Making Job-Seeking Music

By Sylvia Smith

Stow Community Job Club Member

Do you have an old flute, clarinet or tuba that’s cuddling with dust bunnies in your basement? Now could be the best time for job seekers to brush up on their musical skills or make an early New Year’s resolution to develop a musical talent. Not musically inclined, you say? Well, for New Horizons Band director, James Adkins, anyone with little or no musical experience needs only to have a strong and committed desire to play music in a band or string ensemble.

Adkins visited Stow Community Job Club seekers during its holiday networking get-together, sponsored by Northwestern Mutual, www.nmfn.com/randallkeller, December 8.  Guests were treated to yummy food and great networking at On Tap Grille & Bar in Cuyahoga Falls. Adkins shared how the first New Horizons Band was started by Professor Roy Ernst at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY in 1991 and is currently supported by a grant from NAMM International Music Products Association and the National Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers (NABIM). Word of this unique program has caught the attention of media outlets spanning from the Akron Beacon Journal to NBC’s Today Show. Its popularity has sprouted to over 120 NHB groups throughout the U.S.

By now you’re thinking…  “What does music have to do with job searching and more importantly—what can this program do for me?” While every job club stresses networking, sending resumes and practicing your interviewing skills, a job seeker cannot be expected to do this 24/7. Having some extra time on your hands could actually be a good thing. Why not use some down time to add another skill to your repertoire: playing an instrument? You must admit that full time employment doesn’t often allow for extracurricular fun. Being in transition can lead to new hobbies, including acquiring new musical talent no matter what your musical skill level may be. Visit the NHB website at www.nhb-neo.org to expand your horizons!

Stow Job Club members were also treated to a presentation by Don Ake, a former job seeker who knows what it’s like to ride the career transition roller coaster. Believe it or not, two years ago the job outlook was even bleaker than it is now. In fact, employment insecurity dates back to biblical times when psalms written by David record how even he was downsized. Ake pointed out that the common message between then and now remains the same: things may feel bad now, but keep looking forward. Getting over those job-seeking slumps may get you down, but remember that other job seekers are in the same boat, and they are pulling for you as much as you are to reach your next landing.

We often think of what it will be like when that job comes along, but are you doing all you can to drive your present job seeking skills towards your future goals?

Musical scores follow various patterns of floating notes. When put together, it’s music to our ears. Job seeking is the same. Riding the ups and downs of job seeking, interviewing, rejection and networking can become a mundane and tough routine, but they are creating your road map to the words that will soon sound like music to your ears: “You’re hired!”

Founded in April of 2010, the Community Job Club, Inc. is a, nonprofit organization that focuses on offering free or low cost resources to job seekers and family members in the Stow/Munroe Falls and surrounding communities.  For more information about the Community Job Club, Inc., on volunteer opportunities or if you wish to donate please contact Diana Miller, Executive Director, at diana@communityjobclub.com  or visit the website at www.communitjoblcub.com.