Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Excellent Turnout at Atlanta Career Expo

See a video clip of the 03/31/09 Women for Hire Career Expo!

The staff of Women for Hire (WFH) joined with volunteers to organize and run a terrific career event. Over 400 converged on Cobb Galleria for the career expo held in Atlanta, GA. Tory Johnson, the CEO of WFH, is also the workplace contributor for ABC's Good Morning America. Expo participants had the opportunity to meet with recruiters from area employers (Lowe's, McKessen, the US Gov't., etc), attend workshops on topics such as career transition and meet with professional career coaches and resume writers.

Career Coach John Long volunteered at the event. "The expo was a great success. The Women for Hire staff was friendly and professional and worked as an efficient team to ensure a well organized, smoothly run event. Participants were motivated and asked great questions as they spoke with recruiters and during the resume critiques and breakout sessions. My goal was to give participants targeted feedback on how they can immediately enhance their marketing materials, plus provide them with key resources for career transition. Thank you WFH for a great day in Atlanta."

Monday, March 30, 2009

Check out the Career Videos at WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal Online offers a nice collection of free career coaching videos on key topics of interest!

Monday, March 16, 2009

It's Time to Invest!

Maybe you have recently been downsized from your company - or you're worried about the next round of lay offs - or you're thinking it's time for a change. Now is a great time to invest in something that has the potential to pay dividends for years to come. Look it up, the ticker symbol to use is (InsertYourNameHere)! Make a committment to yourself to do something this month/this week, as a solid investment in your career.

What development activites have you participated in lately (and the grumbling begins across cyberspace)? I pose this question to my clients each and every week because I truly believe it is a damn good question. The opportunities are all around us in the form of for-credit college classes (classroom & online), continuing education classes, seminars, workshops, conferences, webinars, teleclasses, audio books...and the list goes on. But time and time again I hear the excuses...My company won't pay for that. Money is tight right now. I don't have the time. Seminars are boring.

If your company won't pay to send you to a class or seminar, here's an idea...pay for it yourself and consider it a great investment. But pick an activity that you are truly interested in and one that has received rave reviews from past participants. It seems that we still have the time and funds for premium TV channels, NetFlix, an upgrade to an iPhone, gourmet coffee, the salon, gym memberships...blah, blah, blah. Here's the reality check people - the way to compete for good jobs at good companies is to demonstrate that your knowledge and skills are current and you can bring new thinking, creativity and results to an organization. Now if you haven't taken a class since receiving that college degree 5, 7, 10 or more years ago...good luck with that approach. And if the last seminar you attended was "Tips for Debugging Windows ME", I suggest you avoid the topic of professional development at your next interview.

My point is this...skip the gourmet coffee, movie theatre or dining out for a month or two, or maybe even cancel HBO for the time being, and use that money to attend a class or a few targeted seminars. Look to professional associations, the continuing ed divison of local colleges, http://www.findaseminar.com/ to target and engage in learning that will peak your interest and give you latest and greatest info for your career.

Set yourself up for success by investing in the skills and knowledge you need to land a better fit, hopefully best fit career position.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Rethink Career & Job Fairs

Have you ever attended a job fair? Whether they are organized as a Job Fair, Career Fair, Career Expo or Career Event, etc., they CAN be worth your effort. Please don't dismiss them as cattle calls. There are some excellent events out there, events that not only truly focus on providing exposure to quality employers, but also on providing on the spot career coaching. The key to participating in fairs is to identify events that will provide you will access to qualified leads with motivated employers seeking new talent. And do your homework to identify specialty events that target specific industries/markets (Bio, MBA, Healthcare, Technology, Green, etc.).

Now don't let the term fair confuse you. You won't be eating cotton candy and riding the tilt-a-whirl...although some days of a job search may feel like you're spinning in circles or on the bumper cars. Remember to dress for success, bring copies of a polished resume and references and be prepared to enthusiasticaly market your skills, strengths and achievements. And no matter how long the day is and how long the lines are, keep smiling and project a professional, winning image. An added bonus - events that are organized by top career related firms, like Women For Hire, offer you real time access to career pros offering resume critiques and interviewing tips.

Check it out: the Women For Hire Career Expo scheduled for the Atlanta market, on 03/31/09 at Cobb Galleria. And it's not just for women - men are also encouraged to attend! I hope to see you there - join me for my presentation on Career Transition Strategies.
Here are links for other quality career events for the Atlanta Market: