how to find your next job workshop - day 1

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Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty of How to Find Your Next Job

Day 1

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Introductions

• Name

• Area of Job Search

• One Word that Describes Your Search

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Agenda

• Assessing Your Skills

• Bridging the Skills Gap

• Identifying the Best Opportunities

• Understanding Company Culture

• St. Louis Job Angels

• Resume Writing

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Career Plan• Explore YOU with skills assessment • Understand Occupation and Opportunities• Identify Transferable Skills• Career Training, Education and Experience• Putting YOU on paper• Networking and a Mentor• Presenting You• Tracking Progress

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MindMap of Job Search

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First Steps

• Be sure to file for unemployment benefits. Information can be found at:– labor.mo.gov/des/claims/index.asp for Missouri– www.ides.state.il.us/individual/online_claim.asp for

Illinois.

• Register with Career Centers– Missouricareersource.com or illinoisworknet.com

• Research programs available to you while you are unemployed: – labor.mo.gov/DES/Claims/public_programs.asp in

Missouri

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Assessing Your Skills

• Read previous performance reviews

• Ask for feedback

• Document key task, activities and accomplishments for each position

• Think volunteer and day-to-day life, not just professional

• Understand what you like versus dislike

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Finding Your Occupational Profile

• CareerOneStop.org

• Browse Occupations (left hand corner)

• Select Specific Occupation

• Select State – Missouri or Illinois

• Occupational Profile will Display

• Recommend viewing in Printer-Friendly Version

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Sections of Occupational Profile• Description • Wages – try not to focus on this section• Trends

– Growth– Openings

• Knowledge, Skills & Abilities• Tasks & Activities• Tools & Technology• Education & Training

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Assess Your Skills

1. Highlight HARD skills (can do when you walk in the door)

2. Highlight training skills (what they need to be trained in)

3. Highlight a different color what you don’t like to do.

4. Mark all you LOVE to do.

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Position Yourself

• Where are your GAPS?

• Can you or will you close the GAPS?

• What training do you need?

• Update skills to close gaps

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2010 Skills Gap Report

• Conducted by UM – St. Louis College of Business Administration

• Steve Finkelstein, Sr. Partner at Experience on Demand

• Conducted Jan. 2010 with 317 respondents

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2010 Critical Skills

• Active Listening

• Customer-Orientation

• Critical/ Analytical Thinking

• Oral Communications

• Time Management

• Teamwork/ Collaborations

• Written Communications

• Prioritization & Focus

• Decision Making

• Leadership

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2010 Skills Gap

• Leadership• People Management /

Supervisory • Change Management• Strategic Planning• Written

Communications

• Prioritization/Focus• Active Listening• Time Management• Critical / Analytical

Thinking• Lean Thinking /

Process Improvement

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First Impressions

• What impression do you want to give?

• What impression are you giving?

• Things to consider:– Physical Appearance– Attitude and Tone– Interest and Attention– Knowledge – Drive and Energy

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15 MINUTE BREAK

• INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO ONE PERSON WHO YOU DO NOT KNOW.

• FIND SOMETHING OUT ABOUT THAT PERSON THAT WOULD HELP YOU REFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO THEM

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Companies Who Hire

• CareerOneStop.org

• Under MORE RESOURCES select America’s Career Infonet

• Select Employer Locator

• Select location, occupation

• Research Companies

• Google Alert

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Positions & Postings

• MissouriCareerSource.com

• Search by Job Titles NOT keywords

• READ Carefully

• Typically three sections– Company Info– Position Description– Position Requirements

• Find Key Points

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Job Search Resources

• Sample Job Application– http://bouncebackstl.org/wordpress/?p=966

• Application Tracking System (Job Search Log)– http://bouncebackstl.org/wordpress/?p=606

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Company Culture

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What is Corporate Culture?

• Shared values and practices of the employees

• May not match published culture

• The company’s personality

• How people do their work

• Culture sets how we behave

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What is Corporate Culture?

