Our founders Gip Gibson, Barry Miller, and Bill Johnson are people who are intimately familiar with the rigors of job searching. Having found themselves unemployed multiple times throughout their successful careers, they keenly remembered the sting of being let go from an organization and having to once again embark on the journey of job transition.
Together, they saw an opportunity to create a place where out-of-work Tulsans could safely meet, network, encourage one another, and learn from those who had experience in recruiting, hiring, and navigating the modern job-hunting experience.
And in 2009, with that simple founding vision, the seeds of our ministry were planted. Starting with nothing more than an empty room at First United Methodist Church and a single round table, Overcoming Job Transition held its first meeting with 5 motivated job seekers in attendance.
Word of our ministry’s mission and vision spread quickly. After our first meeting, where 5 job seekers first joined us, we quickly found ourselves hosting 10, then 30, then 45 attendees at each meeting. We knew that the Lord was clearly communicating to our ministry that we were providing something of service to the community.
Reaching out to trusted friends and experts, such as Dr. Frank Wantland, our ministry was blessed to recruit some of our first volunteers to lecture, teach, and lend their expertise and leadership.
With so many new faces joining us every week, we then extended our meeting times by an hour, and created one of the cornerstones of our ministry, the Launch Pad: Our weekly sessions where job-seekers share their story, get immediate feedback, and gain confidence speaking with others about their job search.
Our ministry has been blessed to serve hundreds of out-of-work Tulsans by equipping them with the knowledge they need to succeed and helping them take control of their job search.
Beginning in 2018, and made possible only through our donors’ generosity, we have expanded our efforts to help organizations connect to the talented and driven job seekers who are equipped, encouraged and energized through OJT.
We look forward to the future and the growing opportunities to help out-of-work Tulsans and Oklahomans from all across the state learn, become inspired, and professionally grow.
Through our motivational speakers, support from peers, and compassionate insight from our experienced staff and volunteers, we seek to inspire and uplift Tulsans as they overcome this difficult and emotionally-taxing period of job transition.
Foundational to our mission is providing all job seekers with the tools and guidance they need to understand the modern job-hunting environment, how to confidently share their story, and confidently create and engage with networking opportunities.
We strive to help each job seeker recognize the unique talents they possess, the skill sets that set them apart, and the value they bring to potential employers. By understanding this by discovering the core values that fuel their efforts and give meaning to their professional career, job seekers are energized and are able to confidently overcome job transition.
Ed Miller draws upon his 30+ years of multinational marketing and communications experience to help out-of-work Tulsans recognize the power of sharing their story. Working alongside job seekers, Ed helps them craft their life’s experiences and unique skills into a powerful value proposition that unlocks job opportunities.
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A renowned leadership, management, and coaching expert, Brenda Melancon empowers our ministry’s job seekers to take charge of their personal and professional development and equips them with the knowledge needed to achieve lasting success in their career path.
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Glen Hall uses his 20+ years of recruiting experience and hiring expertise to equip Tulsa job seekers with the knowledge they need to embrace the job-hunting journey and gain fruitful networking connections.
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Gip Gibson, like all of OJT’s leadership and volunteers, is no stranger to the job hunting journey and is passionate about helping job seekers understand the immense value gained through personal accountability, networking, and setting measurable goals.
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A career coach and hiring specialist for more than 25 years, Steve Evans has helped countless people throughout Oklahoma find employment after sudden layoffs or other life-changing circumstances.
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Yvonne Rainwater's goal is to help as many professionals as possible in their career search, by partnering with great companies to find talented people, they need to be successful. Always provide quality customer service, with a high degree of integrity, understanding, and urgency.
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One of our founding members, Bill Johnson helps job seekers recognize the role of one’s personal network when seeking to overcome a period of job transition. Always seeing the unique value and goodness in others, Bill teaches job seekers to how to form lasting professional relationships and build a professional reputation that is above reproach.
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Russ exemplifies the meaning of servant leadership and is a heralded expert on building strong local networks. Russ serves the mission of OJT by teaching job seekers how to embrace modern digital networking and create meaningful professional connections that generate employment opportunities
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Frank has been a volunteer coach with OJT since its inception. His insights into career development were learned hands-on as a manager and director of people development for Cities Service Company in Tulsa and Exxon USA in Houston. His coaching skills were honed during a seven-year involvement in the human potential movement in San Francisco. His strength is in helping individuals re-perceive themselves, their story, and their future.
Connect with Frank on LinkedIn
