Hire Power is a Career and Job Transition Ministry and is one of the newest Outreach Programs here at Clear Lake United Methodist Church.  It was started this summer at the end of May as joint venture between CLUMC and The Good Sheppard Church in League City.  The goal and purpose of Hire Power is to work with several of the local Bay Area churches and local companies to bring our community together and even strengthen it while we support families, friends and neighbors who have been affected by the current economic conditions.
     Our emphasis is on establishing weekly Hire Power workshops for sincere job seekers. These hands-on workshops include resume writing, internet networking, the acquisition of interviewing skills, and an awareness of benefits' transitioning, general counseling, spiritual encouragement and much more.
     From the beginning, God has blessed this Ministry and we have had a number of very talented and motivated speakers/coaches (some national) approach us and ask if they could help.  This provided Hire Power with some instant credibility, but more importantly hope and confidence to those desperately looking for job.  The hope not only comes from the coaching but from the devotionals provided by the Pastors from CLUMC and the Good Sheppard.  Some people actually just come for the Devotionals.
     The number of people that attend the Monday morning meetings continues to grow and the feedback from the participants has been great.  They feel like they are getting help and information that they cannot get anywhere else and they no longer have to drive to Sugarland or the Woodlands to get it.  We are also creating a referral network with a “Pay it Forward, Pay it Back” philosophy on the member side and “Hire Bay Area First” mantra on the employer side.
     I would like to share a story about one of our first attendees we will call “Leslie”.  She is an educational trainer with a MBA and had been unemployed for 9 months and actively seeking employment.  After the initial meeting we did not see her for a couple of weeks until she returned three weeks later and announced she had just accepted a job offer that morning!  BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!
    She decided to stay at the meeting and we were doing mock-interviewing skills and she listened to one of our new members who was doing a great job.  It turned out they did the same type of job and “Leslie” had done a phone interview for another position prior to getting her job offer and thought she would be a great candidate and offered to refer her to the recruiter.
     That is exactly how the Ministry is supposed to work and thanks to the stewardship and outreach of all the CLUMC members and staff, Hire Power can continue to provide hope and guidance for so many more people looking for employment. For more information contact Eric Beauford at ebeauford@cachinko.com or visit the website at  www.cachinko.com/HirePower/#.