Career Connectors

Connecting professionals in career transition with hiring companies and quality resources

Career Connectors eUpdate
Subscribe Here

Stephanie Clerge

01/22/19 – Put Your Strengths to Work – Find a Job that Fits

by

Written by: Sherribeth Thompson

Keynote – Put Your Strengths to Work – Find a Job that Fits

About Stephanie Clergé, our keynote speaker.

Stephanie is a consultant, coach, trainer, and holds the title of Director of Training and Consulting at Kolbe Corp, an HR Consulting firm specializing in assessments and interventions that increase individual and collective performance. She holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Babson College with a focus on corporate entrepreneurship and completed a Coaching Certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching. Stephanie has spent nearly 15 years managing teams and developing leaders at Intel Corporation.

Stephanie challenged us with a question we hear often, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”. Sometimes we feel we know the complete answer but end up experiencing burn out. Have you been in a position where you’ve felt absolutely de-energized? Does the thought of your current or past position bring knots to your stomach? It’s a great opportunity to dig and find a better way to experience your career.

Begin by getting to really know yourself, starting with a determined honesty in your reflection. What things do you do well? What’s your natural ability? What’s your unique flair? What gives you energy? You can be great at something, but does it give you energy? For instance, how does organizing your garage make you feel? Maybe you’re great at it, but while doing it are you receiving energy? On the other hand, what are you good at but don’t think of doing in your downtime? Maybe you’re great with spreadsheets, or documenting data but never consider that as one of the Top 10 fun things to do.

Why Strengths? The benefits of enhancing your strengths is higher performance, less stress, more engagement, more energy, more resiliency, more confidence. Employees who focus on their strengths are 6x more likely to be successful in their roles.

Strengths in 3 parts of mind:

1. Thinking: Your IQ, Skills, Reasoning, Knowledge, Experience, Education
2. Affective: Feelings, Desires, Motivation, Attitudes, Preferences, Values
3. Cognative: Doing, Mental Energy, Purposeful Actions, Problem Solving Approach

How do you naturally get things done? Here’s a great illustration:

1. Write your signature with your dominant hand.
2. Now write it with your other hand.

What did you notice about writing with the dominant hand? Probably not much because it was natural, easy, fast, and comfortable. Writing your signature with the non-dominant hand was probably awkward, slow, sloppy and took more time.

Look for your underlying patterns of thought. How do you find strengths? What’s easiest, energizing, and efficient for you? You can review your skills, grades and manager reviews. Or how do you feel when given projects and tasks? Are you motivated, interested? What are your preferences? How do your values affect your decisions?

Resources for finding out about you:

WhyInstitute.com
ViaCharacterInstitue.org

Think about a job you loved. What did you love, the environment, the people, the dynamics? What do you need from your manager? Does the industry matter?

Now that you’ve invested in defining your strengths, it’s time to develop your tools. What does your resume tell about you? Does your resume match what you said or what you’re applying for? What is your contribution (quantifiable)?

What ever happened to the Cover Letter?

Newsflash: if you’re not submitting a cover letter, you’re losing a significant opportunity. This is where you can really share what you want, why you want it, and stand out! It’s where you can captivate your audience and control your overall message. This is a great place to provide context, especially if needed for questionable areas such as long periods of unemployment.

LinkedIn

It is a recruiter’s lens. Many recruiters will not look any further if you do not have a LinkedIn profile. What are they looking for?

  • Companies you are following
  • Your profile, which should be at 100%
  • Clear, concise (not cheesy or needy) statements in your headline
  • Summary: Where you show a little personality; keep in mind it is still a professional forum

Obtain well written recommendations from the right people. If you are wanting to manage people, a friend’s recommendation that says you’re “an awesome person”, has nothing substantive in conveying to others what you want to do in your next management position. List contact mail and answer mail promptly. Follow and be active in groups relevant to your future position.

So your strategic path has reaped employer interest and now it’s interview time. Have your notepad loaded beforehand with your questions. This shows strengths in action. Be ready to share your contributions.

  • What are the growth opportunities?
  • What does the company need?
  • What would you say about your boss?
  • Have 5 to 10 questions prepared. This shows you have critical thinking ability. Ask strategic questions to get them to ask you about something you want to share.

In conclusion, it’s crucial to know your strengths and be ready to build upon them. Now you can take the next steps and soar!

Hiring Company

Infusionsoft
Dylan Citro, Technical Hiring Partner 
Susan Thomas, Hiring Manager

The Infusionsoft Mission is to help small businesses succeed. They are looking for employees that play well with others, leave their ego at the door and contribute in a team environment. Infusionsoft currently has ~60 openings, including positions in the following areas:  Engineering, Marketing, Finance, Accounting & Analytics, Sales, Customer Success, and Operations. Perks & Benefits include health and dental insurance, stock options, flexible time off, snacks, drinks and more!

