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Job Transition

10/11/17 – Lost My Job, Now What

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Lost Your Job Now WhatWritten by Susan Lamphiear

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Henry Ford

No doubt about it. Losing a job– being in career transition—takes its place right up there with some of life’s most difficult challenges. At times it can feel like it’s literally sucking the breath from you. But it helps to realize that others, having traveled this particular part of the storm, have not only lived to tell about it, but have come through this particular storm stronger and ready to tell their story.  And ready to share what they’ve learned. Like the airplane, they’ve taken off against the wind.

Consider the message from the Broadway musical Wicked, Defying Gravity: “It’s time to try defying gravity. I think I’ll try defying gravity. And you can’t bring me down” as you consider our keynote’s personal story and her advice.

Keynote

Naomi Buckta has been in your shoes.  She feels your pain. She, too, has experienced job loss.  The good news is she came out stronger on the other side and shares her tips for getting through the storm.

Today she’s Vice President of sales & marketing for four related companies. Through her experiences she’s conducted seminars and workshops focusing on personal transition and social networking.

Naomi’s Tips After a Job Loss

  • Lost your job? Don’t panic. When you start to doubt yourself, make a list of your strengths. Go to your LinkedIn profile and read the great stuff people have written about you.

When Naomi Buckta was laid off in 2010, it caught her off guard even though she was part of the executive team. She had to remind herself what a rock star she is.

  • Assess yourself. Clean up your social profiles. Know what you really want and let your resume reflect that. Consider a career coach. And a mentor.
  • Don’t be resentful. Develop the habit of writing thank you notes. Don’t burn bridges.
  • Stay current in your field. This is the number one reason people lost their jobs in their organizations. Remember MOOCs. Say, what? You know MOOC–Massive Open Online Course. It’s those courses of study available on the internet and available without charge to large numbers of people. Make a section on your resume to document ones you’ve taken. It’s one more sign to potential employers that you’re staying current in your field.
  • Have a plan—Connect with people through NetworkingPhoenix.com, LinkedIn groups, church groups. Find out who knows who. Prepare your elevator speech.
  • Build your network whether you’re in job search or gainfully employed. Relationships matter. What do you know, what are your targeted companies, and what networking events are available to you? Find a mentor who among other things will be honest with you and even help you debrief after an interview.
  • Your resume—don’t sound like a zombie—aim to make your resume sound like a human voice. Make sure your resume reflects the exact job you’re looking for now. Put it on quality paper.
  • Is your portfolio up to date? Consider writing a 30/60/90 day plan and aim to work it into an interview.
  • The interview—Prepare questions to ask for every level of the organization. And be prepared to answer behavioral questions.
  • Speak positively about the company you just left NO MATTER WHAT.
  • Make your own opportunities while going through job transition. Consider contract work, consulting, teaching a class, working part-time to make ends meet. Or do something you’ve always wanted to do but never took time like planting an herb garden, organizing family photos, and taking a picnic lunch to the park.

Naomi summed up her thoughts, expressed in a quote, about getting through tough times like a job loss and career search.

Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.

M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist

Hiring Companies

Northcentral University

Bradley Dial, Talent Acquisition Specialist

Northcentral University, regionally accredited, features online education at a higher degree including degrees in education, technology, business, psychology, and marriage & family science.  Online degree programs allow students to learn in a one-to-one learning model from a 100% doctoral faculty.

One of the benefits includes free education.

Currently they are hiring for academics, administration, enrollment, information technology and student support services.

For more information or to apply, visit their website.

AB Staffing Solutions

James Gonzales, Recruiter

AB Staffing Solutions, a staffing and recruiting agency, is one of the fastest growing companies in the healthcare industry. They provide healthcare personnel at government and commercial medical facilities across the country.

Their company is casual, attracting employees who gladly roll up their sleeves to get the job done and who are not afraid to talk to people. AB Staffing hires medical staff for three to six month contracts, sometimes with the opportunity for permanent placement.

For more information or to apply, check their website or call. Many opportunities for healthcare workers, including recruiters, nurses, and doctors, are available in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California.

Vanguard

Renee Brown, Sr. Recruiter

Vanguard, a large client-owned investment company founded in 1975, is one of the world’s largest investment management companies, with 17 locations worldwide. Unique in its industry, as a client-owned company, they have no outside owners seeking profits. A stable company, they’ve had only three CEOs over their 42 years, with their fourth CEO Tim Buckley slated to become new CEO in January, 2018.

The company stresses integrity, a 37 ½ hour workday, and community service.

Perks or benefits include 18 days paid time off, 9 paid holidays;  up to 4 ½% 401K; onsite gym, dry cleaning, and wellness; health, dental, and vision benefits starting the first day; intramural sports leagues and more.

Currently the company offers positions ranging from entry level to management, including client relationship specialist, processing associates, financial advisors, compliance manager, and team leader roles. For more opportunities or to apply, visit their website.

Resources

Coder Camps

Jason Jones, Sr. Admissions Advisor

Coder Camps provides web development opportunities in data science. Increasing demand for this relatively new field of data science means there’s an ever-increasing demand for specialists who help companies make business decisions using the data.

There’s no entrance exam for the school. Instead, recruiters sit down and talk with potential students one-on-one. Coder camps take students where they are. The emphasis is training for developing projects—which is how students will get a job. Employers want to see their coders know how to develop projects. Universities these days connect with coder camps because the coder camps can keep up with the rapid changes inherent in web development.

