TriangleJob – encouragement, relevance for the job seeker

As one of the founding members of TAFU (to avoid future unemployment), Rick was quick to point out the benefits of networking to help your career.  Networking opportunities continued before and after his talk on January 12th at the Research Triangle Park  Headquarters:  CREE: New Horizons in Energy, Environmental and Advance Cluster Sectors

The Director of business development at CREE, Rick gave the audience a brief tour of the business environment CREE operates in.  Focusing on the commercial and residential lighting space, Rick used his background in business to enlightent the audience on a wide variety of issues impacting the production, adoption and effects of LED’s in lighting applications.

Utilities, goverment at all levels, and CREE’s impact on the end user were described in the 119 Billion dollar lighting market.  Rick touched on issues affecting the LED lighting market from failure perception setbacks on the west coast to the benefits of the ‘fifth fuel’ energy consumption strategies.

Rick highlighted the prevalence of energy related businesses in the triangle area, and how clusters of like-minded companies can accelerate the growth of the industry.

Choice quote from the event:
Innovation isn’t thinking out of the box, it’s about thinking outside of your office.

Some days you don’t want to even look anymore.  Some days the odds seem stacked against you.  Those are the days when you need to look at the work you’ve done, and all you’ve accomplished.  The people at Hope Job Seekers know what it means to be out of work, and their purpose is to give you the tools to help you land a job.  Classes, encouragement and accountability give you the resources you need to keep job opporunities in your ‘funnel’, and fill your mind with focus for landing that new job.  The following notes are from the April 9th meeting of Hope Job Seekers.

Mary Smith: Welcome everybody. Live United through the United Way will have a behavioral interview seminar soon.  Encouragement to attend Colonial Job Seekers which is the mother ship.  Colonial has educational opportunities and free classes.  The career lattice series at Avadon group is also free if you are unemployed: Career Transition, Find the right career for you, Interviewing in a global economy (class list).  Gethope.net has a classifieds section with jobs.  Make sure you check that out and keep your bio updated on the Hope Job Seekers bio listing.  Companies that were unable to attend the career fair asked for the bio list to still be sent to them.  Recently a job seeker attended a Raleigh chamber of commerce meeting and it was a great opportunity to meet influential people .  Pharma, PRA International, Headway Corporation, JP Sakey, Linda Bater and Jeff Chambers were there.

Kerry led a devotional: I’m a trainer by training, and have had a large number of cancellations since November.  It’s a common process for those self employed, and you go through stages: anger, anxiety and depression -  I struggled for a few days.  This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Galatians 5:22 talks about joy as a fruit of the spirit.  The focus of this devotional is joy.  Mike Lee gave a talk about joy vs. happiness.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are going to be happy, but we can have joy in our life.  Rick Warren’s book:  God’s Power to Change Your Life talks about happiness depending on happenings.  Most of you probably aren’t happy in your circumstances, but you can have joy.  Joy is an attitude, a choice.  Joy is an inside job, not dependent on circumstances.  Rejoice in the fact that God has a plan for us.  A person had their ideal job at a university, but that job was ended.  Next they began to work for Ken Bon [sp?] ministries, although they never would have made that choice, God knew better and made the choice for them.  Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God.  You gain perserverance through suffiring, it helps develop character.  Joy is a choice, you can get bitter or get better.  Four things you can do to devleop joy:  Have an attitude of grattitude.  Cultivate the inner joy of giving.  Develop inner joy through service.  Share your talents with other people.  Serve each other.  Share Christ with others.  Patience and Peace – through all the struggle God wants  you to learn that he is bigger than this problem.  Trust in God’s purpose: Proverbs 3:5-6, and ask for God’s peace.

Skip Magnum gives a talk about keeping your pipeline full of job opportunities.  How am I qualified?  I’m not except that I’m equally yoked that I lost a job.  I’ve been at it six months so you may want to leave.  This discussion is positioned around a parallel to my career.  This visual aid is a representation of the job search – have many opportunities in the funnel.  We are at war with the economy, with joblessness, with emotions and with competing candidates.  I never thought I would be out of it for six months.  Persistence, fruits of the spirit like patience are needed in the ups and downs of the job search.  Make sure you have accountability – some days I wake up and 3 hours go by and I have looked at every job board and get distracted easily.  How often do I get up and ask God to be the pilot – not every day.  When I don’t do it its often when I get distracted.  What does accountability really mean – you are accountable to God.  Joblessness is a great opportunity to have time with God/Family/Your psyche, but you must be accountable to God to make the best of that.  The job you find can be a mission, a calling, a re-evaluation.  You’re also accountable to your family, then accountable to yourself.  Keep your minds fresh and fulfilled, think about getting an accountability partner.