Resources

Grand Canyon University
Mike Persson, Degree Path Planning Specialist

Mike emphasizes the importance of starting your education now. From there you can build on knowledge, maximize opportunities, and connect your knowledge to career opportunities. In the process, one gains multiple achievements.

Woz U
Josh Barnett, Business Development

Join the tech revolution! Woz U doesn’t offer a traditional coding boot camp, they offer training for the fastest growing fields in the country:  Java, JavaScript, .NET and Data Science. The Woz U Career Services team will assist in your job search upon graduation. Stay current and updated in the ever changing field of technology.

Closing

Sheila Coulam thanked everyone for coming and encouraged attendees to take advantage of professional photos to update LinkedIn profile pictures. She also thanked the volunteers for their support and requested attendees to complete a survey to help Career Connectors continue to improve the events. Sheila ended the session with a quote:

“Every experience in your life is being orchestrated to teach you something you need to know to move forward.”
– Brian Tracy

4/25/17 – Start Strong, Finish Stronger: Your Best Self in Your Next Chapter

by

Start Strong Finish StrongerWritten by Michelle Soracco

Keynote Speaker

Stephanie Clergé, Director of Training and Consulting @strengthspro

Stephanie is the Director of Training and Consulting at Kolbe Corporation and has been involved in recruiting and coaching for many years.  She has worked at Intel, Deloitte and Cisco, and holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Stanford.  She is also an accomplished Vampire and Zombie Killer, a.k.a. the Walking Working Dead who prefer to stab someone in the back to get ahead, and the Energy Suckers who do as little as possible to get through the day.  She tells it like it is, and has some great suggestions for job seekers.

Start Strong, Finish Stronger: Your Best Self in Your Next Chapter

To view the slides for this presentation, click here.

Stephanie’s steps to getting hired:

Know yourself:  What are your strengths?  If you are using your strengths at work, you are 6x more likely to be successful in your role, and 3x more likely to say that you have a higher quality of life.  In finding your strengths, consider the 3 parts of the mind:
1. Cognitive (thinking): skills, knowledge and education
2. Affective (feeling):  motivation, interests, preferences, values (Strengths Finder, Myers Briggs, DISC)
3. Conative (doing): ease, energy and excellence.

Plan your work:
1. Define your strong career: ask yourself when you loved what you did, who you worked with and where you were (i.e. culture/industry).  Your hobbies, internships, volunteering activities and side hustles can tell you a lot about what you love, not just your prior positions.
2. Develop your tools
*Your resume tells the story of where you’ve been as well as where you want to go.  If you’re looking to change careers but you have no history in the industry you want to be in, get some history by volunteering or getting an internship.
*LinkedIn is a must.  Your profile should be at 100%.  Get good recommendations that tell specifically why you were good at what you did.  Remember that your entire profile is searchable, so be careful what information you put on it.  You may or may not want your telephone number, and be careful about which groups you belong to.
*Questions are also a must.  They show you’ve done your research on the company/position and can provide additional clarification on anything said at the interview.  Stephanie didn’t hire a candidate once because the person had no questions for her.  Personally, I’ve never gone into an interview with less than 10-15 questions at the ready.
*Stories are preparation for behavioral questions at interviews.  Be clear about what you contributed and how it impacted the organization.  Also be prepared to explain everything on your resume, as well as any gaps.

Work your plan:  What are your daily or weekly steps to accomplish your goal of getting hired at a place and position that’s right for you?  One bullet point should be going to one networking event per week to get yourself out there, because you never know who you will meet and what that meeting might lead to.

Hiring Companies

Northwestern Mutual

Jessica Bowles, Director of Recruitment and Selection @NM_News

Northwestern Mutual has been around since 1857, and is the second largest broker dealer in the US.  Northwestern is not a publicly traded company.  They believe in “impacting lives with great purpose,” so they consider the following to be very important: family, faith, abundance, personal responsibility and passion.  If you are ambitious, like to meet people and help them, Northwestern wants to talk to you. Current opportunities include Financial Advisor and Assistant Financial Representative. There are also staff opportunities available via the corporate website.

Cox Communications

Sandi Elliott and Lauren Dubovy, @CoxTalent

Cox Communications is only one segment of Cox Enterprises.  Cox Communications is the third largest cable company in the US, which introduced Contour and GigaBlast, the highest internet speed available.  There are many benefits for Cox employees who contribute to Cox’s culture of success, such as the Compass program.  Cox takes community participation seriously, so there are always volunteer opportunities available.  Cox is looking for direct sales people, as well as account managers for different segments.

