Career Connectors

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3/2/16 – Crush the Pink Slip: Get Back to Work in 60 Days

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Written by: Connie Huber PHR SHRM-CP

“THE PINK SLIP”

In the Chilly Willy cartoon, “little Televillian”, Mr. Stoop, tells Smedley that if he’s disturbed while reading show scripts, he would be forced to pink slip Smedley.  Unfortunately, Smedley doesn’t know the meaning of “pink slip”.  Mr. Stoop yells at him,  “It means…you will be fired!”

Unlike Smedley, many of us in today’s workforce are very familiar with receiving and knowing the ramifications of getting a “pink slip”.  Unfortunately it is a very common occurrence to get a “pink slip”.  Workers are losing their jobs due to layoffs, workforce reductions, reorganizations and terminations.

Needless to say, Brenda’s presentation on “Crush the Pink Slip: Get Back to Work in 60 Days” was a welcomed and well-received subject.

Keynote

Brenda Cunningham, @PushCareers

CRUSH THE PINK SLIP:  Get Back to Work in 60 Days

Brenda, like many of us has been the recipient of the cursed “Pink Slip”.  Brenda’s memory of the experience is still very much a part of her professional identity.  Whereas many workers are often paralyzed by the event, Brenda’s experience was a springboard for her to pursue a different career path.

WHY THE BOOK?

Brenda’s intent in writing her book, “Crush the Pink Slip:  Get Back to Work in 60 Days” and new profession was to encourage job seekers, provide a practical roadmap and help accelerate the professional’s transition.

SUCCESSFUL CAREER TRANSITION

Brenda noted job seekers seem to make the same errors in their job search.  In order to have a successful evolution, she recommends the following:

  1. Crystal clear goals.
  2. An effective game plan.
  3. Realistic expectations.

In addition to the above, Brenda encouraged us to PUSH!   PUSH meaning you need to do it and PUSHING being an action.

BRENDA’S FAVORITE DAYS

DAY 1:  READY, FIRE, AIM!  THE IMPORTANCE OF AIM

In executing your job search, you want to avoid saying, “I’m looking for a job.”  Doing so shares a vague idea of what position you are seeking.  Instead reframe the statement by indicating, “I am looking for a project management position”, for example. There are several criteria the job seeker needs to establish to have a positive outcome.  Those include desired industry, function, maximum commute time, ideal company size, target companies (5-20) and salary.

DAY 49:  STOP TWEAKING YOUR JOB SEARCH TO DEATH

Make a commitment to stick to your plan.  Rather than relying on spouses or friends to provide job search advice on such topics as your resume and strategy, reach out to a qualified resume writer and/or career strategist.

DAY 57:  DESPERATION IS NOT A PRETTY COLOR

Desperation does not lend to a positive presentation!  Brenda reminded the group that finding your desired position does take time.  And yes there will be times you will feel desperate!  To offset this feeling, Brenda encouraged us to understand that our transition will take time.  If it is helpful for you then determine how long it took others to find their new position.  Write it down noting it will take between 1 to 6 months.  Having unrealistic expectations will crush your confidence.  Interviewing and selection the right candidate is a timely process.  Practice and accept the mantra  ‘you will not settle for just any job when you are worthy of being fulfilled at work’.

