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Justin Jones

11/5/20 – Correcting for 20/20: 20 Career Insights to Stabilize and Clarify your Focus

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Keynote

Justin Jones

Written by Penny Oplinger
Correcting for 20/20: Career Insights to Stabilize and Clarify your Focus with Justin Jones. Justin, affectionately known as ‘Job Coach Justin.’ Justin currently leads a team of 16 career mentors at BYU Career Studios. He has literally helped thousands of people find meaningful jobs.

He shared some great tips to help you re-strategize, refocus and start to see 2020 with a new vision.

  • Recognize that your vision has changed. If we only look at the negatives then that is where we will stay. Justin recommended you check out ShelleyKlammer.com where she shares 6 stages of grieving.
    • Numbness and denial. When we lose a job or lose a family member or close friend. Be patient with yourself.
    • Anxiety and panic. We feel this everywhere.
    • Bargaining and control. Determine what you have control over.
    • Frustration and Anger. We need to allow ourselves to feel these feelings.
    • Depression and Despair.
    • Acceptance and Peace. This does not necessarily mean everything in your life is going well. We need to accept what is going on around us and realize that what is happening around us does not determine how we act, respond or our self-worth.
  • Seek Support. Career Connectors is a perfect example of a place you can go for support.
  • Ask for help. Don’t be embarrassed.
  • Be your authentic self. This year is not about perfection but being your authentic self.
  • Separate from the toxic. Identify what you are ingesting mentally, spiritually, physically that is toxic. Jack Canfield has said that it is better to spend time alone than spend time with toxic people or media.
  • Embrace uncertainty. When we embrace uncertainty, it opens us up to possibilities. Sometimes when bad things happen to us it gives us the opportunity to find something even better.
  • Doubt. Do not doubt your success or abilities. Doubt your negative thoughts!
  • Give every day. Give a smile, encouragement, your time, donations, blood.
  • Gather your tools. You need to have the right tool for the right job at the right time.
    • Cover letter: Recruiters don’t read them because they are not authentic. Be authentic. The first thing is to compliment the company, tell what you have to offer and then a comment that you look forward to joining their team.
    • Resumes: Career Connectors has professional resume writers who volunteer their time at our events. You should have several resumes because it is important to customize your resume to the company you are seeking employment from. List a few people who would give you good recommendations, such as people you have worked with or for.
    • LinkedIn: It is absolutely necessary that you have a profile in LinkedIn. Career Connectors has professional LinkedIn coaches who volunteer their time to help you. LinkedIn is the #1 place employers go to when looking for candidates. To aid in ensuring companies see your profile, give your profile a unique name. For example, Justin’s is ‘Job Coach Justin.’ Ensure you have a photo in your profile. Career Connectors has a photographer that volunteers to take headshot photos for you to put in your LinkedIn profile. An extra tip Justin gave is to add a description to your profile photo containing keywords you want to be found for. Instructions are here!
    • Send a Thank You note – not an email or text but a handwritten note you mail to the company.
  • 10.Gamify: A quote from the movie ‘Mary Poppins’, “In every job that needs to be done there is an element of fun.”
  • 11.Build your brand: What is unique about you that would be an asset to the company?
  • 12.Act: Start with small actions. Pay attention to your mental prompts that help to move you forward.
  • 13.Follow-through: Act on things you are asked to do.
  • 14.Recharge: Be patient with companies you have sent resumes to and be patient with yourself.
  • 15.Visualization: Close your eyes and think of the goals you have set for yourself. What is the next small step you can take toward that goal and ask yourself what it will take to act on that step?
  • 16.Faith/ Spirituality/Career Development: Work toward bringing these together.

Hiring Companies

Isola
Heather Kitsko, Director, Global Talent Acquisition
www.isola-group.com

Isola is the only laminate partner with worldwide R&D manufacturing and technical support.

  • Isola is a 105-year old company headquartered in Chandler, AZ
  • Approximately 1600 employees worldwide
  • Global footprint of 7 manufacturing facilities
  • Largest laminate material producer in the United States and Europe – seventh in share worldwide (-4%)
  • Industry-leading technology – 185+ patents covering proprietary materials
  • Transforming to deliver greater customer, employee and investor value

Mission
Improve life by enabling innovation in electronic products through our innovation we help enable new capabilities for mankind

Their raw materials were used in circuit boards to create ventilators for patients with COVID-19.

