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4/14/16 – Identifying the Best Career for You

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By Susan Lamphiear

Can’t decide what  you want and you’re a job seeker? You’re not alone, the experts say.  But this is a huge mistake when it comes to the job search and pretty much anything we do in life. How will you know when you arrive if you don’t know where you’re going? How many times have we heard that old adage? That’s because it’s so true, as our keynote speaker stressed today. Start by asking yourself what you want, what strengths match, and what you’re passionate about as you set out to find the work you love — your Dream Job.

Keynote

Looking back, from the time she was a young child in middle school, Keynote Speaker Lisa Phalen, certified coach and HR consultant,  recognizes  she was very good at helping people even then. Kids would call to her from lunch or ask to speak to her privately about their lives and their problems. It was a common thread. In high school, friends came to her continuously, asking for help—she would listen, ask questions and then her friends found solutions—she was coaching before she knew what it was.

Her parents moved around a lot, including Lisa’s senior year in high school. In preparation to attend college, she was asked by Arizona State University (ASU), since they’d moved to Arizona by then, what her major was, and when she didn’t know,  they asked her,” What attracts you?”  And for some unknown reason she blurted out, “HR.” While she liked all segments of HR, she always loved the coaching part. It was part of that lifelong feeling that people came to her for help. And she liked it.

Even though she waited to pursue her dream of a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology, she has used her core strength of helping people throughout her career.These days she is finally pursuing her degree in Oranizational Psychology.

Is it any wonder, then, that she wanted to encourage us to refine our job search to take advantage of what we love doing, not just what we’re good at. So many times we default into a career because we’re told we excel in an area. Lisa gives us permission and encouragement to realize our strengths but to make sure to factor in what we’re passionate about.

The focus of her presentation today included the steps to identify and find the best job for you — that Dream Job.

Finding Your DREAM Job

Determine what your dream job really is

Research – job sites and job descriptions

Expertise —  build your expertise in your field of interest

Associations –join professional organizations

Mark your target (company)

Identifying a Career Match

  • Assessments
  • Know your bottom line
  • Funnel
  • Follow your heart
  • Assessment

Assessments

  • Career inventories – Strong Career Inventory, O-net Interest Profiler
  • Temperament Assessments – MBTI, DISC, True Colors, Kiersey*, Big Five Personality*, NERIS Explorer*
  • Strengths Assessments – Vaues Inventory*, Strengthsfinder, StandOut
  • Additional Assessments – TKI, Emotional Intelligence*, VARK Learning Style*

The Career Match Formula

  • Insights from assessments – What are your strengths?
  • Bottom line – Consider things like salary, benefits, travel, and culture.
  • Marketplace – What’s actually available in your area?

Know your Bottom Line

  • Consider things like salary, benefits, career development opportunities, flexibility, culture, work tools and resources.
  • Consider what you don’t want such as travel requirements, weekend or on call work, or excessive commutes

    The Career Match Funnel

  • No conditions
  • Qualifications
  • Work-life-balance
  • Location
  • Uniqueness

After you go through this process, step back and take stock and identify the best career for you which ideally will take into account your strengths and passions. Follow your heart.

Hiring Companies

SiteLock

Kathleen Klein, Corporate Recruiter

SiteLock, a website security company founded in 2008, and privately held by Unitedweb, has grown quickly  from 50 employees in 2014 to 200 employees today. A 24/7 business with international customers, it’s the number one provider of website security solutions; they protect about 10 million customers globally. Their mission? To protect every site on the Internet. Headquartered in Scottsdale, they have offices in Boston, MA and Jacksonville, FL. Products include malware detection, malware alert and removal tool, and credit card protection tools and more. Awards include fastest growing technology company in Arizona by the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List and “Best Places to Work” by The Phoenix Business Journal. Company benefits include full medical, dental and vision, 15 days of PTO and 7 paid Holidays, company-paid life insurance, company-paid short and long term disability coverage, and free food—catered lunches every Friday. To gather more information or to apply, visit their website for opportunities including inside sales rep, technical support agent, and website security.

Adecco USA

Michelle Grinberg, Regional Account Director

Adecco USA, largest staffing company in the world, has presence in 60 countries and a 50-year history. Formerly clerical, Adecco USA now handles clerical and so much more including customer service, creative and marketing professionals, accounting and finance, light industrial, engineering and technology, IT, and medical and science. The company staffs for Fortune 500s along with medium and small local business clients and include temporary, temporary-to-hire, direct placement, master vendor, and more. Since 2005, Adecco has placed over 5,400 engineering and IT professionals with 264 companies in the Phoenix market. Each potential employee is assigned a recruiter. Other benefits include medical, 401K, short-term and long-term disability, and free online skills training. Training classes include management, leadership and IT. Currently located in Mesa, they are merging with Modis and will also have a location in Scottsdale or the Biltmore area. To apply, visit their website.

