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Stephanie Clerge

3/4/20 – Activate Your Strengths

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Written by Gary Matsuda

Difficult co-workers? We’re talking about those who make your life miserable by overly complicating things or leaving out essential process details. Of course, they wouldn’t have done it the way you would have, which would have been faster or more accurate by far!

While interpersonal problems could be the result of differences in personal goals and values, another potential source of conflict is not often recognized or measured. It’s part of our innate way of doing things called conation.

Stephanie Clergé, Career coach, VP of Training and Consulting at Kolbe Corp broke it down for us.

Keynote

Psychology defines 3 parts of the mind:

  1. Cognition (intellect, skills, knowledge)
  2. Affective (feeling, personality type, preferences, values)
  3. Conation (instinctive action, problem solving approaches, decision making methods)

Well-known psychological tests work with the thinking cognitive (IQ, SAT) and feeling (DISC, Myers Briggs) parts of our brain.

The third component of the mind associated with conation or how we naturally take action (or avoid action) is measured by the Kolbe test, the only validated assessment that measures a person’s conative strengths. The results are called your MO or Method of Operation. If you know your MO, you will understand your own human nature and can begin the process of maximizing your potential. You’ll also be able to describe yourself clearly and articulate how you have performed in preparation for interviews and how to thrive in your new job!

The online Kolbe test takes about 20 minutes, during which you’ll be asked 36 questions which are designed to accurately determine your conative strengths. (It’s so accurate, if you change your answers, it will track that too.)

You’ll get your results in the form of 4 numbers representing a range from 1 to 10 for each of the action modes. These are the 4 action modes:

  • Fact Finder – one’s way of gathering and sharing information
  • Follow Thru – one’s way of organizing
  • Quick Start – one’s way of dealing with risk and uncertainty
  • Implementor – one’s way of handling space and tangibles

You then interpret your scores like this for each action mode:

CounterAct – Scores in 1-3 range of the continuum
Indicates an ability to resist being in action mode or being energy saving or conservative.

  • Fact Finder: indicates a need to generalize, give an overview, briefly summarize, and find bottom line information.
  • Follow Through: indicates a need to do several things at once, keep things where they can be seen, take short cuts, go outside regular procedures.
  • Quick Start: indicates a need to avoid chaos, bring stability, stick with the tried and true, and reduce uncertainty.
  • Implementor: indicates a need to avoid literal construction of model, working in three dimensions, or handling special relationships.

ReAct – The in between zone 4-6
Indicating an ability to accommodate in the mode as needed. Not going to detail actions here but generally they blend between the two zones above and below.

Initiate Action – scores in the 7-10 part of the continuum
Also referred to as insistence (on performing an action).

  • Fact Finder: indicates a need to be specific, read and report details, define terms, and justify facts.
  • Follow Thru: indicates a need to be highly structured, act sequentially, and complete one task before starting another.
  • Quick Start: indicates a need to experiment, act spontaneously, and do things in new and different ways.
  • Implementor: indicates a need to touch, physically explore, move around, build, and deal with what is concrete rather than abstract.

The emphasis here is to recognize and exploit your superpowers. We all have habits we should improve, but most career coaches advise that it’s not productive to put significant effort into improving your weaknesses or abilities you were not born with. Likewise, you’re unlikely to change your team members weaknesses into strengths. Instead there is much more return on investment on developing and using natural strengths.

If you have ever wondered why the boss needs to drone on about the big picture, while you just want the details on what to do next, you’ll understand why there is a disconnect. With your Kolbe score you’ll have the basic information to start meaningful conversations and reduce stress in the workplace or at home!

Compared to most career advice that seem to focus on intelligence (i.e. good grades, certifications) and personality, the Kolbe A Index guides us further by:

  • Learning to rely on actions that instinctively work for us.
  • Helping focus time and energy to be more productive.
  • Directing more effective communication, career choices and study habits.
  • Improving relationships with friends, loved ones and co-workers because we’ll trust our instincts instead of trying to change each other.

To get help planning for your next career (or date), take the Kolbe A evaluation. If you’ve registered for this Career Connectors event, it’s free until March 15th.

Stephanie Clergé is a VP of Training and Consulting at Kolbe Corp, which specializes in assessments and interventions that increase individual and collective performance.