Rogers Corporation

Jennifer Eberts, Human Resources, @Rogers_Corp

Rogers Corporation was founded in 1832 by Peter Rogers.  They recently moved their corporate headquarters to Chandler and are looking to fill various positions throughout the organization. These include Business Analyst, Accountant, Project Engineer (Facilities), LMS Administrator, Quality Engineer, Process Engineer, Strategic Project Manager, Corporate Controller, Executive Assistant, Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable, Demand Planner and Global Health & Safety Manager. Safety is their number one priority, and integrity is their base.  Rogers has approximately 3000 employees worldwide.

Freedom Financial Network

John Hasna, Director of Talent Acquisition @FreedomFamily

Freedom Financial Network is a debt consulting company that provides financial solutions and services to enable consumers to achieve financial freedom.  Their 3 AZ locations have 1300 employees, and have hired 200 of the 1000 individuals they want to hire this year. They are in the process of building a new campus in Tempe and were recently named as a Phoenix Business Journal “Best Places to Work” Winner. Open positions in Tempe include Java Developers, Product Managers, Corporate Trainer, Compliance Manager, Business Intelligence Analyst, Negotiations Debt Settlement Specialist, Inside Sales Reps and Software Developer. They are willing to train people for the necessary skills, as long as they fit in with the culture.

Resources

New Horizons Learning Center, @nhphoenix

Zack Hiscock, Vice President of Learning and Development @ZackHiscock

Career Connectors has partnered with New Horizons as their only WIOA-funded school.  New Horizons is an international training organization that serves the needs of top companies to help individuals enhance their current skills and go to the next level in their career.  They offer courses in IT, Office Mgmt, Healthcare Records and Management, Project/Production Mgmt Certifications. Classes are conducted live in a classroom, live online and self-paced online courses, depending on the student’s needs.

Closing

Sheila Coulam graciously thanked all of the day’s speakers, volunteers and job seekers for participating. She encouraged job seekers to take advantage of the many Career Connector services like having your resume reviewed, a free professional portrait and meeting the hiring companies.  She also encouraged everyone to view the career blog, which is up and running and has a lot of good career advice.

The next event is in Phoenix, Wednesday, May 3rd: “Advancing Your Career with a BEST Company.”  Register here.

6/1/16 – Start Strong, Finish Stronger: Your Best Self in Your Next Chapter

by

Written by: Connie Huber PHR SHRM-CP

All of us have our own special strengths and weaknesses that influence our career and life. But can you quickly share with someone what your strengths and weaknesses are that define you as an individual?
The best thing you can do with your strengths once they have been identified is to own them as described in the article “Owning It: Identifying Your Strengths and Weaknesses” as shared in Prepary, September 07, 2012.
• “Acknowledge your strengths and truly believe in them.”
• “Put all of your energy into your strengths.”
• “Keep developing your strengths.”
The article goes on to note that defining your weaknesses is far more challenging than establishing your strengths. It is noted just knowing your weaker areas will make you more successful. Prepary encourages us to:
• “Take your weaknesses into account when making career decisions.”
• “Look at the other side.” Weaknesses can be turned around into strength and vice versa.
• “Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Everyone has weak areas!
Lastly, the author reminds us our strengths and weaknesses will always be evolving. As you move forward in your career, not only do you grow and change professionally but also your strengths and weaknesses will adjust and evolve. Embrace the constant evolution and welcome what is to come.

Keynote

Start Strong, Finish Stronger: Your Best Self in Your Next Chapter

Stephanie Clergé

@StrengthsPro

Remember when we were young and you dreamed of growing up and what profession you wanted to pursue? If you are like most, you changed your mind several times. Based on 2012 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the list shared 15 kids’ dream jobs. Among the top 5 were:
1. Astronaut
2. Musician
3. Actor
4. Dancer
5. Teacher
Stephanie began her time with the group sharing the story about her kindergartener sharing during his graduation what he wanted to be when he grew up. This little guy boldly told his fellow students, parents and family he wanted to “kill vampires and zombies!” Needless to say, Stephanie and her husband were horrified with their son’s desires. After much reflection and acceptance, Stephanie came to the conclusion her son’s declaration was not far fetched. When you think about it, the vampires and zombies among us are the walking dead and energy suckers in our work environment.

Stephanie like many of us at Career Connectors has also been in career transition. She knows first hand the frustrations and challenges we encounter during this time.

LESSONS FOR THE ROAD AHEAD
In preparing for your career, you need to consider these key strategies.
1. Know Yourself
2. Plan Your Work
3. Work Your Plan

KNOW YOURSELF
In establishing a strong foundation for career success, we were encouraged to begin in establishing our strengths.
• Why Strengths?
According to Gallup, those 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.
• What is a Strength?
Having a firm understanding of your strengths will….
 Make you feel strong.
 Give you energy.
 Come naturally.
 Identify what you do well.
 Show the part of you that is unique and special.
 Helps you succeed.
• Gallup Definitions
According to Gallup STRENGTH is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific activity. TALENTS are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied.
• Turning Talent into Strength
Talent is the foundation for your strengths and basis for achieving your full potential. Skills and knowledge are your investment. Skills are the capacity to perform the fundamental steps of an activity. Knowledge is factual and experiential lessons learned. The final touch is passion. Passion is intrinsic satisfaction or the inherent gratification and positive anticipation.

