Excerpted from:

By Patricia Kitchen, Newsday

December 22, 2002

More and more, thanks to the Internet, we're seeing what one job-search expert calls "a modern-day version of the barn raising." John Challenger is referring to all those grassroots e-mail groups popping up to help people raise the barns of their sagging careers - by finding work.

These e-groups are the next generation of those face-to-face initiatives that so many religious and community service organizations have been creating right along, says Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm.

And while e-mail may make everything seem easy, the catch is that you still have human beings out there gazing at those computer screens. And "human beings" means there's bound to be disappointment and miscommunication.

Which means both group members and leaders have to manage their expectations.

[A] recent entry is the New York Metro Job Searchers Group, started in August as a Yahoo community by Richard Kuper of Forest Hills, who is looking for work himself as a business and quality analyst or documentation specialist. Of the 200 or so members, some are highly active in sharing job leads, pertinent articles, events notices and the like. But others, he says, are missing out on opportunities to catch the eye of the small but growing number of recruiters who are also on the list. (You can find it on Yahoo by searching for "NY Metro Group.")

For those interested in starting, or joining, such groups, here are some issues to keep in mind:

You'll want a pretty clear mission of what the group is designed to do. That includes setting ground rules and creating clear guidelines, says Kuper, who allows no postings of get-rich-quick spam.

As with any group, you need to assess the culture and decide if it's the right place for you. An online group devoted to venting may be useful for a while, but if you're serious about finding work you'd better seek people who are focused in that direction. If the group is "run by people who are just angry, that can make it difficult for people to get over ," Challenger says. And if you can't let go of the past, "you're in danger of not moving on with your life."

Beware of the trap many fall into - relying too heavily on any one job-search technique. So says Joseph Terach, a Manhattan career counselor and founder of Resume Deli, an online resume and cover-letter business. While a group can provide great resources and support - especially for those who are "not inclined to reach out via telephone or in-person meeting" - don't forget about the value of attending professional-association events and job fairs, perusing the help-wanted ads and conducting a well thought-out letter-writing campaign. And here's a bit of advice for the leader. Don't let your dedication to the group crowd out your own job-search activities.

If you're the leader, get used to the fact that not everyone is going to say thanks. Kuper says some of those who have gotten jobs have told him how helpful the group was - and even continue to participate, sharing leads and support. Others just dropped away. You have to be "willing to dedicate the time and still understand that like anything else you create, it can be thankless," he says. In the long run, though, he says he feels gratified knowing people are being helped and "Hopefully [I'll be] one along the way."

Patricia Kitchen's e-mail address is pkitchen@newsday.com.

Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.