Company

Cenlar, Mark Pierce, Recruiter

If your strength is with people, yet you want to be behind the scenes and have immediate impact on people who need help, Cenlar needs you! For many of us owning a home is part of our country’s foundation. Behind most homeowners is a mortgage to manage and some people need assistance. Your help involves guiding customer issues from basic questions on their loan to loan structuring. You’ll get experience with many different banks and lenders so your experience can grow with you ambition! There are flexible schedules, day or night which will work with your availability! Contact Mark Pierce (mepierce@cenlar.com) for full time summer and part time positions.

Resource

Career Connectors Academy, Steven Hatch, Director of Admissions

IT careers are hot, have always been and are likely to be in demand for years to come. If you’re changing careers or building up your current one, there are many paths available through Career Connectors Academy to help you quickly get the needed education and skills! Full work schedule or commute a problem? Well you can get you training done online. If covering tuition is an issue, for those who qualify there are free IT certifications, federal grants and payment programs set up to make the financial burden lighter. Email Steven Hatch (steven.hatch@brightoncollege.edu) for more info.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Founder and CEO of Career Connectors, closed the first part of the event and invited attendees to participate in talking to hiring managers and resume experts, finding educational opportunities, visiting Coaches Corner, and posing for a free head shot by a professional volunteer photographer. And thanks to GCU for the venue!

For details about upcoming Career Connectors events throughout the Valley, click here to visit the events section on the website for times, locations, and details about hiring companies and keynote topics.

01/16/20 – Put Your Strengths to Work-Find a Job that Fits

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Stephanie Clerge Find a Job That Fits

Written by Susan Lamphiear

“You grow most in your areas of greatest strength. You will improve the most, be the most creative, be the most inquisitive, and bounce back the fastest in those areas where you have already shown some natural advantage over everyone else. This doesn’t mean you should ignore your weaknesses. It just means you’ll grow most where you’re already strong.” Marcus Buckingham

Keynote

Individuals who focus on their strengths are SIX times more likely to be successful in their roles. And THREE times as likely to say they have a high quality of life.

Keynote speaker at Scottsdale Career Connectors Stephanie Clergé reminded attendees of these remarkable stats as they define their own strengths to better navigate their own career search or career transition.

Stephanie shared her passion for helping others understand one another better, and helping them leverage their strengths. As a young child, her leadership strength meant she was considered “bossy” but that appears to have served her well.

 With a background in helping people discover their strengths, Stephanie  has developed expertise in coaching and training.  Stephanie holds the title of Director of Training and Consulting at Kolbe Corp, an HR consulting firm specializing in assessments and interventions. She also runs her own coaching practice. She holds an industrial Engineering degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Babson College with a focus on corporate entrepreneurship.

Stephanie’s entire background has reinforced her belief  that each of us needs to become aware of our own strengths, both to be more successful in the work place, AND to live a happier life.

How do we become aware of our own strengths? Stephanie suggests you take a look at your strengths in three ways.

Thinking – It’s what we CAN do!  What is your intelligence, knowledge,  experience, education and learned behavior?  

Example of THINKING from Stephanie’s life: “I have nearly 20 years of people management and training skills. I have big corporate, solopreneur and small business experience. I’m skilled at managing large projects.”

Feeling – This is what we WANT to do. This includes your motivation, preferences, desires, values, and personality type.

Example of FEELING from Stephanie’s life: “I am naturally curious and enjoy leadership positions because I can provide my perspective toward strategic decisions and day-to-day execution. I am passionate about helping others understand one another better and helping individuals succeed, especially by leveraging their strengths.”

 Doing – This is HOW you get things done.  Consider your striving instincts, problem solving approaches, decision making methods, innate purposeful actions, and creative talents.

Finding your “doing” strengths

  • Fact Finder–How do you gather and share information?
  • Your follow through–How do you organize and arrange?
  • Quick Start–How do you deal with risk and uncertainty?
  • Implementor–How do you handle space and tangibles?

Example of DOING from Stephanie’s life: “I naturally solve problems by getting detailed information about the issue and potential solution. Then I brainstorm the practical alternatives and figure out the most efficient way I can fit my solution into an existing process or system.”

How else can I find my strengths?

  • Ease–As an example of ease, try writing or printing your name with your non dominant hand and consider if it was easy, did it take more energy, and was it neat or sloppy?
  • Energy–What energizes you?
  • Excellence–Where do you excel?
  • Experience — If you didn’t love a particular job, were there specific tasks within that job that you found energizing and loved doing?

