APRIL 2012 Vol. 3, No. 4 In This Issue Welcome Editorial NEWS FEATURES Hired Learning Recent Landings Committee Spotlights Helpful Tips About PSGCNJCNJ Official Website Yahoo Group LinkedIn Programs Calendar Submit Your Bio Tech Tips Transition Tips COMMITTEES Administration Marketing Membership Opportunity Center Programs & Networking Technology Training Advanced Résumé Review Mock Interviews General Meeting and Location Mondays at 10:30 AM First United Methodist Church Basement Meeting Hall 48 West High Street Somerville, NJ Useful Links NJ Department of Labor Job Search Websites Reference USA PAGE 1 FEATURED STORIES IN THIS ISSUE: EDITOR’S NOTE – Your Current Job: Sales and Marketing by Rick Verbanas p.01 SPEAKER’S CORNER – Rick Peterson: Avoiding Common Career Pitfalls by Rick Peterson & Frances Chaves p.02 HIRED LEARNING – Armando Silva: Keys to Landing by Armando Silva & David Pastore p.04 – Debbie Hixson: Working the Hidden Job Market by Rick Verbanas p.05 RECENT LANDINGS – A List of Newly Employed PSGCNJCNJ Members p.06 COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHTS – 'Candidate-Profile’ Campaign by Ken Hitchner p.06 – 2012 PSGCNJ Job Fair by Rick Verbanas & Cynthia Lewis p.08 HELPFUL TIPS – NJ BIZ by Frances Chaves p.11 CONSULTING TIPS – The 50% Rule by George Hunter p.12 MONDAY MORNING MEETINGS – Calendar of Upcoming Topics & Speakers p.13 Your Current Job: Sales & Marketing By Rick Verbanas, Managing Editor No doubt, you have heard, "Everyone is in sales when they are in transition." No matter if you are in financing, healthcare, IT, pharma or education, you are in sales when in front of a hiring manager. No one can sell you as well as you can. But, did you know you were in Marketing, too? While it may be the sales person who closes the deal, it is often the advertising or marketing person who brings the customer in. And, as anyone in business knows, you don't close every sale. It takes several shoppers before one buys. So, are your marketing/advertising efforts getting you interviews? If so, then time to look at your closing (interview) skills. If you aren't getting as many interviews as you'd like, time to reconsider your advertising tactics. In this issue, two recent PSGCNJ alumni talk about two totally different strategies that worked for them. (See “Hired Learning” stories in this issue.) Perhaps it is time to look at your Marketing materials (resume, business cards, cover letters, etc.) to see if you need to better separate yourself from your competition. Last month, Eileen Strong gave excellent advice on “Do Your Marketing Materials Market You?” You can visit her website: http://strongincentives.com for more information or check back on our site: http://psgcnj.org/media_library.html to watch her presentation. We all want to make that big sale and land the perfect position. It starts with Marketing. Are your strategies and materials getting you enough customers? Happy Landings, Rick Verbanas
Transcript
APRIL 2012 Vol. 3, No. 4
In This Issue Welcome Editorial
NEWS FEATURES Hired Learning
Recent Landings
Committee Spotlights
Helpful Tips
About PSGCNJCNJ Official Website
Yahoo Group
LinkedIn
Programs Calendar
Submit Your Bio
Tech Tips
Transition Tips
COMMITTEES Administration
Marketing
Membership
Opportunity Center
Programs & Networking
Technology
Training Advanced Résumé Review Mock Interviews
General Meeting and Location
Mondays at 10:30 AM First United Methodist Church Basement Meeting Hall 48 West High Street Somerville, NJ
Useful Links
NJ Department of Labor
Job Search Websites
Reference USA
PAGE 1
FEATURED STORIES IN THIS ISSUE: EDITOR’S NOTE – Your Current Job: Sales and Marketing by Rick Verbanas p.01
SPEAKER’S CORNER – Rick Peterson: Avoiding Common Career Pitfalls
by Rick Peterson & Frances Chaves p.02
HIRED LEARNING – Armando Silva: Keys to Landing by Armando Silva
& David Pastore p.04
– Debbie Hixson: Working the Hidden Job Market by Rick Verbanas p.05
RECENT LANDINGS – A List of Newly Employed PSGCNJCNJ Members p.06
COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHTS – 'Candidate-Profile’ Campaign by Ken Hitchner p.06
– 2012 PSGCNJ Job Fair by Rick Verbanas & Cynthia Lewis p.08
HELPFUL TIPS – NJ BIZ by Frances Chaves p.11
CONSULTING TIPS – The 50% Rule by George Hunter p.12
Your Current Job: Sales & Marketing By Rick Verbanas, Managing Editor No doubt, you have heard, "Everyone is in sales when they are in transition." No matter if you are in financing, healthcare, IT, pharma or education, you are in sales when in front of a hiring manager. No one can sell you as well as you can. But, did you know you were in Marketing, too?