Coder Camps are Coders for Life meaning since technology changes so fast, the school allows graduates of the coder camps to come back over and over at no additional cost. Coder Camps offer ongoing training and job placement for life.

Upcoming events include a free introduction, so contact the school to sign up for a free intro Wednesday, October 18, 2017,  from 5—7PM. And on Friday, October 20, 2017,  from noon-3PM please visit their big Demo Day.

For more information on applying or signing up for their events, visit their website or call.

Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the meeting and introduced breakout sessions. The breakout sessions include the opportunity to speak directly with hiring managers, LinkedIn and resume specialists, financial consultants, coaches, educational specialists, and a professional photographer for free business head shots.

Jessica thanked volunteers and our host facility  Highlands Church.

The next Career Connectors event is the Glendale launch,  featuring Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers, on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at 9AM at Calvary Church at 59th Avenue and Bell in Glendale. Topic of the keynote address will be You’ve Got This!: Real, No-Nonsense Ideas for Mentally Regrouping After a Layoff presented by Bridgett McGowen-Hawkins. The Glendale location will be held the third Thursday of each month.

The next meeting for the Scottsdale event will be Thursday, November 9, 2017, at 9 AM and features keynote speaker Cary Pfeffer on the topic of Telling Your Story.

To find specific location details, visit the events section of this website to register for any or all of the four locations.

12/13/16 – How to Find a Great New Job in Half the Time

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Dave ShermanWritten by Marty Allison

Opening

Jessica Pierce, Executive Director of Career Connectors

Jessica opened the event and let people know that due to accidents and delays on the freeways there would be more people attending the event who were running late.  She talked about an email that she received from someone who attended Career Connectors on Wednesday and based on a referral at that event, they are now employed!  Jessica also explained that the 2017 calendar of events has updated and in January there will be a presentation by a representative from LinkedIn Corporate.   Today’s keynote presentation will be recorded on Facebook Live on the Career Connectors Facebook page.  She noted that Dave Sherman does not sugar-coat things, because he has seen what works.

 

Keynote Speaker

Dave Sherman, Sales Trainer and Speaker

Dave went through his personal job history and joked that over the past four years he went from never being laid off or fired to having both of them happen to him.  While those experiences both stink, the situation does change.  Everyone who is in career transition will find a new job.  It is up to you WHEN that happens.  How badly do you want to be hired?  Crediting his mother for this advice, Dave noted that it is important to get out of your comfort zone.   He provided tips to help connect you with your next job at a faster rate.

 

Tip 1: GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE.

This promotes socialization.  Go to another location that has wifi and work from there.  This could be a coffee shop, bakery, library or anywhere that has internet that you can use for your career transition needs.  This routine “stops the voices” by getting you in a different environment.

 

Tip 2: HANG OUT WITH EMPLOYED PEOPLE.

While Career Connectors is an important resource, in order to get a job you want to go to places where people have jobs.  Maintain contact with people who are working.  Dave works at Mobile Mini and his company is hiring.  He loves his job and noted his willingness to help others who were seeking employment.

 

Tip 3: ATTEND MORE NETWORKING EVENTS.

The five weeks after Thanksgiving are the best time of the year for networking since there are social gatherings around the holidays.  Asking people about their holidays naturally opens up conversation.  Remember that even if you are not currently working, you still have a lot to offer.  Dave suggested attending two networking groups per week, with a breakfast meeting being a good way to start off your day.  Chambers of Commerce, Professional Associations, Business Groups and Networking Groups are all places that you can go for networking.  While in career transition, it is important to know what you are looking for.  Know not just job titles, but know three companies that you want to work for.

 

Tip 4: STOP LOOKING FOR A JOB.

Your focus while attending events should not be on finding a job, but on being likable to others.  Find some commonality with others instead of just telling them your resume and background.  Be genuine and be likable.  Be interested, not interesting.

 

Tip 5: WHO DO YOU KNOW?

The words “Who do you know” are the most important words.  Most people do want to help you as long as you don’t make it too difficult for them.  You need to more specifically know what you want so that other people are better equipped to help you reach that goal.  Networking is only effective if you know what you want.  Ask everyone!  Most people have been impacted by career transition, and if you know what you want… people are willing to help you.

 

Because he hopes that these tips get you to your employment goal, Dave closed out his presentation to an audience in career transition by saying “I hope I never see any of you ever again!”

 

Event Sponsor

Coder Camps, Jason Jones

Coder Camps is a sponsoring organization for Career Connectors.  Jason talked about the difference between Career Connectors and a typical job fair, commenting that job fairs don’t care for you the same as what he sees at Career Connectors.  Jason explained that web developers either stay relevant or job hunt.  98% of them work full time with only 2% experiencing unemployment.  Coder Camps help people stay relevant.  Once you complete your initial class, future classes are free.  Because coders typically need to look for new jobs every 2-3 years, Coder Camps has job placement assistance.  In January, classes in Java will roll out.

 

Hiring Companies

Transperfect   

Abir Sultana, Lead Recruiter

The language services industry is currently one of the fastest-growing markets.  Transperfect works with every major industry.  Over half of the market is in Europe, with the growing North American market being the second largest and growing.  In Tempe the company has expanded to a second building, with both centers near I-10 and Warner, so that they can meet the demand for language services.  Recently, they have expanded from having access to translate 170 languages to now 180 languages.  They do telephonic interpreting, but also handle needs such as subtitling movies into other languages.  In providing examples of the company, Abir noted that at this year’s Thanksgiving potluck, employees brought food representing different cultures to share with others.

