Written by Kevin Spear, MBA: @kevinhspear
Opening
Jessica began the event by announcing she was on ABC15: Sonoran Living this week. She discussed Career Connectors and gave three points to jump start your career search.
- Know yourself
- Make a list of the top ten companies you want to work for
- Have great collateral such as a resume and a good LinkedIn profile.
And of course, networking is key too. She encouraged us to meet someone we had not met before and discuss our career goals before the speaker began. This transitioned perfectly into the keynote speaker’s topic.
This was a great transition into the keynote speaker’s topic.
Keynote
Paula Shoup, @InternalGPS
Use Your Internal GPS To Stay Positive and Productive In Difficult Times
Paula said, “Whether you’re going for a new or different career, this will work for you.”
Ask yourself these three questions:
- Where are you now?
- Where do you want to go?
- How will you get there?
Where are you Now?
When Paula thinks of resilience, her Aunt Irene comes to mind. She had a rare form of cancer. The surgery left her disfigured at 28 years-old. She came through, but the recovery was tough. Through it all, she had a great sense of humor. She was incredibly resilient. She went through ten years of reconstructive surgery. Some of the tools Paula suggested, her Aunt used.
When we face trials, it’s very easy for our brains to go into a downward spiral. Our survival instinct is wired to look for danger. Then we see everything as a potential danger. Fear makes us want to keep things the same and not change.
Paula mentioned the work of Brené Brown. (I also recommend her TED Talks.) In her studies, Brown observed we tend to avoid resiliency as an answer because we want a quick fix and to be done with it. It’s the “Seduction of the Quick fix.”
One of the tools Brené uses is writing permission slips. It’s a great tool to use when you feel stuck. You write, I give myself permission to…
What do you need to give yourself permission to do?
- Let go of _____
- move forward with _____
- forgive him/her/myself for _____
Many times we go to our strengths, but neglect our values. If you get a match between you and a company’s values, then you will be successful.
Stuck on some good value words? Paula suggested googling images of values to brainstorm values.
For strengths, Paula suggested StrengthFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Where Do You Want to Go?
When you don’t know which way to go, Paula suggested Brene Brown’s Rising Strong. It talks of the reckoning, rumbling, and the revolution.
Reckoning: Emotions will drive you whether you acknowledge them or not
Rumbling: What is your story? Own it! What is the truth of your story versus what are you making up in your head?
Revolution: How do you show up to choose what you want to do? How do you change? A good book about change is Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath.
Get clear about where you want to go. focus your search on:
- Your desired
- Industry
- company
- Type of people
- Values match
- Your needs and wants
How will you get there?
Paula suggested reading The Gifts of Imperfection. Brene Brown.
Hope is really a cognitive process that can be taught
- Set realistic goals
- Move forward and recalculate
- Belief in your ability to arrive
What is your mindset? There is a difference in belief versus wanting. Belief is knowing with certainty versus wishful thinking of wanting. It is a shift in what your thinking and how you are feeling.
You have control over where you are going.
For shifting to a positive mindset, Paula recommended Barbara Fredrickson’s Positivity and the 3:1 Positivity Ratio.
- Three positive emotions to one negative emotion
- Negative emotions are much more powerful. You need to outnumber the negative with more positive emotions.
- You can’t be in denial and stuff your negative emotions. But you can shift your daily habits. It will make a huge difference in how you show up.
Think about your daily routine. Where do you have opportunities to shift?
Re-write your story
- Resilient people dispute their story like a lawyer
- What is the reality of what happened versus our interpretation of the events?
- How can you re-write that story to a more positive way?
- Write a new ending
Identify your strengths
- What would your best friend say they love about you?
- List at least five things
- How can you use those every day
- A good resource: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu
From The Gift of Imperfection: here are the five most common factors of resilience:
- Resourceful—Problem Solving Skills
- More likely to seek help
- Belief in managing feelings and coping
- Social support available
- Connected with others: Friends/families
- You can connect in many different ways
- Connecting with ANYBODY along your path will help you feel better
- Most important: Share laughter!
For more information on Paula and to visit her blog, go to www.internalGPS.com.
Hiring Companies
Paychex,
Andrea Olson, Recruiter
@Paychexcareers
- Based in Rochester, NY and now reaching into the Phoenix area.
- They provide any solution and HR department would do.
- Employee benefits,
- time-off requests, etc.
- Not every company would have a system for themselves.
- Niche is helping companies with fifteen employees or less
- Hire from entry-level to IT security and management
- They also hire for sales positions, national and virtual sales opportunities
- Located at I–17 and Bell
- nettime solutions is part of Paychex and is near Loop 101 and Chaparral Road
Aetna
Le Nguyen: Director, Recruiting Operations
Dani Sykes: Senior Recruiter
@Aetna
Le encouraged us to look for companies that know why they do what they do. Do you want to work for a company with a product or with one that makes the world a better place?
- In Arizona, Aetna has seven Phoenix area locations with an eighth in Tucson. They have seven thousand employees in Arizona.
- The core of their culture is the people they serve. It drives what they do every day.
- Aetna made a social compact with their employees in 2015
- Raised the minimum salary of all employees to $16 an hour
- Enhanced medical benefits with lower out-of-pocket costs
- Their goal is to reshape the future of health care by making it more affordable and accessible
- Across the country, they have one thousand career opportunities today.
To apply, visit aetna.jobs.
TEKsystems
Nick Bielinski, Technical Recruiter
@TEKsystems
They are part of Allegis Group and are one of seven divisions. If you are not specifically in the tech industry, they may have other roles.
- TEKSystems works with 50 to 60 positions in the area
- Supplies companies with IT talent with all types of skills
- Applications
- Network Infrastructure
- End-user Support
- Communications
- They seek especially project managers and software developer skills
Charles Schwab
Shannon Grimes, Talent Attraction Manager
@SchwabJobs
Schwab believes in the power of investing. Chuck began the company forty-three years ago and wanted to create a bridge between the average person and investment.
Careers at Charles Schwab:
- They have over sixty openings in Phoenix. a few “hot” jobs:
- Broker Training Program (AFSP)
- In-bound, phone training position
- Client Service Representative
- Much of Schwab’s banking is online and phone. You become the customer’s banking expert
- Estate Services Professional
- Broker Training Program (AFSP)
Their culture:
- Strengths-based culture (Strengthfinders 2.0)
- Schwab Everyday wellness
- Employee development
Why Schwab?
- Engage in work that matters
- Meritocracy
- Financial Fitness
- Work life balance
To apply, go to http://tiny.cc/careerconnectors and set up your profile.
Look at their talent board even if you don’t see a position you want right now.
Resource
Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants
Roger Brubacher, Director of Continuing Education
DWTC is a professional certification training school. They have several certification including digital marketing and social media strategist as well as cyber security certifications.
- Work with several partners including Project Management Institute
- Located in Tempe, off the Rural Road exit
- Teach in multiple platforms including online and hybrid classroom and online options.
Benefits include:
- Low student to instructor ratio
- Post-graduation placement assistance
- Over 95% of students pass their exams on the first try.
- Financial aid available through WIOA and is certified through the Arizona Workforce Connection
- GI Bill compliant
Closing
Jessica Pierce reminded us to take a free DISC assessment through Career Connectors and Top Talent Consulting.
Upcoming Events:
The next Career Connectors Event will be in Gilbert on Tuesday, January 26. Abby Kohut will be speaking on “The Benefit of Being Overqualified.” Career Connectors is also partnering with Best Companies AZ to bring the Military Career Event on February 17. For more information, please visit the events page.