While it may be the sales person who closes the deal, it is often the advertising or marketing person who brings the customer in. And, as anyone in business knows, you don't close every sale. It takes several shoppers before one buys.
So, are your marketing/advertising efforts getting you interviews? If so, then time to look at your closing (interview) skills. If you aren't getting as many interviews as you'd like, time to reconsider your advertising tactics. In this issue, two recent PSGCNJ alumni talk about two totally different strategies that worked for them. (See “Hired Learning” stories in this issue.)
Perhaps it is time to look at your Marketing materials (resume, business cards, cover letters, etc.) to see if you need to better separate yourself from your competition. Last month, Eileen Strong gave excellent advice on “Do Your Marketing Materials Market You?” You can visit her website: http://strongincentives.com for more information or check back on our site: http://psgcnj.org/media_library.html to watch her presentation.
We all want to make that big sale and land the perfect position. It starts with Marketing. Are your strategies and materials getting you enough customers?
Robert Acquaye Julius Alberici Frances Chaves Ken Hitchner George Hunter Luann Ladley Cynthia Lewis Steve Lewkowitz Kanwal Minhas David Pastore Rick Peterson Leanne Rea Linda Sibilia Sonia Vera Rick Verbanas PAGE 2
SPEAKER’S CORNER
Rick Peterson: Avoiding
Common Transition Pitfalls
By Rick Peterson & Frances Chaves
Feeling overwhelmed and going in different directions at
once is a frequent reaction to career transition, especially
if it becomes extended. Focus, planning, and support will break the cycle of
“spinning our wheels” and becoming frustrated or depressed.
DO A SELF-ASSESSMENT CHECK
Don’t skip the self-assessment process; give it all the time it requires so you can be
sure that you know what you want to do when you grow up.
Avoid the trap of thinking that you can only do what you have done before.
Allocate sufficient time and effort to understand and identify ALL of your skills.
Do the homework to determine the career which values your special skill set.
Get feedback on your self-assessment conclusions.
CREATE A CAREER-SEARCH STRATEGY
Avoid an “ad hoc” career-search strategy by identifying specific career positions.
Don’t apply for every job that pops-up.
Give up “flavor of the week” job seeking trying to anticipate/following trends.
Don’t limit your search to only online job postings.
Write it down; don’t rely on “top-of-the-head” planning and record keeping.
Get your goals out of your head and onto paper.
Itemize the tasks required to achieve your goals; develop appropriate targets.
Record task completion.
Follow up in a timely manner.
Review and adjust your goals and plans so they become increasingly effective.
Develop accountability for progress or lack thereof by consulting PCGCNJ’s
Transition Management Team (TMT) at 9 a.m. on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of
each month before the General Membership meetings.
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Keep your “tools” sharp and be prepared.
Each position requires its own skill and experience inventories (CARs, etc.)
Research your target companies and identify networking contacts in those
companies.
Keep your expertise current and know your potential value to employers.
Identify major concerns you can address.
Write and practice 10-, 15-, and 30-second commercials for different situations.
Plan networking approaches and adjusts your tactics as needed.
Identify/anticipate questions or concerns and prepare answers in advance for
both applications and interviews.