BONUS ITEMS TO CONSIDER

  • LINKEDIN IS NO LONGER OPTIONAL! LinkedIn is the search tool of choice for the majority of recruiters.  Be active on LinkedIn by joining in on group discussions and posting items other members would find of interest.  Brenda reinforced that the job seeker needs to be different and stand out against their competition.  To be further effective on LinkedIn you need to be building your network and nurturing your relationships.
  • LEARN HOW TO FOLLOW UP: Effective follow up will further establish you as the ideal candidate.   A common rule of thumb from career professionals is wait about one week after applying and interviewing to inquire about a decision to hire or confirm receipt of your materials.  Thereafter, it is best to wait two weeks or heed what the hiring managers advise you to do.  In addition, it is important to do what you said you would do.
  • ASSESS YOUR SALARY EXPECTATIONS: Understand what reasonable salary expectations are for your line of work in 2016.
  • TALK TO YOUR SPOUSE/FAMILY/FRIENDS: Help them understand the situation.  Share some of the things they can do to help them better support you.
  • KNOW IF YOUR INDUSTRY IS CHANGING (AND KEEP UP): Brenda noted it is important to stay current what is going on in your industry.  Great resources for doing so are library databases, Onetonline.org, and professional publications and associations.
  • REFRAME NETWORKING: Many of us dread the thought of networking and quickly cast the activity aside.  Brenda suggests a lifestyle of networking.  Most people wait until they’ve lost a job.  Failing to establish a network may slow your efforts to return to the workforce.  Brenda highly recommends to start building your network now and keep developing it during your transition and throughout your career.  Networking is building a trusted relationship.  Begin a conversation by asking the other person a lot of questions.  Doing so will allow you to reconnect with the person again.  Networking is not always about you and what others can do for you, but rather what you can do for others and meet their needs.

In closing, we have a choice.  When you receive your pink slip you can either curl up in the corner or you can crush the pink slip and get to work in finding a new position.

HIRING COMPANIES

Arizona@Work, City of Phoenix

Waleed Alani, Employment Specialist

Waleed shared with the group the latest unemployment statistics.  There are currently approximately 70,000 available jobs in the Phoenix area.  Opportunities include retail, hotel management, project management and nurses.  Some of the top skills being requested are bilinqual, quality assurance, IT networking, quality control and IT networking project management.  A sampling of hiring employers include Banner Health, Honor Health, Pizza Hut, CVS Health, Dignity Health, United Healthcare, Bank of America, Well Fargo and Oracle.

Waleed enlightened us with the different skill development packages offered by the City of Phoenix.  Those include seminars available to the public; Level 1 Package-Skills Match the Job Market; and Level 2 Package-Research Pathways to Higher Wages. Seminars include:  Arizona Workforce Connection (AJC), How to Create a Winning Resume, Perfecting Your Interviewing Skills, Mock Interview Lab, Understanding LinkedIn, Leveraging LinkedIn, 21st Century Job Search Seminar, and Job Clubs.  Level 1 Package; Skills Match the Job Market is for 3 days and 3 hours.  The 3-day sessions are focused on ways to jumpstart your job search.  Topics discussed are Social Skills, Creating and Implementing a Job Search Plan, Interviewing, and Long Term Career Management.  The 3-hour session emphasizes Employability.  The Level 2 Package; Research Ways to Higher Wages is a 2 day seminar.  Attendees will obtain a better awareness of their career and personal skills along with a discussion of skill gaps and training options.  Waleed also provided the group the LinkedIn algorithm that employers utilize to search for people on LinkedIn.  For more details on the Skills Development Packages, reach out to Waleed at 602-255-4628 or waleed.alani@phoenix.gov.

State of Arizona

Jan Plank, HR Manager III

Jan noted the State of Arizona employs approximately 35,000 employees in over 100 agencies, boards and commissions.  In 2016, 25% of the state’s workers will be retirement eligible.  The average age of the employees is 47.  The state is currently going undergoing a transformation by evaluating its business processes and improving them to be more effective and streamlined.  In addition to the traditional benefits, the state also offers 11% match into retirement after vesting, exceptionally low health care premiums and training opportunities.  A sampling of current positions includes Financial Reporting Accountant, Senior Auditor, Administrative Services Officer, Applications Developer, HR Manager II, Accounts Payable Specialist, Special Collections Librarian, Contract Compliance Supervisor, Behavioral Health Coordinator, Administrative Assistant III and Special Projects Coordinator.  If interested, review the open positions on line and apply online.  Jan noted it is important to differentiate yourself when applying.