Revana/Teletech

Mary Ann Lopez, Recruiter

Revana/Teletech, a recognized leader, is a business process and sourcing company, employing over 1500 in their Tempe and Phoenix locations.  Some of their clients include  AT&T, Facebook, FedEx, Google, IBM, Oracle, Toshiba and Xerox. They need Inbound and Outbound Sales Associates, Sales Managers, Digital Account Executives (Google), Sr. Specialist,  Quality Assurance, Marketing-Statistician, and Data Analyst. The company offers opportunities to get a foot in the door and develop your career. They’ve won awards and recognition including the 2009 Stevie Award for Sales and Customer Service. Some of the benefits of working for the company include paid training, competitive base salary with commissions, career advancement, flexible work schedules medical and dental benefits after 30 days and more. The environment is casual. To apply, visit their website or stop by–in person– Mon – Fri between 9-3 p.m. and complete the entire employment process.

Resources

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants

Rodger Brubacher, Director of Continuing Education

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants offers certification programs for career and professional development including Project Management, Six Sigma, Medical Front Office Administrative Assistant & Billing/Coding Specialist, Microsoft Office Specialist, and Digital Marketing with Social Media. Also available are Cybersecurity Programs and Certifications. For the 12th straight year the school has received the Juniper Platinum Education Partner of the Year in the Americas. Classes are kept small at a ratio of six students to one instructor. The school has onsite state of the art facilities, with over 95% of their students passing the certification exams on the first sitting. Funding is available, so feel free to contact the school or go to their website for more information or to enroll.

Closing

Sandi Ashton, Vice President of the Board of Directors for Career Connectors, closed the formal part of the meeting before adjourning to breakout sessions. She reminded everyone in attendance at Career Connectors they are eligible to take– for free– the DISC assessment. During the breakouts attendees may obtain free professional head shots, coaching in LinkedIn, resume preparation guidance, and conversations with hiring companies. She thanked volunteers for their service and Highlands Church for providing the beautiful facility.

Next event for Career Connectors will be held in Gilbert on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at 9 AM. How to Work a Job Fair will be presented by keynote speaker Andy Ridley.

The Phoenix event will be held Wednesday, May 4, 2016, 9 AM and features the topic Get Hired by the Best—Advancing your Career with a Best Company featuring Jessica Pierce, Career Connectors Executive Director and Denise Gredler, President and Founder of BestCompaniesAZ.  This event will a panel feature discussion with 8 hiring companies: Charles Schwab, USAA, DISH, Synchrony Financial, Freedom Financial Network, Dignity Health, Arizona Federal  Credit Union and Vanguard.

Then the next Scottsdale event will be Thursday, May 12, 2016, at 9 AM in Scottsdale featuring keynote speaker Kirk Wilkinson speaking on the topic The Optimist’s Advantage.

For more details including exact locations, click here.

Parting Thoughts

Towards further inspiration, check out Scott Dinsmore’s TED talk–How to find the work you love. Just in case you missed the first mention. Yes. It’s that inspiring.

“There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you beome most truly alive.”

~ Oprah Winfrey

4/6/16 – Salary Negotiation – Make More Money

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Written by: Connie Huber PHR SHRM-CP

DO YOU NEGOTIATE INITIAL EMPLOYMENT OFFERS?

If you don’t negotiate, you are not alone. According to a recent study completed by CareerBuilder, it was determined that 49% of job candidates never negotiate initial job offers.
Did you know not only are you financially limiting yourself currently but also long term? In their paper “Who Asks and Who Receives in Salary Negotiation,” researchers Michelle Marks and Crystal Harold found that employees who negotiated their salary boosted their annual pay an average of $5,000. According to Marks and Harold, assuming a 5% average annual pay increase over a 40-year career, a 25-year old who negotiated a starting salary of $55,000 will earn $634,000 more than a non-negotiator who accepted an initial offer of $50,000.
In addition to the financial impact on your career, there are impressive reasons to pursue negotiating during the hiring process. The Huffington Post shared in its post “5 Reasons Why You Should Negotiate Your Salary Every Time.” As noted previously, negotiating your salary gets you a lot more income over time; negotiating your salary helps to close the pay gap; negotiating your salary shows an employer that you know your value; and you’ll never get what you want unless you ask.

