GraceWorks

4.5 stars
GraceWorks is a 7 year project of Grace Cathedral that helps the unemployed return to work. They meet Monday mornings at Grace Cathedral.
A $ 2 donation is asked but if you can afford less, pay less. (The price includes coffee, hot water and tea, and various delicious donated baked goods. This week there were gluten-​free muffins, regular muffins, fruit salad and spice cake.)
If you’d rather have Peet’s, there’s a stand within the Cathedral near the gift shop.
8:30 Newcomers’ orientation
9 Opening remarks– speaker
10 Job skills/​networking exercises
11 Open networking
Today’s speaker was former Olympian bronze medalist Paul Kingsman; Topic– Undistracted Passion. Good speaker who talked about needing to keep focused during the search (and showed compelling Olympic footage of the 4^th place swimmer who looked at him, got distracted and lost by 4/​100ths of a second).
Job skills exercise was creating a 2 min pitch with problem, solution, result success stories and getting critiqued in a group of 3. Great way to get people talking and thinking about how they present themselves.
There are a set of 5 skills that the GW job skils team runs through, including the elevator pitch, networking for the nervous, 2 min success stories.
There were approx. 75 people in attendance, most dressed for professional work. There is no dress code, but people dressed up here and appeared more professional than the two dozen who turn up at the EDD Experience Unlimited weekly Thursday meetings.
GW is a completely volunteer run org, and there are lots opportunities to volunteer for various committees.
There is one somewhat unhinged and loud person there who is employed but comes because she likes the group. Avoid her and you’ll be fine.
*Parking in the Cathedral Garage is $ 11/​day –argh– if you enter before 10 and don’t leave before 1pm. Don’t leave valuables visible in the car. You could go to diPietroTodd and get a model haircut for $ 15 (it’s 15 mins away by foot on Post and Stockton).