 

Arizona Office Technologies

Octavio Duarte, Corporate Recruiter

Arizona Office Technologies is a local company that has been in business for about 30 years.  They are a Xerox company with a goal of optimizing other businesses.  They seek ways to increase efficiency and save costs, so it is important to understand the company culture of their clients.  Octavio described that AOT values giving back to this local community, which includes involvement in community programs such as Christmas Angels and Toys for Tots.  Benefits include that a President’s Club (for all employees, not just sales) will have a trip to Mexico in April.   They seek energetic individuals for business to business sales roles.  In addition to current openings, Octavio anticipates that there will be an upcoming position for a Sale Trainer.

 

Education Management Corp

Mark Pierce, Manager of Talent Acquisition

Mark let the audience know about his work history and how that impacted his wife Jessica and their family.  When previously without employment, Mark was resistant to taking a certain open job position based on his prior income history.  Given changes in the economy, seeing benefit to earning an income instead of no income, and possibly sleeping on the couch until employed… (that last one disputed by wife Jessica as never being a genuine threat), he decided to accept that position and the choice to do so helped him position himself for his current role.  Mark spoke about Education Management Corp (EDMC) having an online presence with the Art Institutes, Argosy, and South University.  He recruits for other positions primarily at Argosy, but offered to be a resource if the recruiter that needs to view your resume is assigned to those online campus positions.  Benefits of employment include 1 day off which can be used to help a non-profit organization.  Mark noted excellent education benefits and is personally using the tuition benefit to obtain a Master’s degree in Counseling.

 

Charles Schwab

Salma McHorney, Sourcing Advisor

Investors have historically had barriers of: High Costs, Lack of Choice, and Lack of Transparency.  “Own your Tomorrow” is tied to the culture at Charles Schwab as they seek to close the gap between the power of investing and their clients.  The company is based in San Francisco, but has several operating centers.  Phoenix is the largest employee base for those operating centers.  Salma discussed that types of employment are typically either “Client Facing” or “Support Role” positions.  Most of the hot jobs in the Phoenix area are looking for candidates who have 1-2 years of financial or customer service experience.

Resources

Canyon State Institute

Laura Eckles, Academic Advisor

As an Academic Advisor, Laura talks to people about their career paths and about ways to get on a fast track to their next career.  Laura discussed the WIOA grant, which is funding for training.  She noted other funding sources, such as TAA for individuals who had a job that was relocated overseas.  Canyon State Institute offers classes on a schedule of day, evening and online sessions.

 

Closing

Jessica Pierce closed the event with some announcements.  For those interested in the WIOA grant, there were three schools on site at the event which accept that funding.  The Facebook Live recording of today’s presentation by Dave Sherman is posted on the Career Connectors Facebook page.  There are additional resources on the Career Connectors website, including the Career Blog section where 15 career experts post different career advice 1-2 times per week.  The DISC assessment is a free resource too.  Jessica thanked those who volunteer for Career Connectors and noted that there were over 85 volunteers contributing this year.  Having an updated LinkedIn page will be important for anyone attending the January 18, 2017 session in Phoenix where a representative from LinkedIn corporate will be presenting.  That presentation will be more beneficial if you already have an established LinkedIn page.  Your successful career transition is in prayer!

12/1/16 – Think Like a Hiring Manager and Land the Job

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Jessica Pierce Think Like a Hiring ManagerWritten by Susan Lamphiear

Here Comes the Sun (George Harrison, The Beatles),  a reminder that there is hope for a new sunrise every day of our lives, whether we are gripped with fear or experiencing loss or grappling with any of life’s problems and glitches, and the song’s long been a favorite of mine.  To me the song will always be a metaphor for hope. So I thought of the song when our keynote speaker’s intro mentioned  hope’s importance during life’s trials, including job layoffs or job transition.

Keynote

“It’s all about hope,” says Jessica Pierce, Executive Director of Career Connectors. Hope is what gets you through the tough times.

Jessica and her husband Mark know about getting through tough times. They were both employed and “living the dream” in 2007 when Jessica was laid off from her job at Intel. She quickly opened a staffing company but that closed after two years, following the economic crisis of 2009.

When her husband was laid off during this same time period, in 2009, Jessica began helping other professional friends who also faced unemployment.  The couple had an infant, a two-year-old and a 10-year old. (Her children and supportive husband are still what she’s most proud of.)  A short sale of their home soon challenged them. But Jessica told Mark that she felt God had called her to help (Career Connectors started with helping a few people at church with their resumes), so he threw out his arms and said, “How can I argue with God?”

In 2010 Arizona hosted the U.S. Census and Jessica informed them she had about 250 people who might be interested. But when word got out they were hiring 3000 people, Jessica realized that this whole situation was about community, not just church, when people lined up around the church and TV news were there to interview her. Career Connectors was founded and since then the group has helped over 25,000 individuals and 300 companies in the metro Phoenix area, and Jessica was called to speak at the White House as a jobs expert.

Having become an expert in job search tactics, Jessica loves to share what she’s learned and to teach others how to think like a hiring manager to land the job.

