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Event Recaps

1/8/2020 – Resume Mythbusters: Certified Resume Writer Panel

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Written by Julia Churan

Resume Mythbusters Panel

Your resume is the first step in your journey to an interview. You need to be able to pass through the applicant tracking system (ATS) in order to have a live person even know that you applied for a role in most companies today. That piece of paper or electronic profile is often the first impression a recruiter or hiring manager will have of you. Is your resume representing you in the best possible way and landing you the interview?

In today’s competitive job market, a professionally prepared resume may be the one thing that makes you stand out from the hundreds of strong candidates applying for the same position.

Panel

The Resume Writers Council of Arizona (RWCA) has been a long-time partner of Career Connectors. Members provide resume expertise to job seekers at all Career Connectors regular events. The members of this group are career-services professionals with special expertise and accreditation in resume writing. Three members took the spotlight on today’s panel to help break down the myths of the resume format, content, and function.

Resume Panel
  • Brenda Cunningham (BC), owner of Push Career Management, author, and current president of RWCA
  • Lori Norris (LN), founder of Get Results Career Services and military resume specialist
  • Waleed Alani (WA), career management counselor, coach and Global Career Development Facilitator

The panel was led by Career Connectors’ Founder and CEO, Jessica Pierce with questions submitted by seekers prior to the event.

Q: Share the biggest mistakes you see on resumes today.
LN: Seekers try to cover too much information on one resume. Have multiple resumes for multiple roles.
BC: Seekers use too many adjectives. Example: “high-qualified, multi-faceted, detail-oriented marketing professional.” This isn’t giving actual results from your experience. You are taking up a lot of valuable space telling the hiring manager nothing about how you will perform in this role or for their company.
WA: The biggest mistake many resumes make is not being clear why you should be considered for the role. Connect the dots for the hiring company. Make it clear how your background and experience support the role you are applying for.

Q: Why should seekers listen to professional resume writers?
LN: You shouldn’t listen to a specific professional; listen to the results. Resumes are subjective and no two writers will deliver the same outcome. Pick an expert that you connect with and one that understands your background. If you aren’t getting interviews, you need to rethink what you are sending out no matter how great you think that resume might be.
BC: RWCA members study the current hiring trends, they speak to HR professionals, and they research trends in applicant tracking systems. Certified writers understand what it takes to get in front of recruiters today.
WA: The technology of getting hired is changing as the world is changing. Look at books on job seeking from 5 to 10 years ago. The styles and preferences of resumes were different. The process and systems to support hiring were different from 10 years ago. Professionals will help you stay current with the trends of today and the future.

Q: What are some of the most important things to include on your resume?
LN: Benefits and value statements. Tell the reader how you are going to help the company. The resume isn’t about you; it is how your experience will benefit them.
BC: Don’t be vague by statements like “answered phones.” Demonstrate how you performed and the conditions and measurements of that skill. Explain how you know you did a good job.
WA: Accomplishments must be quantified. Reflect it in the terms of standards or values to the hiring organization.

Q: What are the recommended mechanics of the resume?
Number of pages: 1 or 2 pages as long as your experience and background merit the words. Cut the fluff and focus the content. Avoid “orphan pages” – have 2 full pages or 1 full page. Adjust margins and font size to fill up 2 pages or reduce to 1.
Font Style: Cambria or Calibri – Avoid Times New Roman!
Font Size: 10 – 12 pt
Margins: 1/2″ to 1″

Let the eye decide. Don’t overwhelm the reader.

The book Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives helps you be focused, creative and to prioritize. These skills will allow you to manage the resume length.

Waleed Alani

Q: What type of resume should we be focused on?
LN: There are three basic types:
1. Chronological resumes – This style is unanimously recommended by the panel. It is the type you MUST use for ATS systems and should be your primary or only focus. Include not more than 10 years of work history unless you have the specific experience for the role you are applying to.
2. Functional resumes – This type highlights your skills but will not work with an ATS and often raises questions with the reader. These have no dates and raise huge red flags for employers. If you have gaps in your resume, there are ways to work around them. A resume professional can help fill those gaps.
3. Combination resume – This is a hybrid of Chronological and Functional. It may be used for a job fair or networking event but will not pass through automated systems.