• Sub-cultures can exist

• Industries have culture too

• The culture can change over time

• Values

• Ethics

• Beliefs

• Personality Traits

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Understanding Impact

• Ignoring the culture or working against culture will lead to failure

• There isn’t a RIGHT or WRONG culture, just a right or wrong FIT

• Company Values, Beliefs and Ethics must be compatible with Individual

• A company with unethical or illegal business practices; or sick culture will self-destruct.

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Research A Company’s Culture

• Company Website• Public Relations Materials• People in your Network• The CEO or Owners• Corporate structure• Rankings• Public filings• Wetfeet.com & glassdoor.com

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Questions to Ask

• What is the energy of the company?• What is your leadership style?• How do people solve problems in the

organization?• Is the company innovative? How?• Support for professional growth?

– Education Reimbursement– Additional Responsibilities

• Rate of turnover?

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Questions to Ask

• Employee morale?• Style of dress?• Length of work day?• Support for work/life balance?• Ease and frequency of communication

internally?• Why is there an opening? What happened with

the person who previously had my position?

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Words that might describe an Organization

• Driven• Aggressive• Friendly• Engaged• Defensive• Passive• Responsible

• Tough

• Fair

• Active

• Analytical

• Open

• Productive

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Our regional work force is evolving away from

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Towards new industries

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The old methods of job acquisition

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What do these things have in common?

• See a Broadway play

• Perform brain surgery

• Come to a wedding

• Donate blood

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National Job Angels

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Time for a new jobs strategy

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St. Louis 1st local chapter!

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Join up!

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Some other LinkedIn groups

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Good luck with your job search!

David Strom

(310) 857-6867

[email protected]

http://strominator.com

http://webinformant.tv

Slides available:

http://slideshare.net/davidstrom

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15 MINUTE BREAK

• INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO ONE PERSON WHO YOU DO NOT KNOW.

• FIND SOMETHING OUT ABOUT THAT PERSON THAT WOULD HELP YOU REFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO THEM

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Resume WritingResume WritingYour Sales BrochureYour Sales Brochure

Property of Property of Frank Frank

DanzoDanzo

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AgendaAgenda Purpose of your resumePurpose of your resume Become a newspaper editorBecome a newspaper editor Clarity of your resumeClarity of your resume Thirty second thumb testThirty second thumb test Constructing your resumeConstructing your resume Results Action FormatResults Action Format Electronically sending your resumeElectronically sending your resume

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Your Resume Sales BrochureYour Resume Sales BrochurePurpose of a ResumePurpose of a Resume

Support your selling effortsSupport your selling efforts Communicate two messagesCommunicate two messages

1.1. What type of job you are looking forWhat type of job you are looking for2.2. Why you are qualified to do this jobWhy you are qualified to do this job

Generate Interest in learning more about youGenerate Interest in learning more about you Start a conversation with youStart a conversation with you

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Your Resume Sales BrochureYour Resume Sales Brochure

A Resume is….

Sales ToolSales Tool Snapshot of your careerSnapshot of your career Employer screeningEmployer screening

A Resume is not…

ConfessionalConfessional History BookHistory Book Job ApplicationJob Application

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Resume do’s….

Be truthfulBe truthful Use action verbsUse action verbs Use numbersUse numbers Highlight skillsHighlight skills Highlight accomplishmentsHighlight accomplishments No more than two pagesNo more than two pages Review for accuracyReview for accuracy

Resume don’ts…

Include referencesInclude references Start sentences with “I”Start sentences with “I” AbbreviateAbbreviate Use past industry jargonUse past industry jargon Include personal informationInclude personal information

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Number of resumesNumber of resumes

One resume that is your best effortOne resume that is your best effort Only modify your resume when applying for a specific jobOnly modify your resume when applying for a specific job Make sure you are talking their languageMake sure you are talking their language

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You are the Editor of your newspaper

“Karen Muth Times”

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You are writing the front page for your newspaper

•What is the headline?

•What are the support stories?

