Career Connectors

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Goodwill of Northern and Central AZ

12/06/18 – Phoenix Labor Market Trends

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JessicAWritten by Debbie Arnold

KEYNOTE

Opening Remarks: Jessica Pierce provided her background and reason for starting Career Connectors. Jessica then moved into the top five growing industries in Arizona:

  1. Advanced Manufacturing: Arizona is Top 5 in the nation for space & defense manufacturing. Hot careers include Industrial Engineering Techs, First Line Supervisors, Maintenance and Repair Workers, Computer Machine Operators, Machinists, and Welders.
  2. Aerospace and Defense: With a projected 18% employment growth, this category represents Arizona’s 4th largest employment with over 32,000 workers and more than 1,200 companies. Hot careers include Aerospace Engineers, Aerospace Techs, Mechanical Engineers, Software Developers and Electrical Engineers.
  3. Business and Financial Services: This includes insurance, banking and business services like data processing, hosting and related service companies. Hot careers include General and Ops Managers, Production Managers, Admin Assistants, Customer Service Reps, Training and Development Specialists, Research Analysts and Human Resources Specialists.
  4. Emerging Technology: We have more than 75 incubators around the state where technology is being developed in collaboration. Hot careers here include Computer Systems Analysts, Information Security Analysts, Computer Programmers, Software Developers, Web Developers, Database Administrators and User Support Specialists.
  5. Healthcare and Biomedical: Here we will see an estimated 54,000 new jobs in the next decade. Hot careers include Medical/Health Service Managers, Pharmacists, Physical Therapists, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Medical Records Techs, Nursing Assistants and Phlebotomists.

Jessica reviewed the Recruitment Life Cycle with attendees. Referrals are strong through those who are employed. Good employees tend to refer others who are the same. Reputational impacts are always top of mind. Jessica recommends getting to know people and always trying to speak to recruiters. Likability is a major factor in job selection for the recruiter. Often recruiters know whether you are compatible with them within a few minutes. Chemistry between the recruitee and recruiter is key.

Social media is another great option to identify potential employers. Ask friends how they like their companies. Find out if they know someone who is at the target company of which you are seeking. It is a fact that 90% of recruiters review a candidate’s social media online. Jessica recommended that candidates always maintain a current Linked In profile. Additionally, ensure the Linked In profile always aligns with the candidates’ resume.

Examples where recruiters may view the candidate in a negative light include negative comments the candidate posts about their current or previous employers. Avoid doing this at all costs. Jessica encouraged attendees at today’s event to jot down things they could do to connect with potential employers using social media. Secondly, Jessica explained that most recruiters leverage three areas to decide on the right fit for their company: character, competency and culture. PipelineAZ.com will provide a candidate with a roadmap to their desired end. It is going to be a free service. It was display upward and lateral opportunities whereas it takes a candidates transferrable skills and maps the candidate to a position or industry that fits them. Use this website as a means of finding the right steps to transition into the position in which you are interested.

Jessica encouraged ongoing learning and education by candidates. It can be as simple as showing a potential employer that a candidate is current by placing an iPhone on the table during the interview. On silent mode, of course. Jessica also reminded attendees that it is wise to ask those who are closest to candidates to provide insights they may not see in themselves. Document traits of the company and research the company prior to the interview. It is very important to understand whether a candidate is a good fit for the culture of the company. Individuals who are over 50 have excellent qualities to share such as; fewer distractions, and patience with experience. Lastly, Jessica offers the advice of dressing to impress for the interview, having a good firm handshake by matching the other person’s grip.

Jessica ended with validating that a potential candidate can and will land the right position. Stay positive and true to your brand. It will happen!