Their core values center around the following:

  • Put Safety First: We prioritize the safety and well-being of our employees above all else.
  • Be customer focused: We deliver quality: We deliver quality solutions, listen to our external and internal customers, work to gain their loyalty
  • Be Courageous: We embrace change, speak up when we disagree, and move forward committed.
  • Be Collaborative: We work as a global team across functions, and support each other professionally and personally
  • Be Accountable: When we make a commitment, we take full responsibility and follow through.

Career Opportunities in Chandler, AZ

  • Sr. Applications Engineer (PCB)
  • Technology Development Chemist (Polymer/Halogen-Free)
  • IT Business Analyst
  • Manufacturing Financial Analyst
  • Network Security Administrator
  • Sr. Signal Integrity Engineer

See Isola website for further information/requirements for these job openings.

PennyMac – The lender you can call Home
Darin Dow, Mortgage Underwriter Recruiter
www.PennyMacUSA.com/Careers

Company Overview

  • In business since 2008
  • One of the top lenders to create loans.
  • One of the nation’s largest servicing mortgage company
  • 8th largest servicing company
  • 5500 employees; they have hired 1800 employees since January 2020
  • Opened office in Phoenix the beginning of 2020.
  • Expanding across the nation aggressively. A lot of these positions can be remote. They believe in promoting within the company
  • There are several entry-level positions available
  • Family/Team friendly

WealthWave
Jason Wiseman, Senior Marketing Director

WealthWave is a network of independent business owners whose mission means they seek to protect and build wealth for the families they serve. Their mission allows them to increase financial literacy for families and provide financial solutions.
Jason Wiseman tells us this was not his original path. He worked for Motorola for many years but even though his job was more stable than many, every year he watched layoffs; and even his key group of 22 was down to only 7 when he left. It was stressful.
Jason couldn’t really afford to start from scratch. It was a paradigm shift to start working at a business part time.
WealthWave is flexible enough so they can help you transition into something part time if you are hesitant about going all in being an entrepreneur. WealthWave’s mission is to eliminate financial illiteracy to keep people from making easily avoidable financial mistakes. Jason now works full time for the company.
Jason suggests you keep your mind open to new opportunities. WealthWave looks to build people up and that’s why they make education first. And because the company was about five years ahead in technology, when COVID hit they were already ahead of most businesses. A whopping 20,000 people attended their online program from Atlanta.
WealthWave®, The HowMoneyWorks® Company, has a clear vision, a passionate mission, advanced systems, and strong platforms. Their slogan is “to disrupt the financial industry so families can dream again.” They are attracting leaders all across North America who are ready to position themselves to eradicate financial illiteracy and pursue the business and future of their dreams.


Why Choose WealthWave?

  • Turnkey Solution
  • Licensed Profession
  • Ownership
  • Marketing/Media
  • Start Part time
  • No Layoffs or Furloughs
  • Hands on Training and Mentorship
  • A long history of helping people
  • To learn more about the company, contact Jason Wiseman at Jason.Wiseman@wealthwave.com.

Closing

CEO/Founder of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce thanked the speakers, attendees, and volunteers. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 18 2020, 9:00 am – 11:30 am for our 6th Annual Diversity Talks. Jessica also reminded attendees of online resources available at the Career Connectors website including the free DISC assessment and event recap blogs.

4/29/2020 – Get a Job with Skills You Learned in Kindergarten

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Written by: Debbie Adkins

Keynote

Justin Jones

Our speaker, Justin Jones, has all of us looking at “Resumes and Interviews” in a different way. He takes our days in kindergarten and the things we did and puts them to work with our resumes and doing our interviews.

First you need to know “how you feel”. To feel positive, that you can do anything and that you just need to “hold on” will give you a good start. With this you will need to sell yourself through your resumes and interviews.

Remember the employer is “purchasing” a person for their job opening. They do this by taking the resumes they get and putting them through an “application tracking system.” If your resume gets selected in the ATS, you may get to interview with them.