Manpower

Jo Bryant, Recruiter

With more than 60 years experience, Manpower has established itself as a world leader in innovative workforce solutions, workforce solutions, connecting human potential to the ambition of business.  Manpower serves both large and small organizations across all industry sectors through four main brands and offerings; ManpowerGroup Solutions, Experis, Manpower and Right Management.  The organization operates a worldwide network of offices in over 80 countries and territories.  Manpower partners with clients to accelerate their businesses by providing people and services that includes recruitment and assessment, training and development, workforce consulting, outsourcing and career management.  Gone are the days where Manpower specialized in supplying light industrial help.  The Manpower culture has a great team of people with a common vision and goal, unlimited growth potential, and a company that cares what its employees want and asks for their input.

The company is one of the few staffing organizations offering benefits for contract positions.  Benefits include medical and dental, short term disability, holidays, 401K, shopping discount and recognition program.  Some of the current positions include Bilingual Spanish Youth Coordinator, Donor Outreach Coordinator-PT, Bilingual Customer Service Agents-PT, Document Processors, Data Entry, Production/Warehouse, Packing/Kitting/General Labor, Season Shipping/Packing and Sorting, and Administrative /Clerical roles.  To apply go to the Manpower website; create an account and attach your resume; and contact the office after registering.

Charles Schwab

Shannon Grimes, Talent Attraction Manager

Schwab sees the world through their clients’ eyes.  Schwab serves investors, advisors and employers.    Charles Schwab highlights include $2.54 trillion in client assets, Fortune 500 Company with annual revenues of $6.05 billion, 325 branch offices in 45 states and 3 countries.  The organization is headquartered in San Francisco, has approximately 15,400 full time employees and is the recipient of 15 awards in 2015 for its employee-friendly workplace.

Schwab has about 60+ positions currently in Phoenix a few “hot” jobs are Broker Trainee, Estate Services Professional, and Relationship Specialist.  Phoenix is the home of one of Schwab’s largest call centers.  Those positions in high demand are Relationship Specialists and IT roles.  Shannon encouraged attendees to complete an application online.  Schwab initially reviews those candidates who have completed applications before sourcing other candidates.   Create your online profile and upload your resume at tiny.cc/careerconnectors .

Resources

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants

Roger Brudbacher, Director of Continuing Education

Dynamic Worldwide will prepare you with an edge in this competitive job market.

DWWTC offers programs and certificates in professional development, cyber security programs, advanced cyber security programs and information technology.  DWWTC was awarded the 2015 Juniper Platinum Education Partner of the Year for its award winning instruction. The facilities are state of the art and maintain a low student to instructor ratio.  Instruction is available on multiple platforms.  DWWTC is licensed by the State Board for Private Postsecondary Education; certified through Workforce Connection; and approved for Grant Programs. For more information, please visit the website.

Closing

Sandi Ashton, Vice President, Career Connectors Board of Directors, closed the meeting by thanking North Phoenix Baptist Church and the volunteers.  The next Career Connectors meeting will be in Scottsdale on Thursday, March 10, 2016 and features Kevin Dumcum as speaker for the topic “Activate Your Job Search”. For additional information on this event and future events, please visit the website.

 

 

7/28/15 – Start Strong Finish Stronger: Your Best Self in Your Next Chapter

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Written by Debbie Webber

Career Connectors is 6 years told today!  Although Jessica Pierce and her husband were both unemployed at the height of the Great Recession, she felt a need to volunteer her time to others in the same situation by providing resume writing services. That small start grew like wildfire and has evolved into the Career Connectors we know today – and it’s still growing! Jessica says that “bad times lead to good things,” and Career Connectors is proof of that!

Keynote Speaker

Stephanie Clerge is a coach, trainer and founder of StrengthsPro, producing radical outcomes.  She maximizes the unique strengths of each individual on a team, and thereby strengthens the entire team by developing leadership and professional growth.

Stephanie started by telling us the story of Bohio’s (her son’s) preschool graduation. Stephanie recalled a question the teachers asked each child as they crossed the graduation stage. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  A doctor, lawyer or even an engineer like his mother and father would have been a great answer. But Bohio answered “I want to kill vampires and zombies!”  After a bit of reflection, Stephanie decided that she wanted to do that too—by fixing the walking working dead and energy suckers in workplaces. And that is how her path changed from engineering to becoming a strengths-based leadership and career coach.