God has a good sense of humor about your plans.  Plans are funny, but very important.  Commit to the Lord as in Proverbs 16:3.  Many are the plans in a mans heart (Proverbs 19:21), but you need to couch your plans in God’s will.  The goal is to find a job, you need a phased approach to fill your opportunities with the top resources.  Most opportunities don’t get all the way down the funnel.  How are you going about filling the funnel on a daily basis?  Above your plan is God’s plan.  From a spiritual health perspective you need to find a quiet time to commit to the Lord.  Are you studying the word?  Are you spending time in the bible?  There is a template avaialable that is a guideline to provide accountability including key tasks.  Establish a weekly baseline to determine what is succesful.  Don’t just fill the funnel with opportunities that don’t move through.  Working the funnel is important.  If networking is making opportunities, you should spend more time there.  If online resume submission is generating leads you should do that more and network less.  You need accountability partners:  Proverbs 15:22 shows how you need to share your plans with people to get encouragement and advice.  We are at war, and we have to take special action to succeed.  Get out of your comfort zone, get new advice.  Implement the 5 p’s:  Pray – daily, hourly, walk in conversation;  Plan – work it, refine it; Process – understand, follow it if it works;  Persist – some days you are out of sorts, some days it’s hard.  You need to persist and wake up with a fresh attitude.  God is in control, know you will get there in God’s time.  Play too – be gratified personally.  Take part in and plan things that are rewarding to you.  It’s easy to get in a rut, you have to make time for play.

The remainder of the meeting was networking time amongst the job seekers.

Get serious, get help.  Change your attitude and focus on applying yourself to the job search process.  Use the facilities, courses and people who are dedicated to helping you improve.  Colonial Job Seekers is where I heard this message, and is focused on providing you the tools you need to stay focus, and access to the resources you need to excel in your new career: landing a job.  The following notes are from the April 6th session of Colonial Job Seekers.

Paula Bryan – Welcome on behalf of the job seekers group. We like to begin with a time to quiet your hearts and minds, and focus on God’s word. Doug Johnson will lead a devotional: Doug Johnson: Get centered, and get excited about what the Lord can do in our lives. Sometimes religious people are called people of faith. Christian faith specifically in the New Testament is talked about quite a bit.  What is Faith?  Hebrews 11:1 is perhaps the most common definition, other translations talk about assurance of confidence beyond our 5 senses, beyond our rational look at the world.  Science deals with the senses only, the natural realm.  Supernatural is above the science.  God and the spirit world is above the natural world.  Faith becomes the vehicle we hope for but do not see.  This week is holy week.  On a rational plane resurrection is not possible.  People coming back from the dead in an uncorrupted body is outside the realm of the natural world.  As we look for jobs there is more than enough advice out there.  More than enough pundits.  This ministry is about tapping into the supernatural to get a job.  What is your faith expectation – What has God promised in his scriptures, objective and subjective.  Faith, but faith in what?  Jesus is the object of what we believe.  Faith is not about asking God for anything and expecting it to come true.  As in James 1, even when you pray you’re prayers are not always answered.  What the immature Christian doesn’t see is the reason.  The mature Christian knows that the path we are to walk is part of the plan.  He is there all the way with us.  People who are spiritual, people who say God is alive in their life have paid a price.  Every year artists are invited to Disney World, and are told clearly that it’s not about you.  It’s about the ambiance.  It’s not about selling paintings, it’s about pleasing the guests with art and artists.  This life we lead is not about you or me, it’s about God.  It’s about giving him the glory.  How much of the worlds message is the opposite?  The worlds messages is not the Christian message.  It’s about extending faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the vehicle through which salvation is realized.  Without it you can’t please God.   Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Christianity is not about being righteous.  Christ’s faith gets extended – without faith I’m going to work diligently to get a job.  With that extension of faith I’m going to live in the faith, giving him the glory that will please Him.  It’s OK to question God, sometime faith wavers.  Keep the faith – it will give you the balance you need in your job search and networking.