Keynote

SALARY NEGOTIATION-MAKE MORE MONEY

Jack Milligan SPHR GPHR, @LMAAZ

Jack’s expertise in salary negotiation is supported by his impressive professional endeavors in human resources. He has been the organization’s representative spearheading those negotiations on a number of occasions for different employers.

THE EMPLOYMENT PROCESS
Jack reminded us that while many things in our professional lives have changed, the employment process has remained the same. The process begins with the employer creating a vacancy followed by the employer posting/advertising/networking, screening, interviewing, selecting a short list for secondary interviews, performing due diligence in conducting references, making an offer, and the employer and new employee living happily every after.
But do the employer and new employee live happily every after? Sadly, the answer is no. Today’s workforce has evolved to all jobs being viewed as temp jobs and not forever as in the past.

NEGOTIATING IS AN ART
• You can get better at it with practice.
• Negotiating your salary is intensely personal.
• You are served best by maximizing your offer.
• People don’t ask, they accept.
• It never hurts to ask.
• You begin to negotiate when you get the offer.
• Remember there is no failure in negotiating.

WHY CANDIDATES REFUSE TO NEGOTIATE
• Most don’t think they have leverage.
• Most are so “hippy-dippy happy” to have an offer.
• Most people don’t ask for more… they accept what is offered.

IN FACT
• 75% of people who could negotiate their offers, don’t. They accept what is offered.
• Of the 25% who do not negotiate, most of them do it wrong.
• 3 legitimate channels of salary negotiations.
Ultimatum 9%.
Demand 10%.
Requestive 10%.
The main difference between the 3 channels is how reasonable the candidate is in negotiating.
• Jack shared he has worked with 25,000 candidates that have been requestive in asking for what he/she wants for salary.
• Only about 10% of job seekers getting job offers who could negotiate go into the requestive channel.

IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK
• As we all know there are good ways and bad in getting what we want.
• There is an ART of “APPROPRIATELY ASKING.”
Avoid ultimatums and demands.
• You should be making REQUESTS!
• As a reminder, you will not lose the job when asking in a requestive manner.

REQUESTIVE CHANNEL NEGOTIATION (RCN)
• Does not work on all jobs.
• Jobs are classified as either rated or ranged. Hourly/nonexempt jobs are rated while exempt are classified in salary/ranges.
• Most jobs have a range.
• As a reference point, there are 310 million people in America and 150 million in the labor market. Most workers are employed in jobs that have a range.

3 LEGITIMATE CHANNELS OF SALARY NEGOTIATION
• Ultimatum: (!) 5% of candidates use this channel and 70% fail at doing so. This channel is excessive in both amount and attitude; creates lasting
negative impression and has about a 30% success rate. An example would be “Thank you for the $90K offer, it is going to take $120K to get me to move”!
• Demand: (.) Is more sincere and reasonable in amount and attitude. States a specific amount, leaves negotiation choice up to the employer, allows walk-away without counter. 70% are successful. “Thank you for the $90K offer, I need at least $100K.”
• Requestive: (?) Asks a question, implies flexibility, creates negotiable environment, makes positive impression, requires a response. Zero risk. 91% successful in getting something tangible. 9% get at least peace of mind. “Thank you for the $90K offer, do you have any flexibility in that offer?” You are asking for room to negotiate and/or wiggle room.

Jack shared many more tips about how to appropriately negotiate your job offer. He conveyed that it never hurts to ask, and asking is the only way to maximize your compensation.

HIRING COMPANIES

Banner Health
Shaun Gustafson, Executive Recruiter

Banner Health is one of the largest private employers in the area and growing very quickly. Banner is nonprofit and committed to its mission “To make a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care.” Its values and core behaviors define the culture of Banner Health and how these values are demonstrated through actions and behaviors. The values include “people above all, excellence, and results”. Banner’s total rewards program includes competitive salaries, great medical insurance, 401K and growth opportunities.

In addition to the traditional needs for doctors, nurses, therapists and pharmacists, there are openings for employee relations consultants, recruiters, risk management professionals, database analysts, IT security consultants, pr/communications staff, contracts administrators, chaplain, practice manager, and financial analysts. To apply, explore their website.