Define your Strong Career OR one task from a career you loved. When did you love the job? the task? the team? the manager? the culture? the industry? the learning?

Think out of the box–Non-work or adjacent activities, Internships, volunteer activities, side projects/businesses, clubs/organizations, hobbies. What about these areas did you love?

Develop Your Tools, including your resume

  • Your resume–Is it easy to read? What does your resume tell the employers in a quick scan? Does it reflect what you’ve done? How can you best contribute?
  • Is it clear on your resume where you should be working next?
  • Cover Letters are NOT Dead! Use the cover letter to captivate your audience, control the message, clarify a situation, or customize a response.

LinkedIn–A look from a Recruiter’s Lens

  • Is your profile at 100%–Describe what, how and impact.
  • Clear, concise headline (not cheesy or needy).
  • Does the summary show a bit of your personality and desires?
  • Does your profile contain well written recommendations by the right people?
  • Remember to list a contact email.
  • Answer InMail promptly.
  • Be a part of relevant groups, follow relevant individuals and companies.
  • Keep your profile updated!

Be able to tell your work history story

  • Where did you work, how did you contribute, how long did you work there and why did you leave?
  • What were your greatest accomplishments in each role?
  • What are your strengths and how did they help you at work?
  • Explain gaps in employment or other interesting circumstances

Be prepared for behavioral interviews

  • Tell me about a time when…
  • Have stories you can flex for different situations.

What skills have you demonstrated?

What do you WANT to do?

Strengths in Action: Contributions & Needs An example from Stephanie’s profile–“My strength is reviewing documentation (data, processes, presentations) written to influence others and providing guidance to make it more compelling.”

Stephanie’s recommendation if you’re stuck trying to communicate your strengths: Pick one strength that really describes you, or think of a task that really energizes you, or create a sentence with key elements of your talent contribution that you use to complete that task.

For more information from Stephanie on building your strengths and for slides from her presentation, click here.

Hiring Companies

InfoArmor

Stephanie Helfer, Talent Acquisition Director

Meredith Garner, HR Business Partner

InfoArmor, the leader in employee identity protection, joined the Allstate Corporation family of companies in 2018.

The company’s next milestone involves the Allstate Digital Footprint which for the first time allows customers to see their personal information and how it might expose them to risk and allows them to do things no other identity protection plan has ever allowed them to do.

InfoArmor offers a workplace where employees want to come to work every day because they feel empowered and heard. Career benefits include leadership training, bonus plans for everyone in the company, merit increases, employee awards, and free health care for employee and family.

Openings include customer care specialists, remediation specialists, account managers, software developers, marketing specialists, marketing managers, and sales managers.

For more information on the company and to apply, visit their website.

Cable One/Sparklight

Vanessa Corona, Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist

Cable One/Sparklight, a leading broadband provider, serves more than 900,000 residential and business customers in 21 states.

Committed to employees, customers, and the community, the company takes pride in providing employees with a supportive atmosphere, including a top notch compensation package.

Cable One/Sparklight strives to provide customers with 24/7 tech support and remains determined to inspire their employees to share the company commitment to community service. Among others, the company provides outreach to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, and Feed My Starving Children.

Benefits and perks available to employees include medical, dental and vision plans starting on the first day; paid time off; 401K-100% company match starting after one year of service, up to 5% of salary; life insurance; tuition reimbursement up to $5250 the first year; up to $75 a month towards cable and internet services; advancement opportunities; collaborative work environment; food truck Tuesdays; and game room and fitness center. The fitness center includes cardio equipment and full-service locker rooms with showers.

For more information, or to apply, go to the company website.

Resources & Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the event and invited guests to participate in the informal sessions including talking directly to hiring managers and resume experts, finding educational opportunities, visiting Coaches Corner, and posing for a free head shot by a professional volunteer photographer. She thanked all volunteers and the beautiful host facility, Highlands Church.

For details about upcoming Career Connectors events throughout the Valley, click here to visit the events section on the website for times, locations, and details about hiring companies and keynote topics.

Below, check out more thoughts on Career Transition and Finding Your Strengths.

Identify Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham, video

Forbes article about Marcus Buckingham Buckingham known as Founder of the Strength Revolution

TED Talk Felicia Ricci Tips from an actress who appeared in the Broadway musical Wicked, and who underwent an unexpected career transition

TED Talk Shane Lopez Focusing on Your Strengths

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

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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

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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

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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.