Recent landings in the Colonial Job Seekers – UNC, Chemsys, IBM, Career Solutions, Urgent care of America, Great Lakes, Edulink.  Interviews with Mayer Electric , IBM, Intel, RTI and more.

Paula Bryan – Colonial Job Seekers is a volnteer group.  We need 2 or 3 volunteers to help do setup, pickup bagels etc.  We have a few targeted workshops you can attend:  HR professionals, LinkedIn, Financial direction and Interview Prep.

Next was the IT/Computer special interest group meeting:  We all have good intentions for helping people, but if you don’t write down the names and interests of the people in the group, it’s gone.  Try and write qualifications down and see if you can help that person.  You may not be able to find someone a job, but you may be able to produce informational interviews for people through your contacts.  Be specific when you mention target companies so people can help you.

Dick Hart introduction – about 20-30 people from the audience had taken his class, and they were asked for words to describe him:  Direct, innovative, revolutionary, encouragement, he cares.  Dick Hart gave a brief talk about resume writing.  As a side note, Mr. Hart was one of those speakers that you knew not a single word was wasted.  The structure and content provided was at a very high level – I felt nearly overwhelmed documenting it.  I hope these notes impart at least some of the information he shared with the Colonial Job Seekers.

Dick Hart -  (Make your resume talk, WRAL coverage, Avadon Group) I was director of outplacement for 36 years with the government.  I write resumes for people leaving, in order to get rid of them.  I was asked to build a class on resumes, I’ve been through 5000 resumes in 6 years.  Most are obituary resumes – you want to give them enough info that says I’m good enough for an interview.  Every bullet needs to have a result.  What did you do that was good? Can you prove it?  Most outplacement companies will write what you can write yourself.  One rule of thumb is that the top third is critical.  Make a targeted objective:  The first part of the resume should be exactly what they are trying to fill.  Use their owrding to fill the problem they are trying to solve.  First ask yourself “Do I have enough to compete for this job?  Do your ‘haves’ outweigh your ‘have-nots’ (in skills).  Do I have enough of what they are looking for.  A resume should be an action statement of what you did.  Make sure you pu in what you did and how good you did it.  You have to entice them in the top 3rd.  Put something in there that says I can do what you are looking for.  What did I do, what did I change.  Make it simpler.  There is a lot you have to do to make your resume work for you.  I want to do this because I want to see you get a job interview. Put the most important thing you’ve done on your resume.  Sit on the other side of the desk – who am I, why would anyone talk to me?  It’s a global economy – talk about diversity and handling other cultures if you’ve done it.  Put the targeted job first.  Say: This is my job and I’m going to work for you and I’m good.  Every item in the job needs to be in your resume.  If you’ve got a good headline and objective it sets up the rest of the resume.  If you don’t get to the interview you don’t get to do anything.  Most books and resume templates in the library are old, so many of these techniques look crazy compared to the books.  You have to be persistent about getting your job.  What’s your plan?  First get your one page advertisement resume ready.  Next get your business card ready.  Don’t make it a date card.  Make it a mini resume that says what your good at and what you are looking for.  Make sure people know that you need employment help.  Put enough information on it so they want to see your resume.  Move up your skills that apply to the job, even if they are further back in your job history.  Believe in yourself.  You need to have a clear mind, positive attitude, and brag about yourself.  Where are you getting your advice?  75% of people who take his class have an interview within 2 weeks.  Volume does not talk.  Don’t write paragraphs about everything.  Figure our why your resume is working or not working.  If you are getting interviews you don’t need this help.  If you’re not, figure out why nobody is reading it.  Get something on there visually that keeps their attention.  Give it some appeal to keep it out of the trash.  Hard to read=dead.  The cover letter is a separate advertisement from your resume.  Find something different.  Have you ever seen a recommendation quote on a resume?  It’s a different way of advertising you.  A great way to keep them reading.  Say I’m good, and better than, and give the reasons.  Are you just going through the motions, or are you applying your skills to finding a job.  Keep coming to Job Seekers – you need to take care of you.  Expand your horizons, build your network.  Going through the motions is a waste of time.  If it’s time to change, get serious!  If you’re serious you get your plan fixed, be professional about looking for a job.  Get a resume that you are proud of.  Believe in God, believe in yourself and follow your plan – let’s all get back to work.

