Harold Austin, 43, of Boston, told the group clustered around his table that he was looking for a sales and marketing position in the Internet or high-tech industry.
Austin, a former sales professional turned independent consultant, was hoping to land a yearlong contract with annual salary of US$75,000 to US$95,000. He left the club with several sticky notes from other Karma Club participants containing the names of recruiters and placement services in his field.
"I brought 40 resumes and business cards," said Austin, who handed them out liberally. "I came away with the names of some recruiting firms, but none of the leads included the names of companies that are hiring."
The meeting was not limited to laid-off professionals. Carlton Hardee, a senior vice president at PSI Inc, a systems engineering firm in downtown Boston, was hoping to find job candidates.
"We need two systems engineers and two business analysts," he said. "I picked up 12 potential candidates, of whom four to five look promising. The pool of people who attended the event was far more diverse than any of the other networking events I've been to in the past."
David LaMachia, a recruiter at The Fairway Group in Pepperell, was looking for IT software and systems engineers. LaMachia, who attended the first Layoff Lounge event in Marlborough in May, said he noticed a change in the attitudes of those seeking work.
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