HIRING COMPANIES

WebPT, Jessica Jackson, Talent Acquisition Manager’s opening remarks included her background in the 90s where she began working in an HR capacity as a result of a layoff. During this time, Jessica met Jessica Pierce who assisted her company with recruiting efforts. Jessica reminded attendees to consider all of their experiences and make the most of their networking opportunities at Career Connector events. Jessica moved into showcasing her current employer, WebPT. Within 3 years, this company grew to be the fastest privately held company. They employ over 500 team members and service 80,000 members. They are a casual company that is collaborative and fun. Toni Rucker is a recruiter for the technology positions. She explained the traditional IT helpdesk structure as well as other frameworks that she hires for at WebPT. This includes customer service, software engineering, and scrum master-type roles. Scrum master is described as the liaison between the stakeholder and the developing team.

Farmers Insurance presenter was Surrie Atkins. Surrie began her discussion with a video about the company where attendees learned about the culture of the company, what they value, and the message that customers are at the center of their work. Philanthropy definitely appears to be at the heart of the company. Surrie explained that Farmers is growing by 1,200 people in 2019. For today, Surrie has openings at the I-17/Bell Road location. Two positions are both in customer service at the contact center. Team members will need to obtain their license which is paid for by Farmers. Their philosophy is “low effort” on the part of the customer. Make it easy for customers to deal with their company. The second position is located in an inbound call center. It is heavy customer service and sales for inbound only. This role is base pay plus incentive. Surrie closed her presentation with a video, spotlighting HR recruiting efforts at the company. Attendees asked Surrie questions around number of calls, how a customer service individual is able to meet average talk times, and how the team member can be successful in progressing upward to higher level positions.

Allstate representative in today’s session was Steve Morin, Senior Sourcing Consultant. Steve described opportunities in HR, IT, and agency owner options. Allstate has over 70,000 employees who serve over 16 million households, making the 64th on Forbes top 100 employers list. Steve explained Allstate’s culture about fitting needs to customers. For the agency owner option, this is an “owned” business whereby an individual can transfer ownership to their family. It is 100k in initial liquid capital at lift off. They require this to sustain business the first year. Insurance is a need that everyone shares. It is in high demand and recession proof. There is repeat revenue through renewals of policies. Like Farmer’s, Allstate does have a national brand. The company is competitive with a takeaway of 20 percent of what agency owners write. They also receive 6 percent in marketing tools to be successful including social media. Annual income ranges from low hundreds up to 600,000, and beyond, depending on effort of the owner agent. Allstate moves beyond a selling company. There is variety such as claims, underwriting, and community relationship-building. Allstate does not require previous experience. They will develop their talent. Allstate is a strong supporter of veterans. They also offer a $6,000 bonus referral for owner-agent opportunities. Insurance is one of top five industries in AZ.

RESOURCES

Grand Canyon University (GCU) presenter was Robert (Rob) Loy. Rob is the Head of the non-degreed Technology Programs. Rob provided his background in IT and Communications. When given the opportunity, he welcomed a change to something that he wanted to do for the rest of his career. Rob opened the floor by welcoming students to discuss their experiences at GCU. One attendee asked a student how they were trained to learn coding and prepare for job opportunities in this field. The student offered several helpful options that equip students for future employment. Further expansion of the demonstration included mock ups of the coding. It was extremely insightful for those who were interested in IT and interested in what occurs “on the back end” of a website. One of the students described coding applications such as Java that will “talk to” other databases.

Goodwill presenter Ron Mack shared Goodwill’s mission and resources. Goodwill provides career coaching through an advisor where they will review the process and conduct testing to see where a candidate best aligns. Top services are resume critiquing and mock interviewing.

CLOSING

At closing, Sheila Coulam welcomed attendees to take advantage of professional photos to update LinkedIn profile pictures. All in all a successful session on December 6, at GCU. Sheila thanked the volunteers. Sheila also requested the attendees complete a survey and thanked all attendees for coming today! Sheila ended the session with an inspiring quote:

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller

06/28/18 – Finding and Landing A New Career FAST!

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Find a new career fastWritten by Cindy Nowack

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Finding and Landing A New Career FAST!

Dave Sherman

After a successful entrepreneurial career in the speaking and training world, Dave Sherman used his networking skills to land positions in the high tech and commercial real estate world without having any experience in either industry. He came to the Career Connectors meeting to share his five tips for finding and landing a new career.