Stephanie encouraged us to find our path in 3 steps: Know Ourselves, Plan Our Work and Work Our Plan.  But how? Where do you start? You start with your strengths. Employees who focus on their strengths are 6 times as likely to be successful in their roles and 3 times as likely to say they have a high quality of life. People who use their strengths are more energetic, engaged, resilient, happier and more confident.

Sign your name with your non-dominant hand. Now look at it. Probably pretty ugly since writing with this hand is a weakness; something you’re not confident in doing.  Are you going to spend a lot of time trying to write well with your non-dominant hand? Of course not.  But this is what we often do with other areas of our lives. We focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths to become even stronger.

Know Yourself

What is a Strength?
A strength is what makes you feel strong, gives you energy and comes naturally. It’s what you do well, it’s the part of you that is unique and special and it helps you succeed. It is the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance in a specific task.  Your talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied—talent is NOT just a behavior.

How do I find my Strengths?
There are various assessment tools that help you with this. As an attendee at Career Connectors, you have free access to the DISC analysis, which helps you define your behavior and strengths.

Another way to find your strengths without using an assessment tool is to look to your “triple E’s.”

    • Ease – what comes naturally to you (but is not necessarily easy).
    • Energy  – Activities that are your strength give you energy; look for your underlying patterns of thought; feelings and behaviors you’ve productively applied.
    • Excellence – what have you found that you excel at easily?

Plan Your Work – Preparing for Your Job Search

Define your strong career
You choose your strong career by considering a 4th E: Experience. Your experiences in your previous positions should give you clues. When did you love: the job/task, the team, manager, culture, industry, learning, commute, travel, benefits? Also think out of the box about non-work or work adjacent activities such as internships, volunteer activities, clubs and hobbies. Knowing these strengths about yourself can help you define where your next position or career could be.

Develop your tools
Build a strong resume. Tell potential employers what you’re good at and how you complete job tasks and your impact, not just what you did.

Work on your LinkedIn profile with the view from a recruiter’s lens. Get your profile as close to 100% as possible, and have a clear, concise (not cheesy) headline. In the summary, tell them your beliefs about your job or industry. Have well written recommendations with details. List a contact email and answer any InMails promptly. And finally, be a part of relevant groups and follow relevant individuals and companies.

Develop a list of 3-5 companies you want to work for and research them. This helps you focus your mindset.

Get your story straight.  Be able to clearly tell your work history story. Your story should include things like where you worked, how you contributed and why you left. Highlight your greatest accomplishment in each role, your strengths and how they help you at work. Have an answer for gaps in employment or other interesting circumstances. And be prepared for behavioral interviews. This type of question starts with “Tell me about a time when…” Have at least 3 stories you can flex for different situations.

Work on developing a strengths statement for each of your strengths. Describe a task (a distinct kind of work) that you perform consistently well with satisfaction. Be specific enough to be clear – does it matter why I do this activity? Does it matter what this activity is about?  Make it broad enough to apply in many circumstances.

Example: My strength is reviewing documentation (data, processes, presentations) written to influence others and providing guidance to make it more compelling.

Work Your Plan

Now that you’ve spent some time getting to know yourself and your strengths, and using tools to further define and develop those strengths into stories, you need to work your plan.

Getting a job takes a big plan, so break it down into tiny steps in order to keep yourself and your progress on track. Stephanie offered 6 steps that encompass this process.

  1. Impact:          This is your “Why?”
  2. Information: What do I need to know and how do I find it
  3. Inspiration:   Use what motivates you – vision boards or affirmations
  4. Strengths:      Know them and how to use them
  5. Strategies:      Break down the big picture to daily, even hourly, activities
  6. Support:         You can’t do it alone. Attend events (like Career Connectors) and use LinkedIn Groups

Write your plans down and incorporate them into your daily life. Only you can do what you can do. No road is easy, but your strengths can help you move along with ease while you learn as you grow.  Stephanie’s presentation is available on her website, about half way down this page, under Documents for Work and Life.

