OU JOB BOARD PARTNERS WITH EPI NETWORKING TO EXPAND RESOURCES AND EFFORTS TO HELP THE UNEMPLOYED
By Yakira Apfel
While all of us, even the unaffected, lament the economic state of affairs, others work tirelessly to change it. The OU Job Board | Employment and Resumé Opportunities and EPI (Emergency Parnassah Initiative) Networking, two powerhouse organizations, have joined forces to find and create jobs for the unemployed. With offices in New York and Lakewood, NJ but with international reach, the OU Job Board and EPI Networking have found jobs and renewed life for more than 5,000 people since their April 2009 union.
Though both extremely successful independently, the partnership between the OU Job Board — with its global access, huge Internet presence and on-line training webinars and seminar offerings — and EPI — with its one-on-one interface and contact with local communities — makes for a symbiotic alliance. The OU Job Board plays host to EPI physically, with office space in Manhattan, and virtually, on the OU Job Board website (www.oujobs.org) that posts approximately 2,500 new vetted jobs on a monthly basis.
EPI, which works with the unemployed to find jobs ranging from $35,000-$85,000, operates a successful micro-loan program which adds a completely new dimension to the OU Job Board’s services. Loans are given from $25,000-$50,000 to candidates who want to start their own business; this provides unemployed entrepreneurs with the opportunity to as an alternative to conducting a job search.
But the OU Job Board and EPI’s work begins well before employment occurs. They rewrite resumés, coach people through mock interviews and teach them how to deliver a 30-second elevator pitch (a phrase that is used in which a person has 30 seconds to sell themselves or an idea to an interested recipient). For those who can’t afford them, they will buy suits and send job-seekers for haircuts. They offer free counseling that would otherwise cost between $750 and $2,500 per person. They teach skills as basic as how to walk and how to look someone in the eye. All of their services are available for review and practice on the OU Job Board website www.oujobs.org.
And these efforts pay off. “If someone is searching nine-to-five on finding a job, he will more often than not find one in a timely fashion,” said Zisha Novoseller, Executive Director of EPI. “I have never met a person whose financial opportunities have not been enhanced by the services and upgrades offered by the OU-EPI joint efforts.”
Although no one wants to face unemployment, it is good to know that with the expertise and unwavering commitment of the OU Job Board and EPI Networking, losing a job no longer needs to be a dead end. It can be an opportunity.
OU | Enhancing Jewish Life