Tip 1: Embrace your decision

When making a change, people ask themselves, Should I do this? My job’s not that bad. What are people going to say?

If it’s something you’re doing that’s good for you and your family, you don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Avoid indecision, explanations, validation, and negativity. Do what’s right for you, especially at 3:05 a.m. when you wake up with lingering doubts.

You need to believe in your decision 110%. Family, friends, and even complete strangers will be giving you negativity. It’s not their path. It’s your path. Keep your family members updated. Family members are often negative because they don’t know enough about what you’re doing. Talk to them about why you’re making this change and how it will benefit the family. Embrace your decision and don’t listen to the naysayers.

Tip 2: Peruse the job boards

Once upon a time, before the internet, job seekers opened the paper to the Help Wanted section and circled jobs. It’s not that way anymore. Now you open up your computer and you have a crystal ball when looking at the job boards. You can search for anything. This is the opportunity to do anything you want to do. Don’t limit yourself. Get out of the box. Pursue jobs that will make you happy.

Dave issued a challenge to those of us at the meeting – and those of you reading this recap. Spend the next few days looking up all the jobs you ever wanted. Look for jobs that are interesting, challenging, rewarding and fun. Take some time to figure out what will make you happy.

Tip 3 : Start meeting MORE PEOPLE

This tip moves you from looking for work to landing work. Now that you have checked out the job boards and figured out your next step, start meeting people that can help take you there. Attend meetings of local Chambers of Commerce, industry associations, business groups, networking groups, and career transition groups. You won’t be asking these people for a job though. You want to meet somebody who knows somebody who can help you. Here are a few suggestions when attending these types of meetings:

  • Show up early – About 15 minutes before the meeting starts so you can get comfortable and start conversations with a few people.
  • Bring business cards – You may not have a job, but you can list your name and contact information on the cards. There are inexpensive options online.
  • ASK FOR HELP! – You want to let people know why you’re attending these meetings. These are the people who know the trends and contacts, but take a look at tips 4 and 5 to ease into how to ask for help.

Tip 4: When attending events, let go of the outcome

You won’t find a job at a networking event. But you may find someone who knows something or someone else that can help you. Start your conversations with commonalities – hometown, hobbies, school, favorites. Also, you want to be interested, not interesting. Ask questions. If it will be helpful, bring note cards of some conversation starters.

Tip 5: Know the four most important words – “Who do you know?”

You need to let people know what you want. Otherwise, they can’t help you. Tell everybody. Social media makes it easy. Post what you want on LinkedIn. Also, if Dave can help you, reach out to him. One audience member wants to be a private investigator, and Dave had a breakfast meeting scheduled with an owner of a security firm.

This is an exciting time of change for you. Take away the fear, and look at the excitement of what you’re doing. Follow Dave’s five tips, and you are on your way to finding and landing your new career.

HIRING COMPANIES

Arizona Department of Health Services
James Yale, Arizona State Hospital, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer

The Arizona State Hospital has three campuses housing primarily psychiatric patients near 24th Street and Van Buren. They use a recovery model to help inpatients transition back into society. There currently have 743 full-time state employees, 40 part-time, and 300 contractors.

The hospital is looking to hire licensed nurses and mental health technicians. Not all the jobs are medical though. They also have career opportunities for executive management, administrative staff, legal staff, project specialists, quality management, compliance and more. Go to azstatejobs.gov, click on Search for Jobs on the left side, click on Agency drop down box, and select Department of Health Services to see what positions are available.

Web.com
Kelly Moncada, Recruiter

Web.com is an online marketing company that provides websites, hosting, and helps companies manage their online presence and accelerate growth.  They are currently hiring 30 inside sales reps per month with base salary plus uncapped commission, as well as other positions listed here, including Senior Digital Marketing Analyst, Associate Data Specialist and Digital Marketing outside sales rep. The call center is located near Scottsdale and McDowell.