Jessica learned at age 24,  you have to make it easy for hiring managers to find you, and she practically made a second career referring friends for jobs and getting paid for it! Offering referrals tends to be a win/win situation. It gave her another income. But it also saved money for the company. And it helped find appropriate candidates, because if you refer someone, it’s going to be a worker who shows up and can do the job. You’re not going to refer someone who will make you look bad!

Hiring managers have a database of resumes—but that’s actually the last place they look to hire. Most people who have succeeded have been referred. Someone said, “Hey, I heard about this job you’d be perfect for…”

The Recruitment Life Cycle is very complex and hiring the right candidate is hard work. So it’s no surprise that employers always start with known internal resources.

  • Internal Resource (known)
  • Prior Work Relationship (known)
  • Referred Resource (known – one off)
  • Through Employee (known —  one off)
  • Want Ad/Online Posting (unknown/high-risk)

Here’s what we know for sure about the hiring process

  • People do business primarily with people they know and like.
  • Job listings tend to draw piles of applicants.
  • The job you want likely will not be advertised.

Where are recruiters finding their best candidates?

  • Recruiters are finding 60% of their candidates through referrals!

Are employers using social media to hire?

  • Yes, they are! Their number one choice is LinkedIn. But be careful with social media. Sometimes offers are actually rescinded based on social media posts. You can have an opinion, but be respectful the way you express it, especially in a heated election year like we’ve just experienced. Of recruiters, 55% have reconsidered a candidate based on their social profile, with 61% of those second looks being negative.

Tips from Jessica

  1. Yes, go to the job boards. But it doesn’t stop there. Who do you know at the company? Find them on LinkedIn and connect.
  2. Stand out from the crowd. She uses the example of Anthony. He was resistant to getting out and networking as Jessica suggested. Finally, he committed to one month of calling people, meeting people, getting out of the house for 40 hours a week. He talked to anyone who would talk to him. At one point Anthony said, “I need a coffee budget.” But at the end of that one month, Anthony had two job offers and they were competing for him! Anthony admitted that what Jessica had told him worked.
  3. Don’t apply for a job if you don’t have most of the skills. It wastes the recruiter’s time and when they do see a job for you, they likely won’t contact you if they feel you’ve previously wasted their time.
  4. Don’t apply for an executive assistant job at the same time you apply for an executive job. Target the person you are. Don’t be open to ALL positions. Be that one person when you apply for a job.
  5. If you’re a creative problem solver, say this on your resume or in an interview. Creative problem solvers are valuable because they solve problems but not necessarily via a straight path.
  6. Don’t say you’re strong in TEAMWORK. That gets overlooked these days. Instead, use ACTION words like “implemented” or “created.”  Use your strong ACTION words that show up when you take the DISC assessment free through Career Connectors’ website. Click here to go to the DISC page on the website.
  7. Think about the TYPES of companies you’re interested in. Jessica LOVED Intel. But today she couldn’t work there because she’s in a different place in her career.

Remember this: Companies are looking for three things, not just skills, though competence is, of course, a vital part of the equation.

  1. Competence includes knowledge and training, your experience, and your skills.
  2. Character includes traits like trustworthiness, loyalty, patience, kindness, courtesy, cooperation, respect, responsibility and commitment.
  3. Chemistry is demonstrated by your first impression, proper handshake (match theirs), introduction, eye contact, natural smile, and mirroring the initial response.

And be kind, Jessica reminds us. In your networking conversations, find topics not related to jobs. Sports, family, kids, vacations, and activities are all possibilities for discussions. Remember, it’s all about relationships because we all want to work with people we like.

Hiring Companies

Aetna

Le Nguyen, Talent Acquisition

Aetna, a Health Care Insurance Provider, employs 50,000. Proud of its values, the company recently launched efforts to increase minimum pay and provide more employees with affordable healthcare.

Benefits of the company include paid time off (PTO), life insurance, short-term AND long-term disability, and employee work/life Assistance Program. Shared benefits include medical, dental and vision plans. Incentive programs include financial benefits like 401K and annual bonuses, wellness and incentive programs, tuition assistance and student loan repayment programs (new in 2017).A number of positions are available.

Aetna is a leader in flex scheduling and work-from-home. The company embraces diversity and has been named most admired company and rated highly by veterans as a place to work.

To apply go to their  website. Look early and often as a variety of  positions update daily ranging from customer service to marketing to project management.

MassMutual

Jessica McGrath, Recruiter

MassMutual, an Arizona financial services group, exists to help clients secure their future and protect loved ones.

The company seeks to hire three groups of people

  • Candidates from the area with a solid network of contacts, with MBA, JD, CPA or five years sales/entrepreneurial or related experience  who are changing careers
  • Career changers from the area with a network of contacts who are fully licensed—Life & Health, 6/7, 63/66
  • Career changers, fully licensed—Life & Health, 6/7, 63/66 with proven track record of success-$70,000 Annual Production looking to take practice to the next level but need help

Why Choose MassMutual?

  • If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired
  • Culture
  • Support and training
  • Impact on the community
  • Unlimited income

To apply, visit their website.

GlobalTranz

Amber Gaines, Corporate Recruiter

GlobalTranz is a privately held technology-enabled 3PL company specializing in freight management services, including Less-Than-Truck Load (LTL), Truckload (TL), Supply Chain Management, and Domestic Air/Expedited shipping. The company is a B2B company with over 25,000 customers. Any business in the U.S. who ships products in lots weighing over 150 pounds is a potential customer of GlobalTranz. Among awards they have been named among Fastest Growing Companies several times.