There’s many things you need to do to prepare for your job search, interview and final negotiations before landing a job.  Equally important is what you give back to the community while you conduct your job search.  At Hope Community Church on April 2nd, Hope Job Seekers met to discuss how to prepare and give of yourself.  The following are notes from the meeting:

Randy Nowak introduces Hope Job Seekers: One of the purposes of the group is encouragement.  If you’ve been out there you know it can be tough, it can be scary.  We are here to help you get prepared.  Accountability resources – they do help.  Praises from the group -  Interviews on the phone and in person with Cisco, Fidelity and others.  Aisha Holmes comments that a recruiter says she found here resume on Monster.com.  A resume checklist and spiritual encouragement document are passed out.

Michael Hardman leads a devotional:  I’m sorry you’re here.  Almost all of us have been an athlete on some level in our lives.  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul talks about running the race.  The race isn’t in the stadium, the race is you’re life.  The race is more like a steeplechase and a marathon.  The end goal is Christ, and every path is different.  Our paths cross right now.  What do people see when the watch you run the race?  Who is the main sponsor on your race car?  What is on your jersey?  What do people see as your main sponsorship?  Do they see Christ first?  Make sure they see the Christ in you.  It’s tough, because it’s a tough time.  My sponsorship says: Christ, Son, Father, Brother, Husband , and other stuff I don’t necessarily want on there. You need an encourager like Barnabus.  You need a “balcony person” like those described in the “Acts – Build Community” book.   God will use their presence to give you strength.  My encouragement for you today is find someone who is an encourager and find someone to encourage.

Randy – If you have a balcony person, thank them – they are an invaluable resource.  If you are unemployed, potential employers want to know what you have been doing.  Taking classes or volunteering are a good way to show you are staying busy.  Howard Lewis is here to talk about volunteering, giving and the Red Cross in general.

Howard Lewis: Giving of your true self might not be high on your list right now.  There is less money and more fear.  You need to fight it, you can’t afford to be fearful.  Keep praying about it, you may not be hearing it, but it’s going to happen.  You will get what you need.  Fight for yourself and your family.  Keep yourself fresh.  This time is a good test of character, when you get through it you’ll look back.  How are you feeling?  Strength is required, you have to support one another.  In October of 2008, Red Cross blood donations dropped 30%.  Even in down times we need to support each other. I still need to do the right thing in a down time – between jobs. If I can’t give money, I need to give other things of myself.  Don’t let not having a job be an excuse to not give of yourself.  Stay ‘frosty’, be alert, stay healthy and don’t let stress build up.  You have to stay healthy for you and your family, don’t get to the point where you are spent.  Don’t be afraid to take a break, vacations.  You need a break.  Give of yourself like that described in Deuteronomy 15:7.  Find ways to continue to be who you are.  Don’t let earthly things overload your heart.  What kinds of giving are there? Cook, give food to people.  Give little things like change a persons light bulbs, and they add up to big things.  Giving your service and time are tangible things that provide gratification, writing a check isn’t.  Find something that you can do fast, right now, and if you enjoy it, try making it long term.  Find something that resonates with you.  It may be working with the Homeless, it may not.  Find something that’s easy and build it into something that’s hard. Your church needs you.  They have a need for your skills, whatever they are.  Find something sustainable, financially, and in time management so you can keep it going after you have a job.

The small impact of cooking a meal for one family could have a huge impact if the whole country did it.  You are going to make a difference.  The giving of yourself is good for your career too.  At Habitat for Humanity you will meet people out there that are in high positions.  Anybody can volunteer, you don’t need building skills.  Giving blood is quick, you can do it today.  It has near instant gratification, and the blood is going into some bodies here in the triangle.  If you can donate platelets, you get paid for sitting on a couch and you are helping cancer patients. 38% of Americans can actually donate, but only 8% do.

Get an accountability buddy.  It takes time to change your habits.  To be faithful and encouraging, be accountable to each other.

