting. Eight hold advanced degrees; six speak more than one language. All are jobless.</br></br>They are part of the Georgetown Career Support Group and they are discussing the ways and means of looking for work. "How do you convince {potential employers} that you really don't want to be the boss anymore?" asks Michele Saranovich, a former nuclear energy policy adviser. "Believe me, I've down-scaled my re'sume'."</br></br>Seven years ago, Georgetown's was one of a handful of local unemployment support groups; today it is one of the oldest in continuous operation.Around the Beltway, around 20 groups have sprouted, many of them in the last year. They provide a place for people who are out of work to meet, exchange ideas and network. Perhaps more important, they provide a place for the unemployed to comfort each other.</br></br>"Job hunting is kind of a lonely occupation," says Lee Horsey, who attends Work Seekers, a support group that meets in space provided by Chevy Chase bookstore Politics & Prose. "It's easy to get off track. The group helps me get back on track."</br></br>Horsey, 45, worked as support staff for the Foreign Service for nearly 20 years before returning to school to earn an MBA from Georgetown University. Since graduating last May, however, she has been unable to find work."I feel really energized being with those intelligent, qualified people for two hours every week," says Horsey, who learned about Work Seekers from a friend and has been attending since November. "It really does help."