When Bob Kolf retired in 2017 from a four-decade career as a structural engineer, he planned to live the good life—travel a bit, play some golf, and watch sports uninterrupted. He also joined the Chesterfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he found joy in mentoring others and helping them grow in their own careers.
But when the pandemic hit and jobs disappeared overnight, Kolf felt compelled to leverage his connections to do more to help. He turned to LinkedIn and launched the Job Seekers’ Garden Club of St. Louis—part support group, part networking hub. The group’s name was inspired by the idea that, much like nurturing a plant, career advisors should invest time and care into helping people grow.
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Five years later, the group has blossomed with more than 6,000 members and is celebrating its impact with a new anthology on career disruption in St. Louis. The book, Discovering Your Purpose in Today’s World: Finding Hope While Navigating Career Disruption, was compiled by Kolf and Lexie Dendrinelis, president of the group’s board of directors. It features stories from dozens of local contributors who share how they navigated layoffs, struggles with work-life balance, and other career challenges.
“The stories in this book show the different things that people have gone through in life and how they’ve come out on top,” Dendrinelis says. “We have authors from South County, downtown, St. Charles County, Chesterfield, North County—it’s a real cross-section of the metro area.”
Several themes emerge from the book’s 355 pages, many aimed at readers who may be experiencing disruption and uncertainty in their own careers. Chapter authors share anecdotes, heartfelt stories, and advice, such as keeping your résumé up to date, pushing yourself to network even when it’s uncomfortable, identifying transferable skills across industries and sectors, and refusing to give up.
“We hope it’s relatable to a lot of different people,” Dendrinelis says. “The whole purpose is to give somebody hope when they’re trying to figure out what they want.”
That’s how the group was designed, too. While job seekers comprise a significant portion of the membership, group leaders made a point to include recruiters and connectors. They function as mentors who offer their time to lead mock job interviews, review résumés, and offer advice.
There is no fee to join the club. Once they’re in, seekers have access to three monthly networking events: a coffee gathering on the first Friday, a happy hour on the second Tuesday, and a lunch on the third Thursday. Attendance is always optional, and the hope is to provide varying times and dates to accommodate a range of different schedules. Approximately one-third of the 6,300 members of the LinkedIn group have attended in-person events. The group also offers scholarship opportunities for job seekers who need help with things like paying a bill while out of work or buying a new outfit for a job interview. The scholarship is funded through private donations and the group’s annual gala fundraiser, among other sources.
“We really have cultivated a community with the spirit of giving,” Dendrinelis says. “We all know that when somebody is working to become their better self, their career well-being is key to the rest of their well-being.”
What’s Next: The Job Seekers’ Garden Club is partnering with The Salvation Army to host a free career fair on June 26 from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. at the Temple Corp Gymnasium (2740 Arsenal). Registration is required.