Here is what you can do:
*Pull out a job description for the position you are interested in. Highlight the words that indicate the skills the company wants for this position.
*Take your resume and highlight the skill words that match the job description.
*If there are skills you have but your resume doesn’t show, ask yourself when/where have you demonstrated those skills. You may need to add some of your volunteer or hobby activity to your resume to show these skills.
*Correct or add words that are on the job description to your resume.
*Always use words that the job description has and that the “application tracking system” may use. It all should match.

The interview should be next. Oh yeah, your resume should include your skills, accomplishment (what, when, how), qualifications and a cover letter.
A cover letter is the first thing the employer will see. It should show how your skills would directly match what the company needs. It should not match your resume, but you should use some of the words from the job description.

Once your resume lands you the interview, it’s time to prepare for the interview. You should know and do the following:
*Know ahead of time what questions may be asked and your answers.
*The employer will base their questions on the job description and if you can make them a profit and solve their problems.
*To prepare for answering the interview questions, ask yourself: What do I want them to think, feel, know and do after they hear my answer?
*You will need to PRACTICE with yourself, a friend and set up a “mock interview” with a job coach.
*Go to the interview positive, happy and ready for anything.

In closing, take what you did in kindergarten and put it to use in your job search. You are worth it and don’t forget that! Justin closed by sharing his voice- you can enjoy it here:

HIRING COMPANIES

TTEC
Rob Briggs, Recruiter
TTEC helps bring technology and human connections together to deliver amazing customer experiences.
One of their values is “Do the right Thing”. They have locations in Tempe on Rio Salado and Central Phoenix near I-17 and Bell Road. There is TTEC Engage which is their main office and there is TTEC at Home which are employees that work from home.
They are hiring for Service and Sales positions: B2B Sales Reps, Digital Account Sales Reps, Online Marketing Sales Reps, Social Media Marketing Strategist, Inbound Sales Reps, Customer Service Reps- healthcare and Spanish bilingual, and Healthcare Insurance Agents.

U-Haul International
Jamie Zell Behymer, Senior Recruiter
U-Haul, headquartered in Phoenix, is hiring in all stores and at their corporate office. U-Haul started in 1945 and have approximately 32,000 employees. Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Coverage, Weight Watchers program, HealthierU, and soon an on site gym!
U-Haul is hiring for Customer Service Reps, Sales, Retail Sales, General Managers and Reservation Agents.

RESOURCES

LPL Financial
Jian Boldi
Here are some tips for Career Transition:
*Understand your unemployment benefits.
*Do not forget to keep paying taxes.
*Job searching expenses like mileage, relocation, and more are tax deductable.
*Go back to school to advance your skills or learn something new.
*Become under employed by working odd jobs that have lower wages for awhile.
*Budget, Budget, Budget: make a spreadsheet and keep track of your spending.
*If you are 55 or older, you can take penalty free money from your IRA using (72t).
*As an alternative to COBRA, purchase your healthcare insurance with your IRA funds.
*Consider reversing a contribution made to your IRA.
*Ask for help from friends, family and anyone that you may run into during the day. Let people know you are looking for work.

If you have questions about any of these tips, Jian would be glad to help you with them.

02/05/2014 – Job Search in the 21st Century

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By Ken Abramczyk (Twitter: KabramczKen)

Jessica Pierce, Executive Director of Career Connectors, opened this week’s event with a reminder to job candidates that they should limit interview answers to five minutes. Jessica knew of one candidate who opened an interview with a 30-minute answer to the first question.

With that, she introduced Justin Jones (@1ResumeResource). Justin talked about ways to land that next job interview using the Internet to connect with decision makers, research companies, and check on posted jobs and industries, before filling out applications and writing resumes, during his presentation of  “Job Search in the 21st Century.”

Keynote Speaker

Justin, a former training and assessment supervisor with Maricopa Workforce Connections and a professional instructor at Hard Dollar, compared job loss and the ongoing job hunt to skydiving and a free fall. Falling at 13,000 feet – and losing a job – is scary, Justin said.

“I want you to stop your free-falling today,” Justin told the audience.

When job seekers aren’t sure what career path that they want to take after a job loss and are willing to take any employment, they actually continue their free fall. “You’re desperate, lost or are not sure what’s going on,” Justin said. “That tells me you need to get grounded.”

We need to “get grounded,” Justin said. Assess your skills with the DISC assessment through Career Connectors, Justin said.