So – What is Your Plan to Start Strong and Finish Stronger?

DES: Unemployment Benefits

Jim Sorensen, UI Client Advocate

Jim has been the Phoenix Unemployment Client Advocate since 2000, and gave us some great insights into Unemployment Insurance (UI).

  • UI turned 80 this year. It came about in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act.
  • Although UI is federally funded, each state is allowed to make its own rules.
  • ALL money contributed into the system comes from employers. The higher the number of layoffs, the higher the percentage an employer pays into the system.
  • Employees pay NOTHING into the system.
  • The key word is insurance. Don’t feel badly about filing. Would you feel badly about receiving a payment from your auto insurance after an accident?
  • Your weekly payment is determined by the last 15 months of your income.
  • As mentioned before, each state makes its own rules. With a maximum payout of $240/week, Arizona is #49 in the U.S. It’s not much, but it helps.
  • If you have moved here recently, you may be able to apply for benefits in your previous state.
  • You do not qualify for UI if you quit – you must be separated from your job through no fault of your own.
  • You can work part time while collecting benefits, but what you earn will be deducted from your weekly check.
  • You must be ACTIVELY seeking work while you collect. You must file weekly claims with proof of your search.
  • UI is taxable income.
  • Enthusiasm is ALWAYS noticed, so make sure you have plenty during your job search.

ALL information is online – it is a very robust website.

Go to www.azui.com and select Apply for UI Benefits.

Hiring Companies

DHL
Lindsey Jones, Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist

DHL is an international shipping and delivery corporation. They are in over 200 countries (and growing) and are the number one international express service. The call center in Tempe is growing into a new building and moving from Priest and Washington into a new building across the street on Rio Salado Parkway. Every person who works for DHL receives a week of paid training and becomes a Certified International Specialist. Benefits include medical/dental, 401k, tuition reimbursements, an on-site gym and many career advancement opportunities. Available positions include front line customer service and direct channel (inside) sales. Apply online here.

State of Arizona
Jan Plank, HR Manager III

The state employs approximately 35,000 people in over 100 agencies, boards and commissions. In 2016, fully 25% of State workers will be retirement eligible. So now is a great time to join the State! Benefits include 10 paid holidays, liberal sick/vacation time, disability insurance, 11% retirement match, exceptionally low healthcare premiums, dental, and vision, life and training opportunities. You MUST apply on-line. The majority of the agencies use the azstatejobs.gov website. Although you must follow the website instructions, Jan emphasized that it is important to differentiate yourself when possible. Current open positions range from HR Generalist to Investigator to Senior Paralegal. Positions change often so check the application website.

Mountain Vista Medical Center
Gaynell Jenkins LinkedIn profiles, Recruiter and Rene Batson, Marketing Manager

Mountain Vista Medical Center is a 178 bed acute care facility and full service hospital. They recently celebrated their 8th anniversary at Crimson and Southern in Mesa.  Current available positions include case managers, RNs, diet technician, department secretary, cooks and medical technologists. Apply here.

Education Management Group
Carissa Allen, Admissions Manager

EDMC is composed of The Art Institute, Argosy University, Western State College of Law (as part of Argosy), Brown Mackie College and South University. Student success is the strongest value at EDMC and the culture of education and success extends to the employees as well. Open positions include Administration Reps, Academic Counselors and Admission Managers. There are also many other positions available in other locations outside of Phoenix. Benefits include PTO, 401K, health and dental insurance as well as short/long term insurance and a generous tuition program. Find open positions and apply here.

Next Event

Wednesday, August 5, 2015, 9:00am, North Phoenix Baptist Church
Mingling Your Way to Networking Success, Gloria Peterson
City of Phoenix, Kathy Thiessen
Hiring companies: The Hartford, Discover, Paychex and Education Management Corporation