Q: How do you avoid age discrimination on your resume?
BC: Age discrimination is real, so don’t give the reader an idea of your age from reading your resume – young or old. Age concerns can be overcome in an interview but you have to get there. Show you are current by taking classes or listing current technology and concept expertise.

Never use “retire” or “25 or 30 years of experience”. Use 10+ or 15+ years. Don’t use antiquated email domains like “AOL.com” or other ’80s domains.
Don’t use dates or years in your email address like JDoe1960@gmail.com.
Don’t put dates on your education, just note the Degree.
Don’t include High School information.

Reverse discrimination is also an issue. If you just graduated, this is the only time that you should use your college graduation dates. It will explain your lack of experience.

Q: Customizing resumes for specific jobs?
BC: Don’t be lazy! Never shoot the one resume out to all job applications. Spend 1-2 hours per application to customize it for the specific company and role. Use keywords from the job posting in your resume. When a specific skill is required, spell out what the skill is and how you have used it.

Don’t just rely on a great resume. Use your network to get referrals into the company.

Brenda Cunningham

Q: What is the best way to get past the ATS systems?
LN: AVOID templates! Templates in MS Word may be pretty, but they are full of formatting that an ATS may not read. Use borders and background shading if you want, never have important information in the header/footer. Never use text boxes or tables in your resume because older systems will not read the information within them.
BC: Save and upload files in MS Word format rather than a PDF or any graphic format. Some older systems won’t read PDF files. Also remember, smaller companies and government agencies may not have an ATS so a human is manually scanning them.
WA: Don’t let the ATS scare you. Keep the format simple using text and tabs. Beware of bullets. Make things stand out with font size and bolding rather that fancy document format. Waleed will post more tips on his Linked In profile for resume formatting.

Remember, the resume content should be the focus and represent you to the employer!

Hiring Companies

All About People, Karen McEnroe, Vice President
They are a professional hiring organization with services to small and large organizations in contract, direct hire, and executive search in several industries, including Accounting/Finance, Supply Chain, HR, and Medical.

Current open positions include:

  • Bilingual Call Center Representatives
  • RN’s, LPN’s and Behavioral Health Technicians
  • Litigation Attorney
  • Enrollment Representatives
  • SVP of Sales

U.S. Census, Cynthia Duncan, Recruiter
The U.S. Census Bureau is the Federal Government’s largest statistical agency in the U.S. Phoenix is one of two national processing centers dedicated to the 2020 Census.

Processing includes receiving and preparing decennial forms, imaging, keying, QA and forms disposal. Positions range from entry-level to supervisory, IT, HR, Health & Safety. Nearly 1000 full- and part-time federal employees will be hired for these temporary roles with excellent benefits. The processing roles will be at the I-10, I-17 and new Loop 202.

Apply at www.USAJobs.gov
Search Keyword: NPC
Location: Phoenix
Create a profile and apply directly to each job of interest.

Resources

Career Connectors Academy, Landi Carfi, VP of Corporate Training
This exciting program is brought to job seekers through a joint partnership with Brighton College. There are a number of short-term IT, Allied Health and other certification programs available at a discounted price for Career Connectors clients. No interest payment plans are also available as well as grants through WIOA and SWFI.

Closing

Jessica took the stage to thank all the attendees, partners and services for attending. She also encouraged attendees to take advantage of the free services for resume and LinkedIn assistance, professional portraits, DISC assessments and coaching that are provided at each event. She also had special gratitude to Grand Canyon University for hosting today’s event and the many staff members and volunteers who make these events happen.

12/04/19 – Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

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Written by Gary Matsuda
The U.S. Navy SEALs have a saying: “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.” While not as harrowing as preparing for combat, the thought of networking still gets our insides twisted up in knots.

Keynote

Cary Pfeffer spoke to Career Connectors and called on us to get out of our minds and out the door and ready to build new connections. Cary brings a cumulation of 15 years as communication consultant with Clearcom Consulting and 20 years as a news anchor and reporter delivering news worthy stories to the public. You’d think with a career in broadcasting and speaking publicly that he’s a natural at people skills. But that wasn’t always the case. Especially in his early career, Cary was uneasy about using a network to build his career. Yet recognizing this and intentionally working to improve his professional skills and continually moving forward enabled him to take his career to higher levels.