RESOURCES

Goodwill of Central and Northern AZ
Troy Maskell, Employee and Community Relations

Goodwill of Central and Northern AZ has 19 job centers that help put people to work. They are expanding their model to reach the mid-level to executive job seekers. They collaborate with various community resources, and partner with more than 650 companies. You can visit a job center for help with your resume, LinkedIn profile, or interviewing skills.

Troy did a quick role play with an attendee asking “Why should I hire you?” The three important questions you should answer when asked that question are:

  • What value can you bring to the organization?
  • How are you going to save them time?
  • How are you going to save them money?

Visit a Goodwill job center for help with interview skills and more.

CLOSING REMARKS

If you are looking for your new career or want to know more about your strengths, you can take the DISC assessment offered by Top Talent Consulting. As a Career Connectors member, you can take this behavioral assessment for free. Your detailed personal profile includes general characteristics, value to the organization, ideal environment, perceptions, descriptors, and much more. This is just one of the resources offered to Career Connectors members. Go to the website to find out more about taking the DISC assessment.

There is no meeting the week of July 2. The next meeting is Thursday, July 12 in Phoenix when Connie Kadansky will tell us that You are the Differentiator. Hiring companies that day will be Freedom Financial Network and State Farm.

05/22/18 – Beyond the Job Fit: Finding the Best Culture for You

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Lisa Barrington Best Culture FitWritten by Cindy Nowack

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Beyond the Job Fit: Finding the Best Culture for You
Lisa Barrington

Lisa Barrington helps organizations and individuals as an ICF certified coach, workplace and engagement strategist, and speaker. She works with organizations to foster leadership effectiveness and improve employee engagement, and with individuals to help them reach personal goals and develop their leadership capabilities. Through her experience, she knows the importance of finding the best culture fit based on one’s individual values.

Lisa’s presentation included three important points in finding the best culture for you:

1. How important are values and a company culture match

2. How to identify culture

3. How to fit in with the hiring leader

Culture can mean many different things to people as we found out when Lisa began with the question, “What is culture?” Some of the answers from the audience included environment, how people work, their behavior, values, shared assumptions, myths, and history.

First, you need to know yourself and your top values. If you need more information to understand and know yourself, Lisa’s website offers the VIA survey to identify and rank the 24 character values. If you value teamwork, but the work at your new organization is done individually without any collaboration, this may not be the best work environment for you. If you value kindness or gratitude, but the manager is tough on his employees without recognition for jobs well done, you may want to keep looking for a better work culture.

There are many ways to identify a company’s culture. Look at many factors and research the company through various ways – online through the company’s website or other sites with company information, asking people who work for the company, observing behaviors at the company site when interviewing, and results of published surveys and rankings.

Some factors to consider when identifying a company’s culture include:

Promotions – Do they happen from within the company, ask about the criteria for being promoted.
Company practices – Review the policies and procedures, how the organization operates.
Physical space – Are there work at home options vs. being in the office every day? Are there cubes and offices vs. long tables? Are employees huddled and chatting together vs. quiet with little interaction? You need to determine what works for you.
Online reviews – Review Glassdoor or LinkedIn comments about your target companies. Review qualitative statements to figure out a company’s essence. Start connecting with people at your target companies.
Turnover – This is a key measure in employee engagement and culture. Ask the recruiter or hiring manager for company results, and how do their results compare to the industry average?
Onsite interview – Watch the hiring manager and others carefully. Are there only formatted questions vs. a conversation? Are they paying attention to you or easily distracted?
Mood and tone – Observe everyone you come in contact with, even the security person in the lobby.
Rituals – How do people dress? How do they communicate with each other?
Recruitment process
Community and media presence

Based on your research, you will want to choose five companies that reflect your values and live the culture you want. Once you identify your target companies and have an interview, you will want to confirm that your leader also reflects your values and promotes the company culture. To reveal the leader’s traits, you will want to question or research their following characteristics:

Communication style – Their tone and how they communicate. (Caveat: Just because you may have different styles doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work for them. Sometimes it’s the opportunity for you to grow. Know what you want and need.)
Behavior – How they interact with others in the office, and with you.
LinkedIn – Go to the leader’s LinkedIn page to see their interests, work history, connections, and groups.
Responsiveness – Do they respond with next steps at the expected time?
Followership – How do they interact with people who work for them? How do people speak about them online or through your shared connections?
Values – How do they treat you, respond to you?
Support – How do they support their employees? Are they more focused on goals, employees, or both?