Desperation sets in and you think you’ll never find a new job.  You have the unemployment check, but it’s not enough.  You have healthcare bills, a mortgage and a car payment.  You’d like to eat as well.  The money is about to run out and you need an additional source of income.  You also need a sense of hope – no matter what job you have.  You need a reason to get up and work the off shifts or with the difficult customers and mangement in order to pay your bills.  You need motivation for personal survival and financial survival in an extremely challenging job market.  At Colonial Job Seekers on March 23rd the volunteers discussed finding the balance in personal and career survival.  The following notes include a devotional, Special Interest Group and a survival job panel question and answer session:

Paula Bryan – Welcome, Colonial Job Seekers is a time for edification and networking amongst your peers.  People have landed jobs from networking at job seeker meetings, resume classes, employment security commission office meetings, neighbors, job fairs and former coworkers.

Pastor Brad Harbaugh leads a devotional.  There was a story from the school system in Chicago – A teacher was encouraged to go to the hospital to help a boy with his English.  She didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out the boy was badly burned.  She finished the lesson with the boy.  The next day a nurse called and asked: “What did you do?”.  The teacher didn’t know what to say, but the nurse continued: “We’ve been worried about him, but now his attitude has changed, it’s as though he’s desired to live.”  Two weeks later the boy said everything changed when the teacher talked with him about nouns and verbs.  “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work with a dying boy would they?”  A different perspective, a different word can make the difference and give hope.  The Hebrew word for hope means “wait for resolution”.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for.  Lamentations 3 shows a weeping prophet lamenting, in the middle of despair, distress by bringing news of no removal of affliction.  He was beaten, thrown into pits, rejected.  The message he delivered produced weeping.  He reflected the hopelessness of what he saw.  In Jeremiah 14 he recalls God’s works to mind, and therefore has hope.  Take steps back from the precipice of hopelessness, like the boy who was burned.  The Lords’ loving kindnesses indeed never cease, his compassions never fail, they are renewed each morning, your faithfulness never fails.  It is carried out through scripture.  Our relationship with God takes us beyond our circumstances.  No matter what happens I still have God.  Romans 5 1:6.  We have peace with God.  We have a God that is faithful, and will not deny himself.  Move from the precipice of hopelessness to hope is through a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

When the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, the message was sent to be displayed at the tower of London.  The message began: “Wellington defeated …”, but a fog rolled in and obscured the rest of the message.  The people became hopeless from half of the message.  They thought it was the full message, but when the sun ended the fog, the full message could be seen.  Life’s precipice causes us to only see half the message.  Grab hold of the personal relationship to see the Son of God erode the fog of life’s circumstances, and see the whole message.  Great is God’s faithfulness to each of us.

This week attendees at Colonial Job Seekers reported interviews at Rambus, Kidde Aerospace, Sandoz, Wake Emergency Physicians, AT&T, TI, United Health and others.

Kevin – We all experience disappointments, the choice is to be hopeless or hopeful.  Place your hope and trust in the Body that is Christ.  Share your praise and prayers with your church, let them share with others in your congregation.

In the Special Interest Group for computer jobs, people shared their experiences looking for jobs.  Suggested sources of information for finding companies include: Triangle Business Journal, and exploiting every lead shared with the group, even if it’s in a different field.  Find out more about the company and what positions they are hiring for.

The survival job panel consisted of Jim, Teddy, Gyan and Doug.

What is a survival job? Any job that does not connect with your career aspirations.  A 1099 is not a survival job.  A temp to hire position is not a survival job.  Working as a grocery store clerk if you’re a VP is a survival job.  Working construction if you are a computer programmer is a survival job.

Why get a survival job? For mental health, I need to work, have my mind occupied.  I learned retail, learned a new skill.  What I like to do is learn new skills.  Some companies give benefits for part time workers.  I have a BS and MS in engineering and I work as a Harris Teeter cashier because they have benefits.  A few of us from the job seekers meeting went as a group and said to management we are honest, and accountable to each other.  We can fill in for each other and will give you 2 weeks even after we land a full time job.  The manager was looking for reliable people in the night shift, so we take turns so it doesn’t have a large negative impact on our regular schedule.  Other benefits besides health insurance:  It’s made me humble.  I do what it takes to take care of my family.

How long does it take?  What is the process? How did the hiring managers look at you? I found a part time job through networking, they knew me, knew what I could do.  I had applied to Lowes, Target, Ann Taylor, and decided to go down to Michael’s looking for a seasonal job.  Went there in person – I wanted them to see me.  The decision to take a survival job is a complex one – You can take a day job but it will take time to find.  Ask yourself: Is it helping?  Is it helping financially, benefits wise?  A high burn rate in a temporary job may not help  your overall search that much.