Get out and Expand your Pool of Contacts!
Woody Allen said, ”80 percent of success is showing up.” So here’s to those who show up at Career Connectors’ meetings! Go ahead and get out there. Don’t wait until you’re in the mood to mix it up a bit with new people. Cary says no one will ever know who you are if you don’t put in the effort to be seen and become known.

Get Out and Learn Something New!
We learn best when we experience something novel, out of the ordinary, even when we’re a bit uncomfortable. Who knows who you’ll meet, or what you’ll learn from other’s experiences? In addition, you could gain valuable insights about what’s going on in your field and how you might be able to contribute or where you’ll need to improve. In a networking meeting, this is perfect for doing that in a low-risk environment.

Expand on Who You Know!
As Cary mentioned, no one will know you if your professional and social circle is closed. The more people you know, the more likely you’ll find the right people who can introduce you to the next big opportunity. Cary stressed that if anything, this is could be your most important take-away. During his career Cary worked with 3 professional agencies and despite that their specialty was to find him clients, not even one provided him with new work. Yet 60% of his business came from just 3 personal contacts. Go figure.

Before You Go Have a Plan
You shouldn’t go to a networking event empty handed. But that doesn’t mean fill your plate with hors d’oeuvres. What you should bring is your crafted story that would be of interest or helpful to potential contacts. The best meetings may have a theme, niche or curation that will give you a better idea of what kind of people will be there and so you can adjust your story accordingly. Knowing who might be there will help you decide if this could be a potential gold mine of clients/employers or not a good use of your time.
The best way to find out if your story will really connect is to try it out on new people who don’t really know you. On occasion you’ll fall flat but with practice, these in-person encounters will get you closer to the right people. Observe people’s reactions so you’ll know what best gets your message across and if necessary, fine-tune it so you can be even better next time. Did your pitch seem too long or not long enough? Does it solve a problem? Do you even have the right audience? It may take a few tries to get it right, but a potential employer can expect any candidate worth his salt to be able to tell a story that will resonate. Just don’t wait to test it out during a high stakes job interview!

What’s in a Name?
While you are your own favorite person and the most important thoughts ever imaged run through your head, never assume people will remember you, let alone remember your name. Help them along so they can more easily associate you with that personal label that you call your name.

Time Yourself
Balance your time so you can not only provide your input but also give others time to speak. Remember showing up is 80% of success? Respect the effort of others who also made the effort to show up (just like you did). Appreciate that they may not want to spend the whole event with you when there are dozens of other potential connections in the room.

Don’t Be a Card Dispenser
You’re more than a resume or LinkedIn profile. Likewise, the personal impression you make is more important than the 3 ½” X 2” card stock you’ve got in your pocket. As important as these resources are, don’t rely on a great looking business card, LinkedIn profile or resume to do the relationship building for you. Listen more than you speak, ask how you can be helpful. As Cary puts it: ‘Don’t be a serial card dispenser’ which could project an insincere impression or that you might be even a bit pushy. Instead, when you meet someone who could be a valuable connection, turn the tables and ask for their card.

After the Meeting
Make notes on who you’ve met. Now that you have their card, you can make notes on that and follow up with them as promised.
Because of our dependence on electronic apps, you’ll stand out if you make quick follow ups with the people you want to continue a relationship with. Handwritten notes? Who does that anymore? Why now you do of course!
Resources for more help from Cary Pfeffer:
• NoAppBook.com
• @CaryPfeffer

Hiring Companies

Century Link, Lisa Allen, Sr. Recruiter
Careers at Century Link let you get more out of your sales career. At Century Link you get work/life balance – there’s no working late nights, no weekends. There’s paid vacation, holidays, tuition reimbursement and generous medical, dental, vision coverage for your family.
Open positions:
Account Manager II – Outbound Sales
The Account Manager II-Outbound Sales Representative is responsible for growing revenue in the Small Business Accounts sector. The right candidate will possess the ability to place outbound calls daily to new and our existing Small Business clients. Must be able to effectively present sales recommendations to new account prospects and cultivate new opportunities within existing accounts.
Center Sales and Service Associate – Small Business
The Center Sales & Service Associate responds to phone calls in a fast-paced inbound contact center promoting and selling CenturyLink products and services to our Small Business clients. Successful Center Sales & Service Associates must respond with a high sense of urgency while providing extraordinary customer service. This will include answering questions regarding client accounts, fulfilling orders as well as troubleshooting problems. Our goal is to assist our clients with a first call resolution.