Today, several web sites can assist in your career plans, Justin said, including the following:

For job searches, use:

Justin used O*Net OnLine as an example to research occupations. That site allows you to enter a keyword, takes you to a list and outlines information about the occupation.

Use LinkedIn to inform you who your first connections are, but quite often it is who they know who work at the companies where you want to work, so you need to connect with those who know someone at the company, Justin said. Simply Hired allows you to connect through LinkedIn and check your LinkedIn connections.

Once you discover the job,  Justin suggests that you research first before applying, through online networks, obtaining information on the company through its web site and LinkedIn.

Jobs are also posted on Networking Phoenix, Facebook, Nextdoor (which is a website that connects neighbors), Twitter, Meetup, Foursquare and blogs with user groups. Networking Phoenix allows us to see what networking meetings are scheduled throughout the Valley.

When you job hunt, you also need to familiarize yourself with the salary range. Justin recommends that you visit:

When you discuss salary with your next employer, don’t tell them you are basing it on “your information,” but tell them your salary discussion is “based on the labor market and information from the federal government, the state of Arizona and others, ” Justin said.

When researching companies, use:

Check out classes and information at these sites: gcflearnfree.org, Alison.com, coursera.org, saylor.org, khanacademy.org, ted.com and youtube.com. Other useful web sites are: FreetypingGame.net, learn2type.com, goodtyping.com, TagCrowd.com and mail.com.

Justin closed his presentation with words of encouragement for us and reminding us to use these web sites in our search.

Hiring companies

Farmers Insurance

Debra Schubert, recruiter

Debra discussed how job seekers can look for opportunities through Farmers Insurance, including opening their own Farmers Insurance office. Farmers Insurance offers financial assistance for the first three years for agency owners. Employees at the district office will assist them by attending events with the owner to help market the company. New owners do not have to pay for office space because they use office space at the district office when starting their agency.  Those interested in opening an office can visit www.farmers.com for information. Additional jobs are available online at www.farmers.com/careers/.

Progrexion

Ryan Reeder, director of talent acquisition

Ryan ( rreeder@progrexion.com)  said Progrexion markets services of Lexington Law and Creditrepair.com to help people remove errors from their credit reports and achieve their financial goals. The company employs 2,000 people.

The company is hiring inside sales consultant, help desk levels I and II, a sales trainer and sales coach. The company expects to move Lexington Law to Phoenix in April and will hire two attorneys, one recruiter and IT employees. For information on current job postings, visit www.progrexion.com/careers. Recruiters are Dana Noweder dnoweder@progrexion.com and Jennifer Tate jtate@progrexion.com.

VACO

Jarrod Lauer, director of business development

Jarrod (jlauer@vaco.com ), said VACO serves 30 markets in the United States with 5,000 client engagements. In Latin, vaco means to “free yourself from work.” Vaco provides talent solutions to manage mounting workloads in the fields of technology, finance and accounting. Vaco works with clients to identify opportunities and identify what client’s needs are.  Available positions are systems engineer, service coordinator, software developer and others. Visit www.vaco.com.

Vanguard

Stephanie Scher, Human Resources and Marketing

Stephanie Scher said Vanguard is the only client-owned mutual fund in the world. Approximately 2,300 employees work in Scottsdale. Vanguard hired 490 people last year and expects to add another 400 this year. Most employees begin as client relationship specialists, but employees can advance in the company into retail services, retail client account services and business development group. Visit www.vanguard.com/careers.

Closing

Jessica also thanked Dusty Parsons and the North Phoenix Baptist Church for hosting today’s event.

Jessica encouraged attendees to complete their DISC assessments to help them on their career path by highlighting their communication styles and their desired ideal work environment.

Jessica highlighted upcoming Career Connectors events:

  • Janice Hurley-Trailor with “HIRE ME-Please” on Thursday, Feb. 13, in Scottsdale with hiring companies Appointment-Plus, International Cruise & Excursions and Education Management Corporation
  • Kimber Lanning with “The Upside of a Down Economy,” on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in Phoenix with DES, Hotfoot Recruiters, Global Tranz and Revana
  • Dusty Parsons with “Twitter – A Love Story” on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Gilbert with Intel Corporation, Clearcall Solutions, Charles Schwab and Insight.

Check the events calendar for details and exact locations.