Above all, listen to your instincts. If something doesn’t seem right, try to ask targeted questions that could reveal what is staying below the surface. You want as much information as possible so you can make an informed decision. Your next opportunity should reflect your values and the culture you want, so it’s a good fit for both you and your new organization.

HIRING COMPANIES

GM Financial
Meg Mercanti, Talent Advisor

GM Financial is the global captive finance company for General Motors. Their office in Chandler, near Price and Germann, has customer service, collections, finance and credit departments.

At GM Financial, teamwork isn’t just a buzzword. The company and its employees are committed to excellence, acting with integrity and promoting its culture. Besides health insurance and 401K, other benefits include tuition reimbursement of $30,000 for for a bachelor’s degree and $20,000 for a master’s degree, employee lease and purchase discounts, and a casual work environment.

Currently, GM Financial is hiring 20 people to fill their collections training class beginning on July 9. There is also a credit analyst position available for someone with the appropriate experience. For additional information on these or other open positions, go to www.gmfinancial.com/careers.

Insight
Eric Johnson, Talent Acquisition Manager

Insight is an IT solutions provider that recently went through a global transformation and rebranding. They jumped up 56 spots in the new release of the Fortune 500 companies to now land at Fortune 417. They help their clients “Manage today. Transform the future.” Insight has more than 7,000 employees globally with 26 offices across North America. Their office here at I-10 and Elliott has openings in sales, product management, marketing, accounting and finance. For a complete listing of job openings, go to https://jobs.insight.com.

Manpower
Honey Rivers, Recruiting Manager

Manpower is a staffing agency that takes a personal interest in working with their community partners to place people in the right roles. Honey can help you with openings in customer service, reception, administrative, warehouse, industrial and light industrial areas. If your job interests do not fall in one of these areas, Honey can refer to you one of the other Manpower divisions, such as Experis, which specializes in professional positions.

Manpower benefits include weekly pay, certification and education degree reimbursement, and an inclusive and helping culture. Manpower was recently named one of 2018 world’s most ethical companies.

Some of the current open positions include:

  • Customer service agents
  • Document processors
  • Data entry
  • Production/warehouse
  • Packing/kitting/general labor
  • Seasonal shipping/packing and sorting
  • Administrative/clerical

To apply:

  • Go to www.manpowerjobs.com
  • Create an account and attach your resume
  • Contact the office at 480-824-7976 after registering

RESOURCES

Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona
Bobby Ghisolfo, Director Business and Community Development

Goodwill’s mission is to end unemployment in Arizona. There are 22 career centers throughout Arizona available at no cost to everyone in the community. Goodwill works with more than 700 employers, and can help you prepare for your next opportunity through a resume review, mock interviews, and job fairs. There is a virtual platform coming at the end of 2018 which will give access to Goodwill’s resources from your own home.

You can find more information about Goodwill’s job openings and resources at www.goodwill.org/find-jobs-and-services.

CLOSING REMARKS

There is a free hiring event on Thursday June 7 from 11am – 3pm for veterans, transitioning military personnel, national guard members, reserve members and spouses at the University of Phoenix Stadium. For more details, visit recruitmilitary.com/phoenix. 120+ job offers are expected!

State Farm is hiring a variety of full-time positions with start dates in June and July. Claim associates and customer service positions include paid training and available annual pay incentives. To learn more, visit statefarm.com/careers.

Also, be sure to check the schedule for the dates of upcoming June events at careerconnectors.org. A few dates have been moved to accommodate summer programs at our host locations.