U-Haul, Alex Taylor Corporate Recruiter
U-Haul vehicles are everywhere. You can find them in far off places and accessible all over the United States and Canada so that they have a central headquarters doesn’t easily come to mind. But they do and it’s right here in Phoenix!
Their job opportunities cover a wide range of professions too. There are openings in every field including IT, field work and at corporate headquarters. U-Haul opportunities don’t stop at transportation. They’re also affiliated with Repwest Insurance, Oxford Insurance and Amerco Real Estate so there could be a chance to cross industries as well.
Current openings include Software Engineer, Software Infrastructure, Retail Sales, Customer Service Agents, Accounting and Project Managers.

Freedom Financial Network, Heather Marcom, Head of Talent Acquisition
As a 9 time winner of ‘Best Places to Work in Phoenix’ this place has got to be on your list of employers to target. You’ll be taken care of as you work to care for others as they live by their core values of:
Care. Act with integrity. Get Better. Collaborate.
Freedom Financial helps those who have hit hard times by providing debt relief, help negotiating debt down to get them credit worthy and helping to consolidate personal loans, when no one else will.
You can find their open positions at the Sky Harbor Airport office or at the new Tempe location.
Among these are openings in:
Call Center, Sales and operations
IT/Engineering/Data
Accounting
Contact them at www.FFNJOBS.com

Resources

Goodwill of Central & Northern AZ, Ron Mack
If you haven’t found a job yet, you probably haven’t been to a Goodwill Career Center.
Not just a retail store but it’s an organization that provides opportunities which serve the needs of community, help the professional job seeker become self-sufficient and get people back to work.
The Goodwill Career Center offers free career coaching, resume critiquing, job leads from employers, mock interviews, and digital skills training classes from beginning to advanced at several locations in the Phoenix area. This is much more than place for entry level jobs- you could start a long term new career at places like Amazon, Target and Home Depot.
The average age of people taking refresher courses with Goodwill is 45 -50. These courses include computer basics in Word, Excel, Power Point, Mac and Windows operating systems and North Star certification.

Grand Canyon University, Bri Guthrie and Shelby Greer

Interested in Getting Your Master’s Degree?
Want to get started or get a leg up in the IT industry? Or Nursing, Business, Leadership, Communication, Teaching? GCU’s online and evening programs have the flexibility you need!
Right now, GCU is offering alumni $2,000 in tuition credit. If you’re not an alumni, you can still get a 20% discount on evening classes.
For more information visit the Graduate Programs Office in Cypress Hall or https://www.gcu.edu/degree-programs/masters-degree

“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your comfort zone and become familiar with the unfamiliar and unknown.”

Denis Waitley

11/12/19 – Confront Change with Confidence

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Written by Michelle Rock

Keynote

The first full time employee to join Jessica Pierce and the Career Connectors organization was Sheila Coulam. As the VP of Operations, she coordinates the volunteer team, oversees event logistics, directs marketing and communication, creates and maintains the website, plans the keynote calendar and provides overall support for the entire Career Connectors Team. Per Jessica, “Sheila takes my crazy and makes it work. She is the backbone of Career Connectors.” As today’s keynote speaker, Sheila shared how we can all Confront Change with Confidence.

To have a clear understanding of the term “change”, it is important to review the definition of change according to Merriam Webster:
a. to make different in some particular way, ALTER (i.e. never bothered to change the will)
b. to make radically different, TRANSFORM (i.e. can’t change human nature)
c. to give different position or direction to (i.e. changed his residence from Ohio to California)

Change is both PLANNED and UNPLANNED. Personally, Sheila chose to become a stay at home mom for 10 Years. When the economy changed in 2008, she had to go back to work. Sheila was scared to get back out there and volunteered for a year before actually excepting a position with a salary. She was inspired when she heard Dave Sherman say, “People want to help you. But if you don’t know what you want, they don’t know how to help.”

7 Strategies to THRIVE during CHANGE

Strategy #1 Expect CHANGE always.
Always “be open-minded”.

Strategy #2 Embrace the CHANGE cycle.
There are 5 Stages of Change and it is important to NOT resist or skip any steps to ensure you are not looking at the PAST but looking to the FUTURE. However, if you feel you are resisting the move from one stage to another, take time to ensure you have truly processed that step in the cycle.

