Indiana Bank Helps Its Unemployed Borrowers Find Jobs

An Indiana bank has teamed up with an employment agency to help its unemployed home mortgage holders find jobs and avoid foreclosure.

John Courtney

Fifth Third Bancorp of Fort Wayne, Ind., partnered with NextJob to offer unemployed mortgage borrowers job search assistance.

NextJob, a nationwide reemployment solutions company was hired by Fifth Third to provide one-on-one dedicated coaching, weekly webinars and online job search software to unemployed Fifth Third mortgage borrowers.

Fifth Third directed a pilot program at run by NextJob at customers who were in serious risk of default on their mortgages throughout 2012, according to a press release from the bank.

Customers Unemployed Average of 22 Months

Each customer had been unemployed for an average of 22 months.

The program was able to help 40% of those customers find employment after six months.

“Up to half of mortgage delinquencies are due to job loss,” said Steven Alonso, executive vice president and head of the Consumer Bank, Fifth Third Bancorp.

“With NextJob, we immediately recognized an opportunity to go the extra mile to assist our customers,” Alonso said n a statement. “This is specific, one-on-one training that helps people identify their transferable skills and re-gain the financial stability of a new job.”

NextJob’s service features three to help borrowers find meaningful employment: one-on-one job coaching, job search software featuring nine modules, and Job Talk, a weekly webinar on a critical job search topic.

These services helped Fifth Third borrowers:

• Create an effective resume and cover letter that gets the attention of hiring managers

• Develop and carry out a detailed job search action plan

• Evaluate one’s career direction and identify skills that could transfer to another industry or field

• Discover jobs that are open, but never advertised

• Use the latest and most effective Internet tools and techniques

• Train and prepare for successful interviews

“Fifth Third Bank has demonstrated an inspiring level of customer commitment,” said John Courtney, CEO of NextJob.

“The company understood that neither party benefits from a foreclosure,” Courtney said. “Job loss, followed by the loss of one’s home, is severely damaging to individuals and families. This program is a simple, but big idea and its time has come for the banking industry.”

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