Job hunting can sometimes be a lonely, frustrating experience. But job seekers in Pike County no longer have to go it alone.

“We’ve Got Your Back Job Clubs of Eastern Kentucky” is starting a new job club in Pikeville on Aug. 31 that will provide job seekers the support, information, and networking opportunities they need to get a good job in today’s tough job market.

“If you’re serious about your job search, don’t pass up this opportunity,” said Traci Nolen, job club coordinator. “The job club will give you the tools, skills and contacts you need to take control of your job search and stop being at the mercy of the whims of the job market.”

The first meeting of the club will be at 1 p.m., Aug. 31, at the Pikeville Public Library. After that, the club will meet weekly for eight to 10 weeks, with each week featuring speakers, educational programs, networking opportunities, and chances for each job seeker to share job leads, conversation, and support with their fellow jobseekers in a welcoming small-group atmosphere.

The job club is sponsored by Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc., the Office of Employment and Training, and the Pike County JobSight workforce center. It will draw on these sponsors’ expertise and contacts to provide the job club’s members with job skills information and training, job leads, and chances to meet with local employers.

Nolen said a job club is a prime opportunity for job seekers to make the personal and business contacts that can lead to a job. This process is called “networking.”

Networking is vital to succeeding in today’s competitive job market, because the larger your network of contacts is, the more “eyes and ears” you have helping you look for job leads, Nolen said.

Networking also gives job seekers access to the “hidden job market” of jobs that never get posted on company Web sites or appear in classified ads. These jobs are usually filled through recommendations or personal contacts, and the number of them dwarfs the number advertised jobs, Nolen said.

Nolen said studies have shown the success rate for job club participants is about 85 percent, versus about 15 percent for those who try to find a job alone.

The skills and topics to be taught during the job club include: professional branding, resume revamping, uncovering job leads, the connection between volunteering and networking, building a digital identity, using social networking, interviewing, entrepreneurship, and negotiating and landing jobs.

“This is an opportunity for local job seekers to take their job searches to the next level. We hope to see them there,” Nolen said.

To find out more about We’ve Got Your Back Job Clubs of Eastern Kentucky call 1-877-512-WORK.