Stage 1 = SHOCK
Stage 2 = ANGER
Stage 3 = ACCEPTANCE
Stage 4 = PLANNING
Stage 5 = ACTION

Sheila shared her sister’s personal story. After being diagnosed with cancer she was able to quickly move though the Change Cycle and turned her treatment plan into a project plan. She embraced the change and stated, “It is what it is!”. And she successfully dealt with the cancer. 😊

As quoted by John Kabat-Zinn, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”.

Strategy #3 Understand your emotions.
As you work through the process of change, “be deliberate” in who you include in your network. Ensure you have the right support system to help you through this time of growth that might feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Strategy #4 Work towards balance.
Do you have Balance in your life? Some say balance is the key to everything! Using Sheila’s Balance Circle (diagram below) chart the key aspects in your life that you are trying to balance. For each area you identify, evaluate how satisfied you are today with that area and place a dot on the line for that area. Once you’ve done this for all areas, connect your dots. The result is a visual representation of your overall balance. Do the same evaluation for where you’d like to be a year from now. Now you have a goal to strive for!

Balance CircleDownload

Strategy #5 Visualize a great future.
Images are the language your brain best understands. If you intentionally visualize what you are striving for, your subconscious will help you get there. Top athletes use visualization because it works!

Strategy #6 Demand a positive outlook.
Be resilient, persevere and always push through; striving for the goal even when you might feel deflated. Remember Thomas Edison failed over 1,000 times before he was successful in creating the light bulb. JK Rowling was turned down by 12 publishers before finding success with Harry Potter books. And Walt Disney was fired for lack of imagination and no good ideas. Imagine if Walt Disney had given up on his vision! We would never have grown up knowing about classics like Aladdin, The Lion King or Beauty & The Beast. Disney World, Disney Land and the global media and entertainment empire that the Walt Disney Company is today wouldn’t have existed.

Strategy #7 Keep moving forward.
Pick an action and take the next right step. As Dory says in the Finding Nemo movie, “Just Keep Swimming”.

Hiring Companies

Goodwill of Central & Northern Arizona
Ron Mack – Community Awareness Partner

The mission of Goodwill is: “Through the goodwill of others, we create the pathway for all by helping those who desire self-sufficiency”. They want to help people find employment. Goodwill Career Centers provide:

  • Career Advisors
  • Career Navigators
  • Mock Interviews/Resumes
  • Employment Support
    o Job postings inside and external to Goodwill (i.e. Amazon and Target)
  • Digital or Computer Basic Skills Training
    o Internet Skills
    o Email
    o Microsoft Word
    o Social Media
    o Excel
    o Powerpoint
    o Windows
    o Mac
    o Information Literacy

The East Valley center is located at 106 E. McKellips, Mesa Arizona, 85201. Check out the website for more details. Goodwill also has a Virtual Career Center located at www.mycareeradvisor.com.

Dexcom
Micaela Drewett – Recruiter

Dexcom was founded in 1999 and develops, manufactures and distributes continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management. Their focus is to provide better outcomes, deliver solutions and empower our community to take control of diabetes. The Mesa location opened in 2017. Dexcom is proud of their great culture focused on Patients First.

Benefits:
Medical, dental and vision
401 (k) Retirement Plan
5 sick days
3 weeks PTO
2 Floating Holidays
Work-life Balance with Flexible Schedules

Open Positions
Supervisor Manufacturing
EHS Specialist
QA Inspector 1 & 2
Engineering Technician 2
Director of Facilities
Hardware Engineer 2
Manager Materials
Senior Hardware Engineer
Manager Purchasing
Senior QA Engineer
Staff Process Sustaining Engineer
QA Engineer 2
Research Associate 1 & 2
Quality Assurance Analyst 2

TTEC
Rob Briggs – Corporate Recruiter

TTEC is a global customer experience and technology services company focused on the design, implementation and delivery of exceptional customer experience. Some of their customers are Verizon, Google and Facebook. The company offers:

  • Fun, talented and witty teammates
  • Knowledgeable, supportive and present leadership
  • Family-friendly environment
  • Free-spirited, theme-based employee events
  • Career-growth and lots of learning opportunities for aspiring minds
  • Community-minded organization
  • Competitive pay and benefits

They are located at:
o 40 E Rio Salado Parkway, floors 1st and 10th, Tempe, AZ 85281
o 8123 S Hardy Drive, Ste 100, Tempe, AZ 85284
o 16404 N Black Canyon Hwy, Ste 100, Phoenix 85053

Currently recruiting for Sales Representative / Online Marketing Sales Executive. Account Management positions will be available at the beginning of 2020.