03/22/18 – How to Use Your internalGPS® To Rise Strong

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Written by Miriam Spinner

“You are not using the right tools”

“You can’t multi-task”

“You seem overwhelmed”

I heard those comments in a role when I worked for a Fortune 500 company. I didn’t feel overwhelmed, and multi-tasking was my strength, or at least I thought so. It set me back. I heard those messages over and over in my head. I also believed that failure was good. It is how we learn. It added fuel to my fire. So I took the feedback, thought about it, and decided to get back up and channel my energy into a new direction. That new direction for me was my career pivot.

When you fall: get up, recognize the feeling, think different and change your action. And remind yourself you are human being. Rinse and repeat.

KEYNOTE

How to Use Your internalGPS® To Rise Strong
Paula Shoup

Paula Shoup kicks off her talk by sharing expert knowledge on resilience. Brene Brown is a social scientist researcher from the University of Texas, and wrote the book Rising Strong. We are all faced with issues and challenges. The difference is that resilient people *Get Up*.

The resilient are taught to keep strong regardless of what happens to them and they recover more quickly. Let’s learn from them.

Paula tells us about her own personal experiences with rejection and failure. Her significant fall was a potential contract with a supply chain high technology company. It was perfect since Paula’s background was in supply chain management. As she was in the midst of the initial conversation, she realized she was not prepared. And if that wasn’t enough, her comment of no “shocks” may have sealed the deal. She never received a call back.

What do resilient people do? They get curious. They feel emotion. They think about the fall. They get back up.

Paula shares with us the key messages from Brene Brown’s TED talk on vulnerability. Based on her research, she found we don’t want to show or feel vulnerable. It feels like a weakness, it is a myth, and we learned it when we were kids.

Recognize the feeling. Think different. Do different.

Tools

Identify your values

Get clear on your values so you can determine if the organization is a good match for you. Google an image of values. Pick 10 of them, and narrow down to 5 to get your top real values. Ask yourself “Am I living them?”. Paula’s values are connections and making a difference. This is her pro-bono work so she aligns with Career Connectors.

Tactical Breathing

Paula taught us the value of tactical breathing which is also mentioned in Rising Strong. It helps us with mindfulness, and decreasing anxiety. Military soldiers use the breathing techniques in combat. We practiced the Box breathing method in the session.

Power Stance

Right before the interview, try the power stance. If you are on the phone, stand up vs. sitting down.

Creativity

Practice courage and let go of uncertainty. Be creative and write it down!

A failure:

1 – Write a stormy first draft. It might be only a couple of sentences.
2 – Get curious about others in the story.
3 – “Rumble” with emotions (blame, criticism, etc.). Guilt is good – it moves us into action.
Shame and Blame focus on someone else – it doesn’t move us into action.

Inner Judger

Shirzad Chamine works with executive leaders and CEOs on leadership. He discovered that a key theme was around how people judge themselves. Shirzad Chamine’s TED talk is about learning about your inner critic. Give it a name, and notice when it talks to you.

Positive Emotions

1 – Work on your daily habits: What am I tolerating? What is bringing up frustration? What is sapping my energy?
2 – Check-In
3 – Celebrate

Resilient People

Comparative Suffering: I shouldn’t be upset about a failure in my life since there are people who have no food. Your feelings of pain and suffering are valid. Compassion and empathy are infinite.

Brene Brown found that people who consistently “Rise Strong” follow a form of this process:

  • The reckoning – walk into your story
  • The rumble – own your story
  • The revolution – process becomes practice

Spiritual Practice

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to one another by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and belonging. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning, and purpose to our lives” – Brene Brown, Rising Strong.

HIRING COMPANIES

Farmers
Surrie Atkins, Recruiter

Farmers is the third largest insurance company within the U.S. It is part of the Zurich company. Community outreach includes United Way, Red Cross and Thank a Teacher. They are also involved in local events that help the community by donating backpacks, school supplies and sponsoring families.

Two position types are open:
1 – customer service in call centers at I-17 ad Bell Road
2 – Inbound sales (no cold calls)

Apply at Farmers.