Benefits include choice of three medical plans, onsite Care Clinic, Dental and vision plan, $25,000 Company Paid Life Insurance, Employee Referral Bonus Program $500, internal development and advancement opportunities, Wellness Room and C.O.R.E — TruBlue, Go Team, Green Team. They’re very proud of their corporate culture, community service and Green team.

Current openings include Logistics Specialist, AR Analyst, AP Analyst, Carrier Rep (Broker), Cash Application Specialist, Inside Sales (Prescott Valley), Pricing Analyst, and Agent Support. To apply, visit their website. If you’re ready to take the next step in exploring a career with GlobalTranz, contact their corporate recruiter, Amber Gaines, TODAY.

Cenlar

Ann Pierce, Senior Recruiter

Cenlar is a premier loan servicing provider and wholesale bank. Their services date back to 1958 when Cenlar was formed from the acquisition of Centennial Savings and Loan Association by Larson Mortgage Company. Cenlar FSB was one of the first companies to pursue mortgage loan subservicing as a core business. The company supports three major/national charities: March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Toys for Tots, and other local organizations including Habitat for Humanity.

Employee benefits include 401K – match up to 4% of salary, comprehensive health benefits, vacation and sick/personal time off, 10 holidays per year, life insurance and optional supplemental life insurance, tuition reimbursement, and more. The company closes for every federal holiday.

Open positions include functional trainers, HR generalist, customer care associates, loan servicing default agents (collections), and customer care supervisors. . Bilinguals are encouraged to apply. Listings change frequently. To apply visit their website.

Resources

New Horizons

Joe Rostowsky, Director of site Operations

New Horizons, a computer learning center, offers training for those in job search or career transition, but also provides information on resources available in the community, and job placement at the conclusion of classes. Certifications are available for many areas, including Microsoft Word, which can give job candidates an extra edge when they apply for jobs. Classes include  CCNA Routing and Switching, Microsoft Office Specialist, Pharmacy Technician,  and many more.  The State-of-the-Art Training Facility offers small classes conducted in a variety of ways including traditional instructor led classrooms, online LIVE learning, and online ANYTIME learning. Funding is available for many job seekers, including for veterans. For more information about enrolling or funding, visit their website.

New! Career Connectors Advice Blog

NEW — Career Connectors Advice Blog — is now LIVE. Click on the link.

Closing

Sheila Coulam, Director of Operations for Career Connectors, opened and closed the formal part of the event and kept things running smoothly. Sheila discovered Career Connectors after being an electrical engineer at General Motors for 15 years and a stay-at-home Mom for 10 years. Looking to get back into the job market during a big recession, she volunteered so she could get back into “professional mode.” After doing web development for a while, the company wound down and she found her way back to Career Connectors and her current position. “Jessica pulls me out of analysis paralysis.”

Highlands Church provides our beautiful meeting facility. The church also continues their Highlands Hope  Initiative to assist individuals in career transition. Information gathered from individuals at the event allowed some participants to receive a gift card, based on income,  courtesy of Highlands.

Sheila thanked the church and volunteers for their service and introduced Breakout Sessions including the chance to meet with hiring companies, get help with resume preparation, talk with a LinkedIn specialist, and have a free professional head shot taken.

Next meetings in December this year include the Phoenix meeting Wednesday, December 7, 2016, 9:00 AM. And Tuesday, December 13, 20016, 9:00 AM in Gilbert. For details of the meetings, including directions, speakers, and registration, click here.

2017 Event information COMING SOON!!

 

 

 

7/14/2016 — LinkedIn’s Power of Connection

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LinkedIn Power of ConnectionWritten by Susan Lamphiear

Just as you wouldn’t even dream of applying for jobs without a resume or a proper suit of interview clothing, or your most updated  hairdo or eye glasses, then why would you start your job hunt without maximum use of LinkedIn? These days all the experts tell us it’s a given.

And as our keynote speaker and LinkedIn guru stressed today, nearly all employers will seek and find your online presence, starting with LinkedIn. So, be there or be square, or continue to wear your nerd eye glasses and bouffant hairdo.

Keynote

When Kevin Dumcum left a successful marketing career in 2009 for his current work with Arizona@Work, Maricopa County, LinkedIn helped him with that transition. In fact, he was already connected with people from his team by the time he arrived at the new job. Among other evidences of his expertise, Kevin teaches LinkedIn classes and came today to share LinkedIn Tips.

LinkedIn continues to be more and more important to employers, so for anyone in career transition, and anyone seeking to build their network and develop their career, LinkedIn is a must. Assume that your next position isn’t going to be your last position. With that in mind, LinkedIn is not just for the job hunt. It’s a tool to help you in your continuing career.

If you have any doubt about the importance of your involvement on LinkedIn, check out the numbers. If your total connections equal 470, and each of your connections is connected to 470 people, the total size of your network is, drum roll,  220,900.