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What will motivate someone

to pick up your newspaper

and read it?

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Exercise OneExercise One

1.1. Take out your resumeTake out your resume2.2. Turn it over face downTurn it over face down3.3. Hand it to the person on your leftHand it to the person on your left4.4. If you know this person pass it to some elseIf you know this person pass it to some else

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Exercise OneExercise One

When instructed turn the resume overWhen instructed turn the resume over You will have 30 seconds to to answer two questionsYou will have 30 seconds to to answer two questions

1.1. What type of job is this person looking for?What type of job is this person looking for?2.2. Two reasons why they are qualified for this type of job?Two reasons why they are qualified for this type of job?

Write your answers on the top of the resumeWrite your answers on the top of the resume Return the resume to its ownerReturn the resume to its owner

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Thirty Second Thumb TestThirty Second Thumb Test

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Exercise TwoExercise Two

Fold the first page of your resume in halfFold the first page of your resume in half Hand it to the person on your rightHand it to the person on your right If you know this person pass it on to someone elseIf you know this person pass it on to someone else

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Exercise TwoExercise Two

When instructed read the first half page resumeWhen instructed read the first half page resume You have 30 seconds to decide if the resume passes the thirty You have 30 seconds to decide if the resume passes the thirty

second thumb testsecond thumb test

Write pass or fail on the top of the resumeWrite pass or fail on the top of the resume Hand it back to its ownerHand it back to its owner

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ProfileNarrative describing your function, transferable skills and personal characteristics. These are the features of the product you are selling “YOU”. No more than four lines long.

•Three or four accomplishments in the results action format• Demonstrates application of transferable skills• Creditability of producing results

Unique training, experience or ability

Name and contact information

Work Experience in chronological order

Education and Training

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Professional Affiliations and Military

Community Services

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ProfileNarrative describing your function, transferable skills and personal characteristics. These are the features of the product you are selling “YOU”. No more than four lines long.

•Three or four accomplishments in the results action format• Demonstrates application of transferable skills• Creditability of producing results

Unique training, experience or ability

Name and contact information

This portion of your resume is the most valuable real estate you have. Invest the right amount of time to make sure it is on target.

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Your Resume Sales BrochureYour Resume Sales BrochureHow to send your resumeHow to send your resume

Convert to PDF so that you do not have to worry about formattingConvert to PDF so that you do not have to worry about formatting Create a text only version in case required by an online applicationCreate a text only version in case required by an online application Eliminate all graphics such as linesEliminate all graphics such as lines Eliminate all formatting such as bold, margins or centeringEliminate all formatting such as bold, margins or centering Set margins to 65 charactersSet margins to 65 characters Use basic font such as Arial, Times New Roman or CourierUse basic font such as Arial, Times New Roman or Courier Use space key to indent instead of tabs or alignmentUse space key to indent instead of tabs or alignment Save as Plain TextSave as Plain Text

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Purpose of a ResumePurpose of a Resume

Support your selling effortsSupport your selling efforts Communicate two messagesCommunicate two messages

1.1. What type of job you are looking forWhat type of job you are looking for2.2. Why you are qualified to do this jobWhy you are qualified to do this job

Generate Interest in learning more about youGenerate Interest in learning more about you Start a conversation with youStart a conversation with you

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You are writing the front page for your newspaper

•What is the headline?

•What are the support stories?

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Wrap-up

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Resources

• Bounce Back St. Louis: Bouncebackstl.org• MERIC (MO Economic Research and

Information Center): Missourieconomy.org• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Bls.org• Careeronestop.org• www.business.gov/industries/self-employed/ • Illinois WorkNet

– http://www.illinoisworknetjobsearch.com/jobbanks/default.asp?session=jobsearch&geo=&areatype=90

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Resources

• Wetfeet.com & glassdoor.com

• Investor Relations - http://www.irin.com/cgi-bin/main.cgi

• http://www.corporateinformation.com/

• Personality Tests: http://www.similarminds.com/personality_tests.html