Windsor
Roy Bailey, Human Resources Director

Windsor has 5 care centers in Arizona – 4 in Cottonwood and 1 in the Phoenix metro area. They provide home hospice, home healthcare and destination to recovery care.

The open positions are in clinic and non-clinic roles.

Non clinic:

  • Dietary managers
  • Marketing/Business Development
  • Marketing professionals
  • Social Services
  • Registered Dietitian

Windsor offers internal incentives, such as $10K scholarship toward a degree, and 100% medical coverage at the director level. They treat employees the same as they treat their residents.

To learn more, go to the Windsor site.

NESCO Resource
Bob Sorrell, Sr. Recruiter/Primary Account Manager

There are over 90 NESCO branches, with a recent new opening in Costa Rica. They provide temporary and direct hire staffing services. They offer opportunities in IT and professional roles, and temporary roles in the light industrial market.

Current openings are:

  • Maintenance mechanic
  • Tool designer
  • Part time admin
  • Accounts Payable admin
  • Data entry/Excel
  • SMT programmer
  • Welders
  • Quality Inspectors

Complete an application online. Jobs change frequently.

RESOURCES

Goodwill of Central & Northern AZ
Denise Coulson, Area Leader for Business and Community Development

Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that serves as a positive catalyst for eliminating employment. Approximately 105,000 people were served through their career centers, and 45,000 were placed. There are 13 career centers in metro Phoenix, Prescott, Yuma and Flagstaff. They also conduct workshops at Women’s Fresh Start and New Leaf.

Denise tells us that mock interviews are really beneficial. Recruiting employers are at Goodwill on Thursdays. There are over 1,000 positions open.

Upcoming: Hiring Fest Thursday, March 29 with over 50 employers. Click here to learn more.

CLOSING

Jian Boldi closed the session by reminding us to download our portraits at CareerConnectors.org/photos, and of the following upcoming session:  March 27:  Put Your Strengths to Work  – Find a Job that Fits,  Stephanie Clergé.

02/15/18 – Your Work Begins Before the Interview

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Your Work Begins Before the InterviewWritten by: Lauren Kutsko

“Take risks: If you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise”

Author Unknown

KEYNOTE

Your Work Begins Before the Interview

Martha Rockwell

As someone who has reinvented her professional career 5 different times and has been in the resume writing industry for 20+ years, we were delighted to listen to Martha deliver valuable insights into the actions we can control during our career transition. Without some of the actionable steps she shared to keep our job search positive and connected it is easy to feel overwhelmed with a wide open calendar and nowhere to aim your efforts.

She shared 6 major areas of the job search to keep in mind as you seek interview opportunities.

  1. Resume, Cover Letter, LinkedIn
  2. Personal Criteria/Work Preferences
  3. Networking
  4. Research and Targeting
  5. Interview Preparation
  6. Time Management

Resume, Cover Letter and LinkedIn Profile
Many major corporations are using Applicant Tracking Software to sort and organize resumes. Because sorting is being done by computers there are a few things to keep in mind when submitting yours:

  • Do not use tables or text boxes.
  • Have your designated title at the top of the resume match exactly for the position you are seeking.
  • Adding keywords that match the job description throughout your resume will strengthen your match and bring you to the top.
  • Simply put, a LinkedIn profile is just a must. If you do not exist online you don’t exist! Career Connectors has coaches onsite to help you with yours. As far as the cover letter, they aren’t always necessary. If you do submit one, take the time to address the specific qualifications listed in the job description and speak to how you exemplify them in your work and attitude.

Personal Criteria and Work Preferences
In career transition you have the opportunity to make a change to your life. To do that well it’s important to take a look back and acknowledge what you like and don’t like to shape your future. Take an honest look at your previous work history and explore what you loved what you hated and what you would like to have in the future.

Networking
80% of all job placement is done through networking! Martha encouraged us to keep the emphasis of networking as we make connections, not to land a job. If you go out with the only intent of getting a job it’s likely that networking will feel inauthentic and dry. You never know who other people know! Reach out to old friends, take them to lunch. Make a list of everyone you know and start making the small connections to build your network. Don’t forget to list people out of state, you never know who they know here in Arizona.