ENABLING AND EXACERBATING ATTITUDES
Embarrassment over being “unemployed” and fear of telling people tends to
overshadow and affect every aspect of life and career search. It is essential to let
go of this. Career Transition will be the norm going forward. Remember and
repeat: You are the same valuable person you were when you were employed.
Let go of resentment over mistreatment by your previous employer. This can be
crippling. Remember! Holding onto your resentment only hurts yourself. Reform
these feelings into positive feelings for your co-workers and personal growth and
successes in your previous positions. Remember the only thing your previous
employer removed was a place to sit and a paycheck.
What can I do now?
Take a Deep Breath! Relax!
It is your career search, take control of it.
Identify where you are and where you want to be.
Pinpoint what you are struggling with and the obstacles you are facing.
Make a plan to address those struggles/obstacles and to reach your goals.
Include in your plan how you will get the assistance, training, etc. that you need
to achieve your goals.
Good luck!
Independent consultant and former IT professional Rick Peterson has experience in
multiple industries from boot strap startups to $13 billion/year global corporations.
Rick’s Ph.D. is in Instructional Psychology. Reach Rick at [email protected] .
When I first went into transition, I was excited about the
opportunity of finding a new position. After three months of
getting no results, I started getting discouraged. It was only after I started attending
networking events and joining PSGCNJ that I understood the importance of
networking and staying positive in my job-search approach.
Statistics show that the majority of people land new positions through networking. In
my case, however, that was not the way for me. I applied to a blind listing on Career
Builder. The position was a perfect match for me but since the company was not
identified I felt it was just another application sent to the “black hole of the internet.”
After six weeks, I was contacted by the hiring manager for a face-to--face interview
with her and the VP of Sales & Marketing. As it turned out, the company, Falcon
Safety Products, was one that I previously did business with.
I prepared for the interview by developing a “T Letter” and CAR stories for all the job
requirements and duties. I visited over 15 retail locations to become more familiar
with their products as well as their competitors. I also researched the company on
Reference USA, LinkedIn, and the internet to get as much information as possible.
This preparation made me very confident for the interview. The interviews went very
well and I was called back to meet the President. Shortly thereafter, I was offered a
Marketing Product Manager position.
My recommendations are:
1. Develop a job-search plan and “work it”
2. Always have your elevator speech “ready to go” – you never know when a
chance meeting will develop into a networking opportunity
3. Stay positive, don’t use age or the economy as a reason to get discouraged
4. Develop CAR stories
5. Prepare “T Letters” for all positions applied for – they’re very helpful when
preparing for interviews and writing cover letters
6. Keep your LinkedIn profile and posted resumes “fresh”
7. Become active in PSGCNJ and different networking groups
As Abby Kohut says, be realistic; if your resume isn’t getting responses, revise it and
attend PSGCNJ’s Advance Resume Review. If you’re getting interviews but no job
offers, improve your interviewing skills. Schedule a “Mock” interview.
I would like to thank everyone at PSGCNJ, especially my fellow Training Committee
members for keeping me positive and focused. Good luck to all!
PAGE 5
HIRED LEARNING
Debbie Hixson: Working the Hidden Job Market
By Rick Verbanas
The General Membership meetings won't be the same without Debbie Hixson to greet members on Monday mornings when signing in. After 15+ months since her last full-time position, Debbie landed her new role, as Office Supervisor for Right at Home in Hillsborough.
In fact, Debbie received offers from two different companies on the same day! How did she do it?
“PSGCNJ taught me the new way to job search: network, network, network," she explained. However, Debbie didn't stop there. Looking for the hidden job market, Debbie cold-called companies to see if they had any current openings for her skills. "This job opening was found by calling my target companies. The position I landed was not posted on their website," she revealed.
Debbie said the follow-up tips she received at PSGCNJ helped her land the offer. "After learning of Right At Home's open Office Supervisor position, I submitted my resume and followed up five days later. After the initial interview, I sent a thank-you email and followed up again a week later by phone and sent another thank-you email," she said.
Her assertiveness and persistence paid off. "I kept following up every week. The total time from initial contact to signing a job offer was four weeks."
