The John J. Heldrich Center managed the New Start Career Network from 2015 through 2022, which provided free assistance to more than 6,000 long-term unemployed New Jersey job seekers over the age of 45.  This privately funded program offered free access to digital job search tools, webinars, employer engagement, job fairs, and virtual career coaching.   

Additionally, from 2020 through 2023, the Heldrich Center partnered with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and New Jersey Office of Innovation to host the New Jersey Career Network (NJCN) Job Seeker Community, which served to improve virtual career assistance services for job seekers in the state of New Jersey. The NJCN Job Seeker Community was a free online resource hub which offered materials to support the job search for people searching for work in the state of New Jersey. Aside from having access to free resource materials, this virtual hub also allowed job seekers to connect with other people who were looking for jobs as well as with NJCN’s volunteer coaching network. The NJCN Job Seeker Community was staffed by Heldrich Center staff as well a dedicated group of volunteer career coaches who generously offered their time, support, listening ears, and much more, to Community members.  

While both of these projects have sunsetted, respective community members continue to remain active through a volunteer-managed LinkedIn group.*

*NOTE: The Heldrich Center is not involved in the administration or activities of this LinkedIn group.

Below are some resource links of materials that originate with NSCN and NJCN Job Seeker Community. We hope these resources are of help to you.  

Resource links:  

Topic: Resources to Help You Get Started or Reboot Your Search 

• Developing an Effective Job Search Plan 
• Effective Resumes 
• LinkedIn 
• Interviewing 

Topic: Job Search Well-Being 

• Navigating Bias 
• Well-Being in Job Search 

Topic: Meetings & Groups: * 

• The Great Careers Groups (GCG) provides up to 600 online career education and networking events per year for career transition and career management. 
  • Registration info for their events or links to affiliate events can be found below - https://greatcareers.org. 
• Friday VIP Job Seeker Office Hours with Brenda Meller 
  • To register, use the link below -  https://www.mellermarketing.com/FridayVIP.  
• LinkedIn Lunch and Learn by Ken Lang 
  • To find out specific registration info, see the link below - https://www.meetup.com/Weekly-LinkedIn-Lunch-and-Learn/events/ 

*NOTE: The resources listed on this page are for informational purposes only. The Heldrich Center does not specifically endorse these and cannot guarantee the continued existence or quality of services provided therein.