What are the pros and cons of having a survival job? For most people, networking.  My 22 year old has 4 jobs now because of my example.  It gets your out of the house so you don’t sit at home watching Court TV.  You can learn more about certain fields, like why retail fails.  Netowrk with customers and colleagues.  Cons – You can be mortified when you meet someone you know at your survival job.  You can be too comfortable ina  survival job.  It’s a challenge managing time, but the pro is that it makes you a better time manager.  People don’t progress in prosperity, people advance through trials.  Many of us have not had the chance to make a name for ourselves.  All education is good, all experience is good.

What does having a survival job do for your unemployment benefits? You have to certify your job search every week, and each individual has different thresholds for past salaries, benefit levels.  You can keep your halo straight and report exactly what you’ve worked as long as you are below 250 a week.  If you work more than that you don’t lose your benefits money, it just pushes it out further.

What are the criteria for selecting a survival job? Flexibility of the hours, and the ability to continue networking.  My survival job is 3am-8am so I can still do all the job hunting during regular hours.   Don’t choose a job that doesn’t put you in the public eye.  When you are looking for a job, privacy is not a concern.  Tell everyone you are looking.  For your finances:  will it make a difference?  Does it feel good to work and get out and talk to people?  Alot of people let their pride get in the way, many people have met former vice presidents and executives working survival jobs.

Are companies hesitant to hire you because you are looking for full time employment elsewhere? Some are, some are thrilled to have solid people.

Can you grow?  Can you learn from your mistakes and from your achievements?  When you’re depressed because of your lack of employment who will listen to you?  The people at Hope Job Seekers will.  It’s hard enough finding someone who will take the time to hear you, but finding a group of people who know how you feel and truly listen is invaluable. You can network, you can share your struggles, and you can get some great information from professionals who know how to find, interview for and land jobs.

The following are notes from the March 19th, 2009 meeting of Hope Job Seekers:
Welcome from the leadership team:  We are glad you are here, and sorry at the same time.  Tonight is the Hope Job Fair, which is volunteer staffed.  Please contribute by signing up to volunteer.  Jim Bartley, the founder of Hope Job Seekers begins a devotional:  Welcome new job seekers, it’s a new chapter in your life – we propose that you pay it forward.  It’s about coming to participate, being involved, helping other people.  It’s all about encouragement and support and finding God’s will in your life.  Last week we talked about Joseph and Esther – for such a time as this I was placed here.  Open your lives to the possibility that this might be the time.  There is a good chance that relationships might get tough.  You’ve been born, you were given a name, now we can earn our eternal name.  The book of Psalms was written by a guy who knows what I’m going through.  From killing Goliath through Saul, Bathsheba and Absalom, David lived.  David has to say: Hear my cry, listen to my prayer, lead me to the rock, the refuge in the shelter of your wings.  Increase the days of the kings life, increase the days of David’s life.  Hear my plea.

The Hope Job Seekers leadership continues:  Avadon Group classes are a good thing, like Personal Selling, Advance your career, make your resume talk and more available at AvadonGroup.com.  If you are unemployed the classes are free.  Dick Hart’s class and book are 20$.  At Colonial Job Seekers on Monday there will be a Survival Job Panel.  Networking is important for  fellowship, small group accountability and prayer for each other.  Your employment is not on your time.  When God answers it is on Gods’ time.

Nancy Borst recommends the Avadon collaboration with WakeTech for resume writing, finding the right career for you in seminar format 2 or 3 afternoons a week.  You do get a completion certificate to show you are trying to advance your job search.  Volunteering is good for your resume and for networking.  Hope Job Seekers and Colonial Job Seekers are all volunteers.

Jim Bartley:  Join the Colonial and Hope Job Seekers linkedin groups (HJS, CJS), but don’t turn your back on it.  If you find a job check Hope Job Seekers for quintiles to see who has may have a contact at quintiles.  In general they are people who want to help you.  The may be unemployed but the might know people.  Companies are laying off at one door and hiring at another.  90% of jobs are found through networking as far as Jim is concerned.  Get together and ask for ideas with people who work there or might have contacts.

