Month: September 2013

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THIS WEEK’s Workshop: LinkedIn Task #1…Thursday, September 26th @ 9 AM at The Egg and I

Please SHARE this Post with a friend or two that you think may benefit from the information and interaction…Thursday, September 26th,  we’ll focus on TASK#1 in your LinkedIn account… Your personal profile.  Your LinkedIn Profile is as integral to your career transition success as your execution of a PERSONAL Marketing Plan.  The two work together to create the interactive foundation of your networking efforts.

We meet  at The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison (NW Quadrant of Montfort and Arapaho)…

Who should attend?

– Those who realize that they must ‘beef up’ their LinkedIn Profile to increase the effectiveness of their digital footprint

– Anyone who is clueless on the social media topic of ‘current employment’ when they’re UN-employed

– YOU, for a better understanding of selling yourself  vs. marketing your services

– NEW COMERS who want to ‘test the waters’ of DFWCAREERPILOT

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THIS THURSDAY’s Workshop: Achieving CareerFIT…Thursday, September 19th at 9AM @ The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison

Just what IS a good CareerFIT for you?

To achieve a good “fit” between you and any future opportunity, you have to ask yourself some basic questions about yourself and your prospective employers. The fit depends on how well the jobs meets your needs and how well your skills and abilities meet the employer’s needs. The employer will make a decision and extend an offer to you: now it is time for you to make your decision.

This week’s facilitator will be Brian Allen, Certified and EXPERT with a wide variety of assessment tools.  Please SHARE THIS POST with your network… and let them know about DFWCareerpilot!… THX

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Write out the factors that are important to you in a job… actually write out your list.  During your career transition, learn the value of setting your offer criteria, a key element of your Personal Market Plan:

  1. Creates an objective target for your efforts ahead;
  2. Gives you a meaningful set of questions to ask during research and networking;
  3. Provides an objective way to analyze and react to offers as they occur.

To manage your career wisely has you extending the same concept.  Consider some of the factors listed below … Examine each factor through the questions listed – and then ask, “does this opportunity fit me?”

Work Requirements and Expectations: What is the next  appropriate work for you? Is the work process or project oriented?  If it’s process oriented, are the requirements and expectations clear?  What kinds of projects will you work on? Will you work on one project at a time, or multiple projects? Are the projects long term or short term? Will you work on a project long enough to see the end result? Is it important to you to be able to see the project as a whole, including the result? Or will you be content to do the work without a big picture understanding?

Work Environment: Will the work space be a source of comfort and confidence for you? How formal or informal is the environment? Hectic, fast paced? Will you have the opportunity to have flex time, or to tele-commute? How many hours a week does the employer expect you to work? Will you have the freedom to wear casual clothes? What is a typical day like at the company you are considering?  Would they allow a “trial visit” or at least a site visit?

Career Path: Is there a defined succession plan? What position(s) can you move to next? How long do new hires generally stay in the same job? How quickly do people get promoted? Are your opportunities for professional development well defined and available to you? Are mentors available?

Training and Personal Development: what kind of training will you get from the employer to do the job? What kind of training will you get to stay current in your area of interest? Are the answers to these two questions different? Does it matter to you if the answers are different?

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This week Thursday, September 19th, we will focus on a strategic, more career-oriented, definition of FIT,  answering your questions and concerns at each step of the way… we’ll also get in to collateral development: resumes, correspondence, etc.  This is a great place to start for new-comers as the other Core Topics will follow in sequence… THIS WEEK’s Workshop…  Achieving CareerFIT brings focus to those elusive decisions regarding positioning and targeting your efforts.

The first five steps of the 12 step process, from assessment to beginning the evolution of your LinkedIn Profile, will be discussed.  Please SHARE THIS POST with your network… and let me know you’re planning to attend by filling out this quick RSVP… THX

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Tomorrow’s Workshop: A PREquel: Embracing The OTHER Job Market…Thursday, September 5th @ 9AM

THIS week Thursday, September 5th, we will overview the entire 12-step process, answering your questions and concerns at each step of the way… this is a great place to start for new-comers as the other Core Topics will follow in sequence.

Please SHARE THIS POST with your network.

Guest Facilitator, Brian Allen, will lead a ‘discovery’ discussion, will meet you where-EVER you are in the process and get your questions and concerns answered and addressed.

A job seeker’s Personal Marketing Plan will embrace all of the 12 Steps in our job search process.  It is meant to provide a focused and efficient approach to The OTHER Job Market…  You see, the notion of an “unpublished or hidden” job market is far from new.  However, knowledge of “The OTHER” job market, and your ability to execute your Personal Market Plan in it, will create both focus and productivity in any career transition.

In every marketplace, there are buyers and sellers.  In the traditional job market, the one that our Department of Labor “analyzes,” job seekers are the sellers and their potential employers are the buyers.  The commodity is productive work and the competition is fierce.

In the OTHER Job Market, buyers and sellers hold equal responsibility for the recruitment process.  When employers have a need for someone to fulfill a specific role, often the most desired candidates are employed individuals with the credentials they seek.  Thus the employer must sell their Company to potential employees in the marketplace in order to attract the best of the lot.  Once identified, they simply select their choice and buy their services.

The traditional job market, then, could be characterized by “requisitioned” jobs being filled by chosen job seekers.

The OTHER Job Market, on the other hand, is characterized by available/needed work being fulfilled by job seekers, contractors, internal candidates, third-party consultants, retirees, part-timers, temporary workers, etc.

Who should attend…

  • Regulars. to gain new perspective
  • New Comers, come kick the tires of a new approach to job search
  • Long term job seekers looking for a new edge… a new approach