As one of the Co-Chairs of the Membership Committee, Debbie recommends PSGCNJ members to get involved with a committee. She added attending the TMT (Transition Management Team) meetings on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month was very helpful. "It was the feedback I received at TMT that prompted me to expand my target companies," she said.
Congratulations, Debbie! While PSGCNJ will miss you here every Monday, we're sure you are Right at Home with your new spot for Monday mornings.
What you can do:
Attend the Monday 10:30 AM PSGCNJ General Membership meetings at
First United Methodist Church (Basement Meeting Hall), 48 West High Street, Somerville. Speakers are listed in this newsletter and at www.PSGCNJ.org: click on “Professional” at the top of the page, then on “Newsletter” in the left column.
Take a Career Beacon job-search workshop on topics such as networking, résumé writing and self-management skills. Sign-up at DoL (Department of Labor) or contact Somerville One-Stop Center at 908-704-3000.
Schedule a one-on-one résumé review meeting by emailing your résumé to
[email protected]. Receive feedback from your peers on the Career Training Committee, which meets at the DoL Building in Somerville.
Join the Transition Management Team (TMT) to support your job search. TMT
meets at 9am on the second and fourth Mondays before the General Membership Meeting. Contact Emmanuel “Manny” Inyang from the DoL for more information.
JOIN A COMMITTEE! It looks great on your résumé; it gives you something
good to talk about in your interview; it’s a great way to network; and PSGCNJ needs your support.
RECENT LANDINGS Congratulations to the PSGCNJ members who have landed. This is a partial list: 3/6/12 Debra Hixson, Office Supervisor, Right at Home 3/12/2012 Leslie Bounan, Patient Care Technician, Somerset Medical Center 3/16/12 Mara Acevedo, Paralegal, Gotham
Technology 3/19/12 Armando Silva, Product Manager, Falcon Safety Products 3/19/12 Arlene Goromboly, Trainer, Training Associates 3/19/12 Kimberly Mende When you land in your new career, please remember to update your co-chair with the name of your company and title of your new position!
COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT: Marketing
PSGCNJ Members Respond to ‘Candidate-Profile’ Campaign
By Kenneth Hitchner
A recent PSGCNJ marketing campaign motivated 50 members, or 45 percent, to improve their online professional profiles, leading up to the PSGCNJ job fair. As a free benefit, PSGCNJ allows its members to submit their own short biographies, called “Candidate Profiles” that are sent to area hiring managers each month. In addition, every company that participated in the 2012 Job Fair received a list of the members’ profiles. In the weeks leading up to the job fair, the Marketing Committee, in conjunction with the Membership Committee, launched a 30-day “Candidate-Profile” campaign from February 8th through March 8th that generated the following results:
PAGE 7
31 members or 28% of the database, submitted profiles for the first time.
19 members, or 17% of the database, revised existing profiles.
40 members, or 36% of the database, include a branding statement.
During the campaign, web-traffic increased more than four-fold as 493 unique visitors (16.4/daily) went to www.PSGCNJ.org, where the Candidate Profiles are displayed. In contrast, 107 unique visitors (3.6 daily) went to the site 30 days before the campaign launched. Several tactics were employed to promote the campaign:
Marketing Co-Chairs made announcements during the General Membership meetings and via group email.
The Marketing Committee created a one-page flyer, “Brand Yourself – Before Someone Else Does,” that was distributed to the membership at meetings and training sessions. It was also distributed via group email.
A special Candidate-Profile session was held during a General Membership meeting.
Marketing Committee members volunteered to help 20 members with their profiles during the last 72 hours of the campaign. (In total, 16 members asked for assistance.)
On February 6, 2012, the PSGCNJ Co-Chairs unanimously voted to allow members to add personal branding statements to their Candidate Profiles, an act that prompted the marketing campaign.
Do you have a Candidate Profile? To check your current bio, visit http://www.PSGCNJ.org and click on Candidate Profiles in the left-hand column. If you have not submitted or want to revise your candidate profile: 1. Write a bio with the title you are wishing to pursue, a personal branding statement (in 1st
person), a brief description of your skills and one or two accomplishments. Write your profile in 3rd person (not using “I”) and keep within 5-7 sentences. 2. Place the last six digits of your PSGCNJ ID at the beginning on your bio. Your
PSGCNJ ID can be found on the white plastic card you received from the One-Stop Career Center when you joined.
