History
Background
Job Search Help is the result of Melvin Hurley’s work over the past 20 years as an executive-level job seeker, developer of a project to bring together specialist advisors to provide short-term outplacement consultancy, creator of an executive-level job club that grew into a charity providing job search training and outplacement services to managers and business/technical professionals seeking employment and as a job search advisor at job clubs run by Milton Keynes Council’s Neighbourhood Employment Programme.
Careers-Action & MKEA
Careers-Action was established as a charity in 2016 under Melvin’s guidance and leadership. The charity provided a range of services to enable job seekers to prepare and manage their job search, deal with their situation, investigate their options and take advantage of the opportunities that exist for them. This included:
- Training meetings and workshops
- Personal job search consultancy
- Weekly members networking drop-in
- Weekly member news, events, and job vacancies email newsletters
- Interview practice
- Online resources
- Online Boot Camp
Careers-Action followed Melvin’s 2011 founding of Milton Keynes Executives Action (MKEA), a program that brought together executive jobseekers to help each other with their job search. This grew into weekly training meetings where Melvin’s brought in his network contacts to provide specialist training and advice. In 2013 Stephen Timms MP, then Shadow Minister for Employment, praised the MKEA job club as leading the way for others across the country.
Together Careers-Action and MKEA helped approaching 1500 people secure employment or start a business.
Melvin Hurley
Most recently Chief Executive Officer of Careers-Action, Melvin previously held senior management and board-level roles within marketing, advertising, franchise, and IT businesses. He has worked in both corporate and SME businesses nationally and internationally. Melvin’s past voluntary work has included sports coaching, management, and fundraising. He has written for national and trade publications, spoken at national and international conferences. An Ambassador for the Institute of Cancer Research “everyman” Appeal he raised awareness of and funds for research into male cancers in conjunction with Millwall Football Club. Since starting Careers-Action Melvin has completed an adult teaching qualification and completed numerous courses relating to his work with Careers-Action members including, Employability and Personal Development, Enterprise and Business Start-Up. He is a former Chartered Marketer and held this and the Continued Professional Development Award from the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing for a number of years.
Melvin is a qualified Money Coach for Christians Against Poverty delivering personal money management and budget coaching.
Job Clubs
Melvin worked as a Job Search Advisor for Milton Keynes Council’s award-winning Neighbourhood Employment Programme for a number of years. He also provided ‘responding to redundancy’ training and guidance to staff at organisations including Vodafone, Milton Keynes College, and Milton Keynes Council career advice and guidance