Northwestern Mutual
Jessica Bowles, Director of Recruitment & Selection

Northwestern Mutual has 3 offices in the Phoenix area: Biltmore, Chandler and Tucson. Northwestern is known as the “policy owners’ company”. The company began in 1857 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with offices in all 50 states. The array of financial products offered at Northwestern Mutual includes mutual funds, disability insurances annuities and life insurance. It is an industry leader with the highest awarded ratings from all four major agencies. Northwestern Mutual’s mission is to “impact lives with great purpose”.

The culture and workplace maintains a supportive team environment, capable and encouraging leadership, personal values aligning with company values, active commitment to community and a client-focused, “do what’s right” philosophy.
Current opportunities in the Phoenix area include marketing assistant, administrative assistant, recruiter, campus recruiter, financial representative/advisor and assistant financial representative. Northwestern Mutual likes to get referrals! For an opportunity with Northwestern Mutual, please start here.

Modern Industries
Patrick Frazier, HR Manager

Modern Industries is a private company and has been held by the same family for two generations. The organization is a manufacturing facility specializing in the Aerospace, Semi-conductor and Medical Industries. Modern is a family-oriented workplace that understands the importance of open communication, flexibility and good work/life balance.

Benefits are generous for the company’s employees. They include major medical, dental, vision, company paid short and long term disability insurance, as well as, life insurance; 401K and paid time off.

Current opportunities include manufacturing cost accountant, production control scheduler, commodity manager-metals, cmm inspector/programmer, visual inspector & packager, chemical technician, anodizer, cnc mill operator, cnc lathe operator and brush plater. If interested, visit Modern Industries’ website employment tab.

 

Resources

Arizona@Work, City of Phoenix
Waleed Alani, Employment Specialist

Waleed shared with the group the latest unemployment statistics. There are currently approximately 68,428 available jobs in the Phoenix area. The numbers are down a little due to the quickly approaching summer months and election. Opportunities include retail, hotel management, project management and nurses. Some of the top skills being requested are bilinqual, quality assurance, IT networking, quality control and IT networking project management. A sampling of hiring employers include Banner Health, Honor Health, CVS Health, Dignity Health, Pizza Hut, United Healthcare, Bank of America, Well Fargo and Oracle.

Waleed enlightened us with the different skill development packages offered by the City of Phoenix. Those include seminars available to the public; Level 1 Package-Skills Match the Job Market; and Level 2 Package-Research Pathways to Higher Wages. Phoenix Workforce Connection Seminars include: Arizona Workforce Connection (AJC), How to Create a Winning Resume, Perfecting Your Interviewing Skills, Mock Interview Lab, Understanding LinkedIn, Leveraging LinkedIn, 21st Century Job Search Seminar, and Job Clubs. Level 1 Package; Skills Match the Job Market is for 3 days and 3 hours. The 3-day sessions are focused on ways to jumpstart your job search. Topics discussed are Social Skills, Creating and Implementing a Job Search Plan, Interviewing, and Long Term Career Management. The 3-hour session emphasizes Employability. The Level 2 Package; Research Ways to Higher Wages is a 2 day seminar. Attendees will obtain a better awareness of their career and personal skills along with a discussion of skill gaps and training options. For more details on the Skills Development Packages, reach out to Waleed at 602-255-4628 or waleed.alani@phoenix.gov.  If interested in a job with the state of Arizona or City of Phoenix please go to Arizona Job Connection.

Canyon State Institute
Sheri Carparelli, President/CEO

Sheri is responsible for establishing Canyon State Institute and developing it to an outstanding education venue in the Phoenix area. Canyon State Institute has locations in Phoenix and Chandler. Various certification programs are offered through Canyon State Institute that allow professionals to increase their marketability, increase success when employed, stay competitive in a changing job market, and experience growth opportunities with high demand certifications. Some of the benefits of attending CSI are small classes (limited to 6 for most programs), short term (4-16 weeks in length), graduates are encouraged to audit classes while studying to pass national exam, instructor-led only classes and career and business development specific to the labor market. Certification programs include varied IT certifications, Project Management, CCMA, ASQ Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and SHRM Professional in Human Resources. Canyon State Institute offers job placement assistance through Career Advisors available at the Career Service Center. A number of financial options are offered for students such as Arizona@Work, Trade Act Agreement (TAA), GI Bill approval, Partnership with Western International University and Mountain America Credit Union. Call 602-266-6630 for a tour or visit them at the CSI website.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Executive Director, closed the meeting by thanking North Phoenix Baptist Church and the volunteers. The next Career Connectors meeting will be in Scottsdale on Thursday, April 14, 2016 and features Lisa Phalen as speaker for the topic “Identifying the Best Career for You.” For additional information on this event and future events, please visit our event schedule.