Optima Tax Relief
Desiree Smith – Talent Acquisition Partner

Optima Tax Relief helps individuals with a lot of tax debt. The company has grown from 30 employees in 2018 to 96 employees today and is targeting 100 by the end of the year. The office is located at 450 N. 54th St. in West Chandler. The growth over the past year is due to robust business growth, a business-friendly environment and the ability to attract skilled labor. The company is also known for its great culture based upon the goals to have fun, enjoy the work and like the people you work with. The Leadership Team invites you to “make this a career for you”. Check out their job openings at www.optimataxrelief.com.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Founder/CEO of Career Connectors, took the stage to thank everyone for taking the next step in finding a new career. She recognized the many hiring companies, sponsors and partners including Brighton College. Every seeker was encouraged to network with other seekers, build more LinkedIn connections, take a free DISC assessment and have a professional portrait taken by a photography volunteer at the event. Professional resume writers, LinkedIn experts and Career Coaches are also available at the event to perfect your search tools.
Thank you to Central Christian Church for hosting the event and the 90 volunteers that serve Career Connectors around the Valley.

11/6/19 – The Future of Work…at Least for 2020

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Written by Jim McBride

The Future of Work

Keynote

From donut designer, grocery bagger, delivery driver, bank teller, restaurant server all the way up to casino accountant and business executive. This is the unique career journey of Jennifer Mellor, Chief Innovation Officer for the Greater Phoenix Chamber.

Your career arc may not include a yummy role in donut design like Jennifer’s, but her journey may help explain the fundamental change in the way companies are doing business and the expectations for career professionals to adapt and thrive.

How is the Future of Work Changing?
Start with the gig economy. Uber, Airbnb, freelancing and independent consulting are just a few of hundreds of examples where workers don’t want to be tied to a company or specific job and are using their own resources to generate income by gig.

Also, many companies are decentralizing their workforce and have liberated employees from the office cubicle farms. Technology has enabled work teams to connect from remote home offices and coffee shops across the globe.

It was once an expected career accomplishment to be employed with one company for 35 to 40 years. But, the motivation for staying or leaving for the next big step in a career journey has evolved. Today’s professionals tend to be focused on the type work they do and not an actual job. People are more personally mission-driven and seek opportunities to quench a thirst for life-long learning.

Industries and Hiring Demand
Statistics from the Maricopa County Bureau of Labor Statistics show the local industries with the most workers are restaurant/hospitality, healthcare, construction, local government, IT and financial services, among many others.

Occupations in high demand include customer service representatives, retail sales, registered nurses, operations management, office clerical and food prep. Although many are entry level, these roles are in such high demand they often serve as a gateway for career pathways.

Here’s encouraging good news for job seekers: An imbalance exists between the local industry demand for hiring and the supply of available skilled workers. Seasoned mid-level professionals with qualified transferable skills in business management, customer service, marketing, healthcare, engineering, technology and transportation are all in very high demand in the Phoenix area.

Jobs Replaced by Technology
The smartphone has replaced that old thing called a phone booth. Instead of a worker collecting all of those quarters from pay phones, developers are creating apps for the iPhone. It’s challenging to grasp, but the tech trend will continue as artificial intelligence and automation could replace lawyers, journalists, chefs, financial analysts, musicians, customer service representatives and data entry clerks.

Experts say that perhaps 30% of today’s jobs will be automated in the future, which means your technical skills and education requirements will likely become more important than ever.

However, soft skills will continue to endure and will be always be in demand through the job evolution. Hiring companies still look for strong communication, time management, conflict management, change management and storytelling skills. Artificial intelligence cannot replicate or fit into workplace culture.

So, keep evolving and remain relevant. Your employability skills will be in demand for change in 2020 and beyond.

Hiring Companies

USAA
Gay Meyer – Assistant VP of HR Regional Operations

The USAA Mission – The mission of the association is to facilitate the financial security of its members, associates and their families through the provision of a full range of highly competitive financial products and services. In so doing, USAA seeks to be the provider of choice for the military community.