3. Email to [email protected] with your full name. (This is the same email address you would send any updates to a current bio.)
2012 PSGCNJ Job Fair: Featuring a “Great Diversity of Candidates” By Rick Verbanas and Cynthia Lewis After a four-month blitz by PSGCNJ, the 2012 Job Fair held at the Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) was the most successful and well-organized career fair to date. Over 200 job seekers and nearly 30 diverse companies attended what was described as a “well organized event. It was a great source of potential applicants.” Among the companies present were; Alpine Business Systems, Prudential, The Port Authority of NY and NJ, TD Bank, Bonnie Brae, Benjamin Moore Paints, Bio NJ, The Home Depot, Informatic Technologies, Telcordia Technologies, Devereux Foundation, LifeCell, The Execu|Search Group and more than a dozen more. The companies who exhibited had the following to say after the event: “Yet again another great turnout.” “Job fair was very well done. Good turnout of customers and vendors.” “Great diversity of candidates. Everyone from PSGCNJ was professional and helpful to us.” “A lot of great candidates. Good location.” “Excellent job, great service. Very organized. Well put together. Very professional.” “All the attendees were very professional and well prepared.” The overall success of the event was due to a collaborative effort from each of the PSGCNJ committees. Including planning, contacting companies, handling logistics, creating marketing materials, training proper etiquette, developing and administrating candidate profiles Each committee contributed their particular expertise. At the time this issue went to press, some attendees are reporting they are being contacted for interviews. One pleased PSGCNJ member, Frances Chaves, was invited to meet with one of the companies she met at the Job Fair. “This was my first job fair. I didn’t know what to expect from attending but, I’m delighted to have heard from Bonnie Brae and look forward to meeting with them,” Chaves said. Remember, just as you would follow up with a hiring manager after an interview, be sure to follow up with those potential employers you met at the Job Fair. PSGCNJ would also like to acknowledge and thank the New Brunswick PSGCNJ for their participation in the planning for this event and to the RVCC for allowing use of their facilities. If you receive an interview or job offer from any of the companies who exhibited at the PSGCNJ Job Fair, please email [email protected] for tracking purposes.
I used to have to travel a lot for work when my kids were young. I made a promise to myself and my family I would never miss being home with them on a Saturday morning. Sometimes, I’d need to make it home by the “50% Rule.”
For example, I was in San Francisco and a snowstorm hit home in New Jersey, wreaking havoc with the cross-country flights. Everyone else surrendered being stuck in San Francisco, or sat around the airport in hopes of getting back east via standby. I hopped on a flight to Chicago – 50% of the way home, and then took a flight from Chicago to DC (another 50%) and from there I took a train to Philly. In Philly, I rented a car and was home by Saturday morning when my kids woke up.
You may want to consider the same approach to your job search. Instead of thinking “all or nothing,” go for 50%.
Look at your talents and see how you can break down what you have to offer into individual segments. Search for companies that need your skills and apply for contract work – something that will cover 20 hours, half a full-time week. Now, keep on pitching for the next 50%. Let's say you get ten more hours in contract work for another client – now you just have ten more to go. Keep it up.
If I get even 10% more before I land that other 50%, I look at it as I’m still making more than twice unemployment and I’m on my way.
Try it yourself. It will help you find the rest – people will listen, and they’ll like your chutzpah. The 50% Rule allows you to make your goal manageable, attainable, and in your grasp.
If it works, and you strive for success, perhaps one of these will become 100% - full time! If not, you’ll still have one heck of a good consultation practice with quite a few clients.
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MONDAY MORNING
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Please check our Program Events Calendar for more information: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/PSGCNJ/cal
START YOUR WEEK RIGHT with TMT (Transition Management Team) - the 2nd
and 4th week of every month at 9:00am before the General Meeting at 10:30am
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you have an idea or a suggestion for PSGCNJ, or a request for a specific topic to appear in this newsletter, please send it to: Rick Verbanas at [email protected]