• How do I find my strengths?
There are a number of assessment test that will help you discover your strengths. One assessment that is very reliable and free to Career Connector participants is DISC.
• DISC Assessment
DISC measures your personality and behavioral style. The assessment will ask you to answer a simple questionnaire about your own behavior. You will be asked to select the word that describes you the most or least. There are no right or wrong answers.

PLAN YOUR WORK
In preparing for your job search you need to
 Define your strong career.
 Develop your tools.
 Determine your plan.

LESSONS FOR THE ROAD AHEAD
In preparing for your job search, Stephanie shared with us a few reminders regarding wisdom including: No Road is Easy! Your Strengths help you grow with ease. Learn as you grow! And….. beware of the zombies and vampires in life!!!!

“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” Marilyn Savant

HIRING COMPANIES

Abrazo Health
Christi Wedemeyer, Recruiter

Abrazo means embrace and Abrazo Health and its employees strive to help people live happier, healthier lives.. The organization is a leader in healthcare and spans from coast to coast. Abrazo spends approximately 53% of its net revenue on total rewards. Some positions offer a sign on bonus.
Current openings include experienced RN’s, Rehab professionals such as Physical Therapists, Director of Nursing, Nursing Manager, Manger of Medical Staff Services, Manager of Clinical Documentation Program, Director of Quality & Risk Management, Computer professionals along with many other healthcare related positions, both clinical and nonclinical.

Ajilon & Parker & Lynch
Ajilon: Katy Lyden, Managing Director
Parker & Lynch: Nicole Heckaman, Executive Director

Ajilon is a leader in temporary and permanent placement of Human Resources, Administrative, Supply Chain & Logistics, Non-Clinical Healthcare and Operational Professionals. Parker & Lynch is a leader in Finance and Accounting recruitment. Its focus on people is what sets the organization from others.
Job seekers are able to have their resume reviewed, practice interviews and interview prep, competitive salary information, salary and offer negotiation, detailed market information, customized candidate marketing strategy and overall support through the entire hiring practice.
Opportunities available at Parker Lynch include Senior Accountant, Sr. Financial Analyst, Controller, CFO, Accounting Manager, and Staff Accountant.
Ajilon has openings for HR Generalist, Executive Assistant, Full Cycle Recruiter, Administrative Assistant, Customer Service, Medical Front Office and Logistics Specialist, and Procurement. Ajilon has needs for an Accounting Associate, Payroll Clerk, AP Clerk, AR Clerk, and Medical Biller.

State Farm
DeAnne Prigmore, Recruiter

The State Farm mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm is building a 2 million square feet campus in Tempe by ASU and will house 8-10,000 employees. It will consist of four buildings and house varied retail outlets along with restaurants and fitness center. The organization has great benefit offerings including a pension plan and base salary plus commission. A sampling of open opportunities includes entry-level positions such as Claims Associate for Initial Loss Reporting, Express and Interpretation Representative, Customer Care Service and Sales Representative. Bank openings include Bank Supervisor, Loan Processor & Loan Services Representative, Bank Support Rep & Customer Service Rep. Immediate Systems and IT opportunities include Software Developer, Infra Analysts for Malware Tool Support and Tech Support, IT Analyst-Solutions and Bank Technical Analyst.  DeAnne extended an invitation to visit the new facility in Marina Heights.

Resources

Arizona@Work, City of Phoenix
Waleed Alani, Employment Specialist

Waleed shared with the group the latest unemployment statistics. There are currently approximately 69,000 available jobs in the Phoenix area. The numbers are down a little due to the quickly approaching summer months and election. Opportunities include retail, hotel management, project management and nurses. Some of the top skills being requested are bilingual, quality assurance, IT networking, quality control and IT networking project management. A sampling of hiring employers include Banner Health, Honor Health, CVS Health, Dignity Health, Pizza Hut, 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 Job 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. 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. For more details on the Skills Development Packages, reach out to Waleed at 602-255-4628 or waleed.alani@phoenix.gov.
If interested in a job with the state of Arizona or City of Phoenix please go to Arizona at Work.

Dynamic Worldwide Training Consultants
Rodger Brubacher, 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 Arizona@Work; and approved for Grant Programs. For more information, please visit the website.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Executive Director, Career Connectors, closed the meeting by thanking North Phoenix Baptist Church and the volunteers. The next Career Connectors meeting will be in Scottsdale on Thursday, June 9, 2016 and features Deborah Dubree as speaker for the topic “Up Yours! Up Your Power, Up Your Performance, Up Your Personal Pitch!” 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

by

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