  • Located in North Phoenix
  • 5000 Phoenix employees, 35,000 overall
  • Maternity/paternity paid leave, 12 weeks for each
  • Wellness Program – fitness center
  • 401k match – up to 8%
  • Performance related bonus opportunities
  • Education assistance – available day 1
  • 30% of new hires are veterans or military spouses
  • Looking for caring, passionate, approachable, authentic, dynamic, intuitive and empathetic individuals

Open Positions
Customer Service Representative
Loan Officer
Adjuster – entry level
Java Software Engineer
Protective Security Officer II
Risk/Compliance

U-Haul International, Inc.
Alex Taylor – Corporate Recruiter

  • Founded in 1945, corporate headquarters in Phoenix
  • 32,000 team members nationwide
  • 100,000 trucks, largest fleet in the world
  • 20,000 independent dealers and over 1,900 company-owned U-Haul Moving and Storage Centers
  • Industry leader in do-it-yourself moving, self-storage, moving supplies, propane and custom hitches
  • 401k and stock share plan
  • Medical, dental, vision insurance, prescription savings plan
  • Home and auto insurance, U-Haul kids’ program

Open Positions
Customer Service – Contact Center
Sales – Contact Center
Accounting – Corporate
Project Manager – Corporate
Software Infrastructure
Software Engineer

Resources

Career Connectors Academy Training Program
Landi Carfi – VP of Corporate Training

Brighton College is about creating the ultimate learning experience and driving employability skills for the working/non-working and the underserved.

Dreams fulfilled through better learning
We are proud to launch this new partnership with Career Connectors to offer the best support from both organizations from enrollment to employed.

We believe this starts by identifying your natural talents through behavioral and skill-based surveys and assessments. With this knowledge we help you identify a customized learning pathway, then leverage innovative technology to deliver these in-demand courses and programs that lead to improved employability skills:

  • Technical Support
  • Programming
  • Cyber Security
  • Medical Billing and Coding
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Web & Graphic Design
  • Computer Aided Drafting & Design (CADD)
  • Short-term Allied Health Certificate Programs
  • Short-term IT Certificate Programs
  • Customer Service Certification Programs

Student and Career Services Support (resume help, mock interviews) for your journey.

Online, at your own pace!

30% Career Connectors discount on already affordable programs. Payment plans available.

Closing

Jessica Pierce encouraged all attendees to make full use of the career transition resources, speaking with the hiring companies, utilizing the professional resume writers, connecting with the LinkedIn coaches, getting a business portrait and taking the free DISC Assessment. Jessica also thanked the many partners and volunteers who supported the first-ever Career Connectors event held at GCU during the evening hours. The next gathering is Tuesday, November 12th at 9:00 am in Gilbert. Sheila Coulam will present “Confront Change with Confidence.”

10/22/19 – The Networking Brief: Increase Your Influence

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Written by Jim McBride

Networking Brief Increase your influence

Keynote: The Networking Brief: Increase Your Influence

How you activate the “process” and truly benefit from networking during your career transition and beyond, is an absolute necessity in today’s business climate. Consider Career Connectors founder and today’s keynote speaker Jessica Pierce and her transformation into a networking expert.

It’s very likely that Jessica is the most networked career transition expert in the state of Arizona. However, she’s quick to reveal that she has frequently experienced the trepidation and anxiety of showing up for meetings, events or parties and having to initiate conversations with people.

Addressing a spirited Career Connectors audience, Jessica said networking is forging new friendships and her firm belief is that even the most introverted person can learn to confidently network by simply committing to the process.

Companies strongly prefer hiring people they actually like. Which makes sense, right? People tend to do business with people they know and like. External job postings tend to draw enormous piles of applications that drain resources and cost money. Companies would rather hire somebody they already know. Savvy networking is the gateway into the hidden job market.

When you think of networking as a process model, it provides clarity on how to leverage the people you already know — along with the people you don’t know yet — to help you land that first interview at your next gig.

To become a successful networker, it requires a continuous call to action on these networking process “chunks” — assess, identify, connect and create value.

ASSESS – Who’s on “your team?” How strong are your relationships? How many new people do you talk to each day? How effective are you at networking right now? These are questions to answer when assessing your personal networking readiness. To get started, follow this link to a Networking Tool Self-Assessment:

Jessica-Pierce-Networking-Assessment-092719Download

IDENTIFY – Once you’ve assessed your readiness, then identify your “developmental” network of relatives, friends, former colleagues, supervisors, employees, college professors, alumni, club members, neighbors and religious organizations. You’ll find that people want to help. Make a list and ask these contacts, “who do you know?”