LinkedIn TIPS from Kevin

  • Be careful what you post on social media because employers do check you out. Anything offensive or even political you may want to avoid or delete. As Thumper in Bambi said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”
  • Alongside your profile you can turn off notifications. This means when you make a change to your profile, it won’t be broadcast to everyone. Kevin suggests leaving this feature off unless you receive a new job or a promotion. Then, leave it on long enough to receive all the congratulations, and then turn it off again.
  • Kevin has switched his blog link from LinkedIn to his wordpress site. He now posts his blog on LinkedIn first and after that he redirects a link to his website. He recommends this if you have a blog.
  • Make sure you have a professional head shot as part of your profile. No disembodied arms. No spouses since the employer is hiring you, not a couple. Some people want to avoid a head shot because “I’m not 25 years old any longer.”  If you’re in the running for the job, the employer will meet you anyway. If they’re going to discriminate, you might as well know. Besides, people want to know who you are. And if you meet someone during networking, new connections can more easily identify you on LinkedIn.
  • Your profile headline defaults to your most recent job. But you can change that to a headline that better describes what you do. Take a look at what other people have for their headline and design your own.
  • Customize your URL. Simplify it to match your name as much as possible.
  • Check out Skillful.com — especially if are underemployed or lack a college degree (like 70% of the American population).
  • Don’t connect with everyone. But strategically build your numbers to 50 and then to 500. After 500, LinkedIn doesn’t post the number, but there’s something validating about having at least 500 connections. LinkedIn used to tell us not to connect with someone we don’t know. But, now that LinkedIn realizes how people are really using the feature, you can strategically select people you would like to know. He recommends never selecting “I don’t know John Doe.” But he’s never seen LinkedIn telling anyone whether you selected “friend’ or “did business with” the person you want to meet.  Oh, and always personalize your invitation to connect.
  • Ways to connect include joining LinkedIn Groups to create a commonality, sending a Get Introduced request to mutual connection, crafting a carefully worded request, pointing out some commonalities from their profile, or going Old School by picking up the phone and calling a mutual connection, asking to be introduced.
  • Avoid one of the biggest mistakes people make by taking full advantage of the space you have for your summary. You can use up to 2000 characters,  which is 300 words. What jazzes you up? Why should anyone care? It’s not an essay, though. Look at other people’s summaries. Don’t copy them, but study them and write your own. Use Tagcrawd.com to see what words pop up when you cut and paste a sample summary. Then carefully craft your own summary.
  • In your profile summary it’s quite appropriate to use first person “I” because it reads better. Just don’t use first person “I” on your resume.
  • Remember that you can re-order your skills and endorsements, calling attention to your most important skills first.
  • If you think endorsements and recommendations are not important, think again. LinkedIn places high value on the number and type of endorsements and recommendations you have. The best way to get endorsements and recommendations is to offer to give them. Aim to build your numbers.
  • Consider adding videos to your profile.
  • Rule of thumb on LinkedIn is to go back as far as possible in your job history. But with your resume just go back 10 years.
  • Groups. Join strategically but then be involved. If you post on a group it gets posted to your timeline and that’s a great way to show what you know.

As Kevin reminded us, a whopping 90% of employers review a candidate’s online profile, and 70% have based a hiring decision on what they find, or don’t find, online. You really need to pay attention to your LinkedIn tool. You really have no choice in today’s job market.

Hiring Companies

Aetna

Le Nguyen, Talent Acquisition

Aetna is a health care insurance provider, marketing company, consulting organization and information technology enterprise, which employs 50,000 people. The company has won numerous awards for workplace equality, flex jobs and jobs for veterans. Aetna takes pride in its family values. In 2015 Aetna announced plans to improve wages and medical benefits for thousands of their workers. In 2015 the minimum base hourly wage for U.S. employees was raised to $16. Then in 2016 they’ve launched enhanced medical benefits to lower out-of-pocket health care expenses for some of its U.S. employees. Company paid benefits include paid time off (PTO) and holidays, life insurance, disability and more. Current job opportunities include customer service rep, IT project manager, national nurse educator, financial associate and more. To see a complete listing and to apply,  visit their site.

AMEX

Caitlin King, Lead Recruiter and Sara Flynn, Recruitment Relationship Manager

AMEX, American Express, provides customers with products, services and experiences to enrich their lives and make businesses successful. A trusted company for over 160 years, it’s won, among other awards, the J.D. Power Awards for eight consecutive years, as well as Fortune Magazine 100 Best Places To Work. Featured Career Areas include customer care, marketing, finance, risk and information management, technology, digital commerce, consulting, virtual career opportunities and more. Current Phoenix openings include engineer, collections analyst, staff architect, project manager, business analyst, travel counselor/customer service, and many more. Benefits include health, dental, vision and life insurance; AD&D insurance and disability coverage; healthy living benefits, family leave, onsite gym and cafe, and more. For additional information, or to apply, visit their career site.

Education Management Corporation (EDMC)

Kelly Moncada, Talent Acquisition

Education Management Corporation (EDMC) is one of the largest and most diverse providers of proprietary post-secondary education in the United States with over 40 years of history in 110 locations, including 122,990 students. Schools include The Art Institutes, Argosy University (which includes Western State College of Law in California), Brown Mackie College, and South University. Benefits include EDMC Tuition, Paid Time Off, 12 paid holidays, 16 PTO days, 401K and 401K Roth participation, community service policy, life insurance and more. Student success is their first priority in providing an education that builds careers, integrity, innovation, and excellence. Open positions include admissions representatives in Chandler/Phoenix, academic counselors and more, including Argosy Ground. For more information and to apply visit their site.