Nancy Borst continues with preparation tips and career fair etiquette.  She has experience on both sides of the table.  You have a list of recruiters who will be there, so target your elevator speech, resume to their materials.  Research is important, develop, practice and polish your elevator speech, summary of your experience as it will help you stand out from the pack.  Get a 3×5 card and your elevator speech should fit on it.  Practice it, know it well enough so you can answer the “tell me about yourself” question.  It needs to be 60 seconds, must be a sound bite.  Develop and target your resume, target them to the specific positions available.  The more tailored your resume, the better your research shows.  It helps to develop intelligent questions to ask.  Bring your business cards, which almost everyone accepts.  Many resumes now have to be accepted online only.  Don’t be offended if the don’t accept it because of laws or changes in policy.  Choose your recruiters, and focus your efforts and how it can add value to a particular company.  Refresh your memory about things you have done.  What is your mission, vision, values?  You have one chance to make a first impression.

What is the interviewing uniform?  Suit and tie for men.  Be professional, have your shoulders down and back.  Women – no perfume.  Everyone should have a positive attitude, be positive and enthusiastic.  When you are going to a job fair be respectful of the recruiters time, as these days they are generally doing the job of more than one person.  They are getting phone calls from hostile job seekers.  Ask about follow up steps, and a firm handshake is very important.

Bill – Have your elevator speech and your exit statement ready.  “I got fired”  is not a good exit statement.  EDS merged which eliminated jobs is much better.  Make sure you keep your job search focused – what position are you looking for?  Research will give you a good answer.  Ask about a follow up strategy, ask how they want you to follow up and then do it.  Along with talking with the recruiters, networking with fellow job seekers is part of the job fair.  With more than 200 people attending, have a big stack of cards to pass to someone else.  What do recruiters look for?  Positive attitude, passion about work, confidence, someone who has done their homework.  Looking for professionalism.

Your church is a family.  Reach out to that family as people want to help you.

People currently employed may know for positions first if they are posted internally only.  Referral bonuses intrigue people.

Steve Few recommends the book “What color is your parachute” as it answers many of your questions for today.  Another recommendation is “Job seekers in difficult markets” and “Internet job seekers”.

This particular meeting was attended by Adam Hochberg of NPR.  Hope Job Seekers is mentioned in an All Things Considered story: Out of work and need support? Try a local church. (That’s me in the center of the photo looking down at my notes)  Look ma, my ear is famous!

A job can define a large part of who you are.  You may think you have balance, but until that supporting post of employment is removed, you really don’t know how you will react.  You may find that your self worth was more tied up in your job than you realized.  It can be hard to find people who truly understand what that feels like, but sources do exist.  People at Colonial Job Seekers know exactly what job-loss feels like.  The following notes are from the March 16th meeting of Colonial Job Seekers:

Paula Bryan welcomes the group, she is a coordinator for the Job Seekers group at Colonial Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.  She introduces Doug Johnson who begins a devotional:  God is our source of sustaining power and fulfillment of needs.  When you lose your job you go through a lot of machinations.  Questions of who God is, questioning of your faith.  It’s important to talk about the adversity we are going through.  It’s easy at the top, harder in the valley.  The apostle Paul was a man who faced adversity for a long time.  He committed to Jesus when he was a young man, how would you introduce him later in life?  Reflecting on his life shows great achievement and great suffering.  Things didn’t look that good from Paul’s life.  Timothy – I am being poured out like a drink offering.  How can a man go through all of the things Paul did and still say he is ready, he kept the faith, finished the course.  God knows there is a reason for it.  Don’t waste the opportunity to see what God can do in your life.  The gift is adversity to allow you to turn to God.  Don’t waste it.  Fortify, build your faith and relationship with Christ.  Learn through adversity.  Word diligently. Open the doors.

Praise and prayer:  Interviews with Intel, Crosdale retirement village, New Hope Baptist Church, PACT International, BLU, RSI Innovation, Department of Natural Resources, Novartis, Petroleum Company, TylerFlex Medical, ESG, Unisys, GSK, Island Training, Novator Wireless, RH Donnelley, Talicris Bio-Theraputics.

There are trying times for job seekers.  Kevin (I believe) reminds us that God is still on the throne.  God is always good.  Walk by faith, not by sight.  God is still in control.  Put your faith there, do what we need to do to be uplifted and encouraged so we can be an encouragement and uplifting to others!