Your developmental network can then introduce you to the people you don’t know, which builds up your “strategic” network. These are the people you will need to know. Industry-specific contacts, members of associations or chambers and special business events.

Follow through and do the work to increase your exposure. Show up at networking events. Arrive early. Stay late. Meet people. Be brave and ask questions. Make friends. Volunteer.

CONNECT – Reach out, use LinkedIn, and share your story with the people in your network to let them know what’s going on in your life. Find a mentor or coach. Don’t go through the job search journey alone. Ask for advice and guidance, but do not ask anyone for a job. Be specific about your job search goals and know what you want. And here’s an important point: it will deepen the relationship if you ask your network contact what you can do to assist them.

Again, it’s crucial to state your specific job search end-goal when you’re having networking conversations. The more purposeful and straightforward the goal, the easier it will be to strategize with people who may be able to facilitate an introduction on your behalf. Follow the link to this Networking Brief template, a very useful tool to put your goals, personal branding statement, transferable skills, desirable job titles and target industries/companies down on paper:

Jessica-Pierce-Networking-BriefDownload

Hiring Companies

Deloitte
Matthew Harrison – Chief of Staff, US Delivery Center

Deloitte’s US Delivery Center (USDC) help’s clients achieve a higher level of service in operational efficiency and business value. The USDC leverages scale, talent, and a center delivery model to provide high quality, cost-effective service with standardized processes and procedures. See the “explore your fit” link on the website.

Open Positions:

  • Risk & Financial Advisory
  • Audit & Assurance
  • Consulting
  • Technology

Vertical Move
Ian Freeman – Business Development Manager

Our formula starts with understanding our clientele and all the technical aspects of their business and overall industry. We retain the most knowledgeable and experienced technical headhunting professionals from our own industry whom are blind to keywords and who search within the depths of a resume for actual experience and interview at levels that most cannot. We are located in Scottsdale, our recruiters are subject matter experts and we match candidates with niche roles.

Open Positions:

  • Data Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Analyst
  • Senior Business Analyst
  • Software Developer
  • Senior Architect
  • Media Analyst
  • Sr. and Mid-level JavaScript Engineer
  • Sr. Backend Engineer

Optima Tax Relief
Ben Simpson – Vice President, Phoenix Operations

The Optima Tax Relief team has had one vision since inception – to help Americans nationwide deal with the aggressive collection policies of the State/IRS tax agencies.

Optima details:

  • Founded 2011
  • 100 employees by end of 2019
  • No tax knowledge required to get hired
  • Promote from within
  • Hiring leaders as operation grows
  • Team environment – “mischievous fun”

Open Positions:

  • Administrative Assistant
  • Facilities Coordinator
  • Jr. Systems Administrator
  • HR Manager
  • Resolution Support Representative – Customer Service
  • Help Desk Technician Support
  • Tax Prep – Trainer
  • Inside Sales

Resources

Career Connectors Academy Training Program
Steven Hatch – Director of Admissions

Brighton College is about creating the ultimate learning experience and driving employability skills for the working/non-working and the underserved.

We are proud to launch this new partnership with Career Connectors to offer the support of both organizations from enrollment to employed.

We believe this starts by identifying your natural talents through behavioral and skill-based surveys and assessments. With this knowledge we help you identify a customized learning pathway, then leverage innovative technology to deliver these in-demand courses and programs that lead to improved employability skills:

  • Technical Support
  • Programming
  • Cyber Security
  • Medical Billing and Coding
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Web & Graphic Design
  • Computer Aided Drafting & Design (CADD)
  • Short-term Allied Health Certificate Programs
  • Short-term IT Certificate Programs

Student and Career Services Support you in your journey. Career Connectors discount of 30%.

Closing

Sheila Coulam thanked the many partners and volunteers for their contributions to the Career Connectors event. Job seekers were encouraged to utilize the many transition resources – professional resume writers, career coaches, LinkedIn coaches and take the free DISC assessment. Next event: The Future of Work…at Least for 2020, Wednesday November 6th, 2019 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm in Phoenix. Stay tuned for weekly emails and LinkedIn posts.