Research and Targeting
I thought this was a very cool proactive place to start your job search! Start with a group of 20 companies that you have always thought would be interesting to work for and begin to do research on them. Perhaps you will find a few don’t have offices in your city. Perhaps a few just released press releases saying that they laid off employees. As you research, narrow your list to 3. Then begin to look through your network of people to see if there is anyone you know that could hand deliver your resume for you.

Interview Preparation
An interview should be a conversation between two interested parties. So as you answer their questions consider finishing with a question like, I would like to know more about the qualifications you are looking for. She also encouraged us to write out and practice the dreaded “tell me about yourself” statement. Include your background, how you found the position, your strengths and then don’t forget to end it with a question back to them!

Time Management
As I am sure you know, without setting clear goals it is too easy to get overwhelmed and delay the start of your job search. On of the easiest ways to overcome dread is to make a plan! One of the goals is to get out of the house everyday. There is a fantastic resource at www.networkingphoenix.com that lists all the events that are happening around the valley. Now that you have the time, make coffee and lunch dates with old friends or coworkers. Remember you never know who other people may know that could land you your next position!

To learn more about Martha’s company check out her website!

HIRING COMPANIES

Northstar
Peter Swenson, Divisional Vice President

Northstar is a growing smart home securities company based in Utah. With an office in Tempe, they are accepting college interns and hiring heavily in sales and field tech services. Their mission is to empower confident living. They do that with their clients through products that make people feel secure and they do that with their employees by ensuring work life balance and employee development. Current openings are in recruiting, customer service, field service technicians, sales representatives and sales managers. For more information go to their website.

The Hartford
Chet Joshi, Sr. Talent Consultant

With a new office on Raintree and the 101, there are many opportunities at this very established company! With over 200 years in business, this company offers some of the most competitive healthcare and 401k matching plans available. They like to say they don’t have job openings, they have career openings. With low turnover and rapid advancement opportunities you can build an incredible career here. Their current openings are in Phoenix and Scottsdale, including Customer Service Rep, Workers Compensation Claim Rep, Liability Litigation Claim Consultant, Client Relationship Manager, Underwriters, and Auto Claim Rep. More information here.

Staff Logic
Justin Hook, VP Sales and Recruiting

As a local staffing firm that has deep connection with some of the valley’s best companies, this is a great place to start your networking efforts. Staff Logic offers not just temp to hire positions but plenty of professional direct hire positions. They have placed over 50K professionals in long term careers here in the valley. 63% of their referrals come from clients or professionals that they have placed! They work in many fields such as accounts payable, banking and financial services, bookkeeping, credit and collections, audit, public accounting, executive staffing, software development, IT engineering, customer service, software sales, medical administrative, marketing, HR, and executive searches. For more information click here.

RESOURCES

Goodwill of Central and Northern AZ
Carter Ellis, Professional Career Advisor

Goodwill is more than a retail store. In fact, 90 cents of every dollar earned at their stores supports their work of ending unemployment here in the valley. With over 18 different career centers valley wide they support their clients with career coaching, resume critiquing, mock interviews, talent sourcing, and access to a job posting board. They do not just hire entry level positions. Because they have relationships with 600 different employers around the valley, their recruiting is diverse for the professional placement as well. For more information about hiring events or their Career Centers, check out their website.

CLOSING

Sheila Coulam reminded us that pictures are uploaded to the website, they will not be emailed to you.

There is an upcoming military career event that all are welcome to attend. Attendance is FREE for all job seekers! Create your profile to be pre-matched with hiring companies for onsite interviews March 7! More information including participating companies can be found here: BCAZ 2018 Military Career Event.

On Feb 22nd in Glendale Kevin Dumcum will speak on how to Activate Your Job Search and Jim Sorenson, will be sharing from DES/Unemployment Insurance and how to take advantage of DES services. The hiring companies will be DES and Honor Health.