Next up was randomized attendance in a cross functional special interest group (SIG).  Colonial Job Seekers usually has SIG groups for particular subjects that meet every week.  This week was different in that the special interest group was expanded to include people from multiple other groups.  Among many individuals, I had the privilege of networking with Deborah Repplier, wordsmith; Kenneth Wood, Technology sales and Marketing executive; Linda Maass, Global Sustainability Engineering Professional ; Frank Chavaria Sales Executive.

There was an enormous variety of experience levels, talents, and personal backgrounds in this group of approximately 25 people.  Recommendations included: get involved with local rotary clubs or other organizations where influential, hiring managers participate.  Work our your elevator speech at 30, 60 and 120 second intervals.  Time it out and edit it.  CareerNet is meeting at St. Andrews church.  ToastMasters and other local meetup groups are a great way to network and practice your elevator speech.  Career change is a great conversation starter.

Also mentioned in the broader meetings were some general rules to follow for job fairs:

Develop and practice your elevator speech, create and bring business cards, bring copies of your resume, focus your job search strategy and communications.  You can’t go to all events, so stay focused.  Perpare questions to ask the recruiters.  Smile!  Respect the recruiters time.  Dress to impress for an interview.  Pray for each other and the people hiring.

What isn’t?  I don’t have a job.  I’m good at working, not this new full-time activity that is a job search.  The market is completely saturated.  How can I hope to find a job?  I don’t know what to do.  Finding a job is a one way process, It’s impossible for me to get any feedback.

If you’ve ever spent days looking for a job, chances are good you know what this feels like.  So do people at Hope Job Seekers. On March 12th, 2009 Hope Job Seekers met to help answer some of these questions, and provide encouragement for those struggling with their job search.  The following are my notes from the meeting:

Avadon group training class are free if you are unemployed.  Some of the courses are offered at Hope Community Church, some at the Wake County Employment Security Comission.  Dick Hart make your resume talk class, sign up as soon as possible.  The book is available at online retailers, although it’s cheapest if you buy it directly from him.  Jim Bartley recommends getting plugged into Colonial Job Seekers on Mondays from 8-11.  Colonial has more resources, and speakers twice a month.  There are plenty of other hours in a day to be looking for a job.  Make networking part of your life, the relationships are important.  Think of Esther – for such a time as this you might be able to make a relationship, business, better circumstances.  Hope Job Seekers has other resources such as resume checklists and weekly task goals to keep your job search on track.  Keep you focused.  Hope will be hosting a job fair on March 19th 5-8pm.  If you want additional visibility for the fair fill our your Bio.  Make sure you are brief with the Bio, make it similar to your elevator speech.

Jim Bartley leads a devotional – Daily audio bible on the iPod is a great resource, going through the whole bible in a year will set your course, set your compass.  Psalms was written by a man named David.  Just like you and I he was all over the map, one minute praising God and the next full of doubt.  Our victory is God’s victory.  God decrees victory, through your name we trample our foes.  In God we make our boast.  Right now is not great, why are you doing this?  Awake o lord, redeem me, and show  yourself.

Bill Wells introduces Todd Campbell – Whose job it is to help people perform better as a writer, guest speaker, coach and seminar giver.  Talking today about balance in times of stress.  Stress is your perception of the situation.  Balance comes from within.  Stress occurs when there is a gap between expectations and reality.  Create balance by changing expectations, or filling old ones.  It’s not about time, it’s about meeting needs.  The foundation of balance is having a purpose.  All of us have purpose-less times.  Purpose gives a foundation, but doesn’t meet needs.  You need components of:  Contribution: what you do, what you create;  Well Being: Live within your margins, financial, emotional well being, safety and security, self worth;  Relationships: family, friends, coworkers.

Losing a job drops many of the attributes, so what can you do?  Think about your balance.  What is it that you are doing to connect on a spiritual level.  What can you do to Contribute?  Increase your contribution, look for missions, look for ways to contribute otherwise.  Get it out of the ‘stress zone’.  Align your budget with expectations.  Understand whewre you are and take the right actions.  Make sure you have the right relationships.  Work on your purpose, understand your spirituality and how it can help you acheive balance.  What can I do to make and keep balance?