You might say Nick and Cathy Synko have found their purpose: a vocation and avocation where they head to the office with enthusiasm.

Nick Synko, with significant experience in training and human resource management, founded Synko Associates with his wife, Cathy, in 1992. Nick does most of the presenting, coaching and counseling while Cathy coaches and manages the business operations.

Synko Associates developed an approach to career coaching that not only builds practical skills such as resume writing, interview preparation and networking, but also helps clients find work they love. On the technical side, “we help people figure out what they’re not hearing” from fruitless interviews, explained Nick, “and give them that sharper edge.”

Then they take the process a step further. “Everyone has that essence,” Cathy said, “that sense of purpose and fulfillment—what helps you find peace.” While other career firms might focus only on concrete skills, Synko Associates also includes a process of "self-awareness, of finding your true authentic self. . . no computerized test can do this alone," Nick said.

So when it comes time for the interview, Synko’s clients can speak authentically about their unique skills, abilities, natural talents and passion for a particular job. As Nick Synko summarized, “nothing sells in an interview like authenticity.” 

The couple also channeled their talents into a community service with purpose: Careers through Faith, a separate nonprofit foundation to help people through career transitions. While Synko Associates maintains a strictly professional, faith-neutral approach with corporate and private clients, Careers through Faith helps people integrate career, faith and life pursuits to find meaningful work.

According to Careers Through Faith (CTF) publications, the objective “is to help individuals identify their unique God-given talents and personal calling as it relates to their career. By better aligning who one is with what they do, they can live a more successful and meaningful life."

The program's scriptural component is based upon the New Testament book of Matthew, chapter 25, often called the Parable of the Talents. In this parable, Jesus explains how each person is gifted with a unique set of talents to be used to the best of his or her ability.

CTF workshops include scripture, prayer, and practical career-building elements. They are Christian-based but open to anyone, and they are typically sponsored by donors to keep the programs affordable.

Participants are organized into small discussion groups to foster a supportive, team-based environment, “for even Christ Himself needed a network,” Nick remarked, referring to Jesus' apostles. Emphasis is on three factors: 

• discovering personal skills, abilities, interests and natural talents (the "S.A.I.N.T. within").
• identifying a personal mission and purpose.
• securing a sustainable income.

Perhaps the best measure of Nick and Cathy Synko’s success is the impact on their clients’ lives, whether through Synko Associates or Careers through Faith.

One private client, a local university student, thanked Synko via email for helping him experience “epiphanies about who I am," and said that he had learned more about his desire to not just exceed academically, but to be a “force for good in the world."

The student finally got an offer for the internship he originally wanted. But he turned it down, choosing instead to enter a medical program more aligned with his values and interests.

For Amber Cerveny, who had been seeking employment for several months, the Synkos' services came highly recommended by friends.  Skeptical at first, she talked to Nick about her quest to find "not just a job, but something I love, what I'm good at ... what I really enjoy."

In their one-day session, Nick "asked all the right questions." He helped her move beyond the worries and fears of unemployment and "focus on what makes me tick."

At the end of the day, Ceverny still had lots of work to do, but "whole thought process had changed." She felt like she was moving in a clear direction, and through some new connections, more has happened in the last five days than in five months of job seeking. "I have new hope," Ceverny said.

The Synkos strive to serve both the business/secular community and the faith community with authenticity and professionalism.  After all, they believe, it is the work they were meant to do. "He has a gift," according to Ceverny, "it is his calling, for lack of a better word."

Pam Stout coordinates Faith and Home & Garden coverage for AnnArbor.com.  If you have a faith story to share, contact her at pamstout@annarbor.com.