Women's queries answered

A group of female job and life coaches and human resources professionals are volunteering their time to help women who are looking for work.

The experts are providing low-cost, one-on-one job counseling at the Center for Women. Since the program began in January, the job coaches have met with about 80 women.

And they're noticing themes in the questions women ask — common gaps in their job-seeking knowledge.

"A lot of people really did not know how to write a good resume as well as to follow up with thank-you notes," said the center's Ginger Rosenberg, who developed the job-coaching program.

While resume writing is clients' top concern, a close second is learning how to use the Web to search for jobs, Rosenberg said.

For many of the women, this is their first job search in years.

Some have lost their jobs since the recession began, while others are hoping to re-enter the workplace because their husbands were laid off.

The commonalities in clients' questions have resulted in a three-hour job-search workshop at 9 a.m. Aug. 26 at 129 Cannon St. The cost is $20.

The one-on-one meetings cost $10 and last an hour to an hour and a half. To sign up for the workshop or one-on-one counseling, call 763-7333.

Four of the coaches will answer job-search questions in Moxie, starting with this issue.

They are Jane Perdue, principal/CEO, The Braithewaite Group; Dorothy Perrin Moore, Professor of Business Administration Emeritus, The Citadel; Kelly Love Johnson, author of "Skirt Rules for the Workplace: An Irreverent Guide to Advancing Your Career"; and Barbara Poole, career coach and owner of Success Builders Inc.

Rosenberg praised the experts contributing to the job-coaching program. They recognize this is a difficult time for many women, she said. "They're doing this because they truly want to help other women in the community."

Reach Kristen Hankla at 937-5548 or khankla@postand courier.com.