Michael Dugan of Shingle Springs consulted state government agencies on water issues for Florida-based engineering firm PBS&J the past four years until he and others in the firm were laid off in June.
Word came as he was helping to develop a job seekers program in economically hard-hit El Dorado County at Green Valley Community Church in Placerville.
Ironically, part of his consulting duties included coaching agencies on how to prepare for downsizing. With the state budget mired in Sacramento, "they stopped hiring consultants," he said. "When states aren't building things, they don't need consultants."
Since June, Dugan, 65, has immersed himself in Green Valley's job-seeking program, developing and writing the course work, teaching many of the classes, checking the progress of the program's participants and feeding job leads via e-mail.
The program's first eight-week session recently concluded; a new class of nearly 100 is halfway through a second session.
Dugan's own search has been frustrating. With an MBA, a law degree and a degree in psychology, he's considered overqualified by employers. And the trail's gone cold in the consulting market as budget cuts drain funds.
He's sent out dozens of applications - and has been called to three interviews.
"It's been pretty challenging. The types of jobs I've had and the work I've done has been in consulting, and consulting firms have been hammered everywhere," Dugan said. "Education, health care, government - those sectors used to be bulletproof. But now the challenge is how to transition from that into other kinds of work."
Dugan is finding a way, though, through a new venture, Successioncoaching. com. Still in development, his Shingle Springs firm will provide mediation and arbitration, career coaching and business consulting, among other services.
Meanwhile, his work with fellow job seekers has become his second act. Joining the volunteer effort has become nearly a full-time job unto itself.
"It's pretty grueling. In the back of my mind, I knew how demanding it would be," he said. "The reward had been the realization that you many not help someone find work, but they may have more hope. It helps me focus, and I help people in the process."
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