Freedom Financial Network

Linda Luman,VP HR

Freedom Financial Network helps clients transform their lives by helping them towards financial freedom. The company launched in 2002 by Stanford Classmates Bradford Stroh & Andrew Housser because they had so many college buddies with lots of debt. It started out with an online business and 14 years later they have three locations including two in Phoenix and one in San Mateo, CA. Some of their clients don’t even know how they got into financial difficulties. But the company employs 300 negotiators who work on behalf of their clients to help them become debt free in anywhere from two to four years. Company benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401K, life and LT disability, vacation, paid holidays, paid time for volunteer activities, employee discounts and recognition and four hours off on your birthday. Top career opportunity with the company includes Account Executive. For more information or to apply, visit their website.

Resources

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants (DWTC)

Rodger Brubacher, Director for Continuing Education

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants (DWTC) prepares students to take national exams which make them more competitive in the job market. Programs and certifications include Project Management, Six Sigma, Medical Front Office, Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), and its newest program, Digital Marketing with Social Media. The award-winning school was recognized in 2015 as the 2015 Juniper Platinum Education Partner of the Year in the Americas, this being the 12th straight year to receive this honor. The state-of-the art facilities include modern computers, dual monitor student stations for each student, plus network, patented real-ILT, Smart Board, and personalized training. Classes are presented in multiple modalities including instructor-led, hybrid instructor-led, plus online training, corporate onsite training and remote training (virtual classroom attendance). Usual student to instructor ratios are 6:1. To learn more about the school and funding available, visit their website.

Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the meeting before the breakout sessions. Those in attendance were encouraged to stay for the the breakout sessions in order to talk with hiring managers, receive free resume and LinkedIn instruction, and receive free professional head shots by a volunteer professional photographer. Volunteers were thanked along with host of the event, Highlands Church.  Click here to take the DISC assessment free through the Career Connectors site.

The very next Career Connectors event takes place Tuesday, July 26, 2016, 9:00 AM in Gilbert, featuring salary negotiation expert Jack Milligan.

For details, including times, addresses and registration, for the next events in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Gilbert, click here.

 

6/11/15 — Developing and Living Your Personal Brand

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Written by Susan Lamphiear

My Wish, a song by the pop country group Rascal Flatts, could be the theme song for our keynote speaker today, but hey, I’m not sure if country music is his thing. But the sentiment sure appears to be.  He’s now living his own life purpose through his career, his relationships and his philanthropic work, and he loves sharing his strategy for blending all these aspects of his life into one satisfying entity, allowing the real self to shine through.

Keynote

Career coach and author of Incorporate You (guide to using the DISC assessment results), Michael S. Seaver firmly believes in personal branding that aims to help individuals find autonomy,  mastery and purpose every day of their lives. It’s now become his  passion to help individuals achieve this through volunteer work and career.

But a few years ago, though Michael’s career was going well, he wasn’t feeling satisfied. He was looking for meaning in his own career when he experienced an “A-HA” moment while reading Daniel Pink’s book,  Drive. He discovered he completely lost track of time when he began working one-on-one with individuals in career transition.  He also began to volunteer his time teaching Junior Achievement classes and served on Phoenix-area boards designed to help people develop their careers.

Through his own process of discovering meaningful work with a higher purpose, Michael has been able to share his process of making a life’s passion part of not only his career but his whole life. He told attendees at Scottsdale Career Connectors that he’s given up lucrative offers because the offers didn’t allow him to do “this”, meaning to share his beliefs that it’s possible to find meaningful work that aligns with your own life purpose that also allows you to master your profession.

Michael’s Steps to Developing and Living Your Personal Brand

  • Look to your past. What is your favorite childhood memory? What was a difficult experience? What important lessons did you learn? And what were perceived problems that occurred repeatedly? You guessed it. Those things you enjoyed may reveal the answer to the question of what you should be doing in your life. The challenges you faced years ago shine light on areas where you likely could help someone else at that point in their lives.
  • Examine your present. Consider your top three professional interests. Ideally, what’s the location of your job? What are your daily tasks, rewards and responsibility level? What’s the growth potential?
  • Think about your future. Describe your life in five years. What’s your income? What is the size of your team? What kinds of vacations and travel will you experience? What’s your relationship with your family and friends?
  • Determine your intention and write your own guiding statement, sort of like a company’s mission statement. Michael shared examples including his own: I unlock human potential by leveraging career and leadership coaching expertise to help executives overcome disengagement, feeling undervalued, and mediocrity.
  • List your ambitions. Be specific.
  • Determine your value and write it down as a statement. One example: I apply (1) business strategy concepts (2) positive psychology (3) conscious capitalism to unlock human potential.
  • List some constraints. One example: Whenever I second guess my abilities, I will review my top three strengths and past accomplishments.

Through his own journey, Michael has learned it’s possible for us to use our talents to do something we believe in and to thrive in an environment that fits who we are.

Michael reminds us that, indeed, the world is changing. It’s no longer enough to provide goods and services. The industrial age is long gone. And the information age is no longer sufficient.  Companies need to stage experiences, he says, referencing the book The Experience Economy by B.  Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore.

Michael references the work that an entrepreneurial company in Phoenix is doing – helping new businesses whose mission seeks to improve society. It’s called Seed Spot and they’ve just recently named nine new companies to undergo their training.

A poignant message that Michael shared with attendees was reflected in a six-minute You Tube video which poetically emphasizes the idea of purpose in life’s little moments — some of us may not even know about– unless we’re lucky enough to have had someone tell us. Lollipop moments. Those moments when we may have had a profound positive impact on someone’s life, even a stranger, because of something we were doing that involved our being genuine. Michael’s hope for anyone whose life he touches is that they have a chance to find their own life’s purpose and then that life’s purpose reverberates through all phases of life. To view the video he showed, a TED talk, click on the title, Everyday Leadership.

Hiring Companies

Aetna

Le Nguyen, Director, Recruiting Operations

Aetna, employing 50,000 people, is a health care insurance provider. Changes in Aetna’s wages and medical benefits announced January 12, 2015, benefit thousands of its employees. Starting April 2015, Aetna increased its minimum base hourly wage for its U.S. employees to $16/hour. Aetna is also launching an enhanced medical benefits program for 2016 to help lower the out-of-pocket health care expenses for some of its U.S. employees. Other benefits at the company include paid time off and holidays, life insurance, 401K, bonuses and more. Current employment opportunities include accounting, finance, human resources, customer support, sales and more. To apply and see a complete list of openings, visit their website.

Lifelock

Becky Willmer, Recruiter

Lifelock is a technology company whose main goal is to protect consumers’ identity. The company offers competitive wages, incentive programs, stock options and health, 24 hours of paid volunteer time off to support service programs, tuition assistance, and health benefits plans from day one.  Current positions open include customer service at their center in Tempe plus openings in other areas including marketing, communications, and finance. For more information on openings, and to apply, visit their website.

International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. (I.C.E.)

Jason Brambier, Corporate Recruiter

International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. (I.C.E.), a global travel and leisure organization, provides cruise and vacation packages, especially to return customers. Headquartered in Scottsdale, the company has continued to receive awards including Best Place to Work 2013 by the Phoenix Business Journal and Spirit of Enterprise Innovator Award by the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business. They provide numerous perks to their employees including onsite wellness clinic, onsite massage therapists, and free flu shots, to name a few.  Positions available include inbound and outbound sales, PT member services, and staff accountant. For a more complete list of open positions and to apply, visit their website.

Education Management Corp (EDMC)

Mark Pierce, Manager of Talent Acquisition

Education Management Corp includes The Art Institutes, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College and South University and offers traditional classrooms and online courses. Students are their main focus and the four institutes offer a variety of programs. Perks include promotion from within, free tuition for the whole family at any of the sites, health insurance benefits and more. Open positions include admissions representatives, academic counselor, faculty — both full-time and adjunct — in various disciplines, and part-time national admissions representatives.  For more information, or to apply, visit their website.

Resources

City of Phoenix

Michael S. Seaver,  Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Vice Chairman

The City of Phoenix Workforce Connection offers skill-building services. Services include skills development training plus employment and talent marketing. Funding can be obtained through the federally-funded Workforce Investment Act (WIOA) with the goal to help individuals transition back into the workforce as quickly as possible.

This past year has seen growth in several industries locally including education and health services, leisure and hospitality, finance, and professional and business services.

Phoenix Workforce Connection (PWC) One-Stop Career Centers are located in three sites throughout Phoenix. For more information on locations, courses and funding, visit their website.

TTY Career College

Cheryl Hesketh, Admissions Consultant

TTY Career College is a short-term certification college which assists students in revamping or updating skills needed to get back into the job market. The school specifically offers courses for jobs needed in the Phoenix area. No medical billing jobs training is available since currently the Phoenix job market is glutted. Several certifications are offered including Project Management Program (PMP), Information Technology, Microsoft Excel Business Analyst and more. All courses are certified by globally known institutes. Funding is available for most unemployed and underemployed individuals. Up to $4000 is available if you quality, and scholarships are available for the balance. The PMP course involves a difficult test, but TTY will pay the $500 for students to take the test up to six months after the first exam, providing tutoring and extra help. For more information about the school or to enroll, visit their website.

Highlands HOPE Initiative Continues

Going along with one of Career Connectors’ primary missions, Heart of Service, Highlands Church in Scottsdale not only hosts the Scottsdale event each month, they continue with their ongoing Highlands HOPE Initiative, distributing gift cards based on income to individuals in career transition. Highlands last month distributed Fry’s gift cards to help with groceries, gas and essentials to help 47 families ($2,760).

Again this month Highlands distributed Fry’s gift cards to individuals in job transition. Highlands requested this month that any individuals applying today for the gift cards should add their phone numbers to their application, as well, if they find themselves in need of additional assistance so the church can contact them.

Jessica said after the gift cards were distributed last month, people sent their testimonials about how appreciative they were for the Fry’s gift cards. Used to a certain amount of income, after job loss, people stressed how very helpful it was to receive gift cards they could use for groceries.

Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the sessions by thanking Highlands Church for hosting the event and reminding everyone about the free DISC Assessment  available on the Career Connectors’ website under resources. After the formal part of the meeting, participants may receive free business portraits, assistance with resume preparation, and LinkedIn advice.

The next Career Connectors event takes place June 23, 2015 at 9:00 AM in Gilbert, featuring Ted Robison’s presentation: Get LinkedIn or Get Left Out.

The next Phoenix event will be held Wednesday, July 1, 2015, and the next Scottsdale event occurs Thursday, July 9, 2015.

For details including keynote topics, and hiring companies, times and locations about any of these events, click here.

Parting Thought: Workout music for the work search mood. It’s My Life by Bon Jovi.