August 26 Job Seekers Networking Meeting Minutes

 

Minutes from August 26, 2009 meeting of Be The Change Baederwood
Job seekers forum
 
Meeting held at the Elkins Estate http://www.elkinsestate.org.  Meeting was called to order by Meg Sheketoff, President of the Be The Change Baederwood.
 
Announcements:
 

  • A representative from CTAS (Cheltenham Township Adult School) http://www.cheltenhamadultschool.org/index.htm came and spoke to us about the speaker series and highlighted some notable and local celebrities who were part of the series which begins in September.  Please go to their website for additional information about dates, times, venue and tickets.

 

  • Ms. Pappas from the Elkins Estate, http://www.elkinsestate.org/meetings-events.html, spoke about the upcoming gala fundraising event scheduled for September 12.  They need volunteers to help prepare, give docent tours, greet VIP's, prepare the venue, clean- up and set up.  There will be a meeting Thursday, September 3 for volunteers.  Please come out and help out.  The Elkins Estate has been instrumental and generous in its support of BTCB, please donate your time to ensure they have a successful event.  
    • Also, they are in need of books for the library.  If you have health books or books about the local area which you want to donate, please drop off the books to the Estate. On Thursday, August 27 at 2 pm a group of volunteers will get together to shelve the books collected to date.  Please come out and help.
  • Donations were requested to keep Be The Change Baederwood viable.  THANK YOU
  • Abington Food Bank is in great need for donations of food to the food bank.  Please do what you can to support this humanitarian effort to assist our neighbors.
  • Time Bank kickoff and Health Care are the topics for our next meeting September 23.  Please come out to learn more about the health care debate and make your voice heard.  We will have Mark Stier from HCAN, http://blog.hcanpa.org/, Athena Ford from PUP, http://www.philaup.org,  and others to be announced.

 
Job Seekers Network Forum

  • Connie Collins-Brick, Chair Community committee, Moderated the Job Seekers Forum
    • Barbara Taylor, Partner, JanBara Associates, a Leadership Development - Executive Coaching - Organizational Development Coaching Consultancy http://www.janbara.com
      • Ms. Taylor distributed useful handouts and information about resume writing, job search structure, technique, coaching and job search process.
        • Ms. Taylor reviewed: resume structure, content [objective], length [generally maximum of 2 pages 3 if absolutely necessary], typeface [11 point should be the smallest type], power words, length of work experience and the pros and cons of various methods for providing a snapshot of your skills and abilities.
        • Job search technique: appropriate etiquette for informational interviews and soft calling.  How to network tips and techniques
        • Resource - " What Color is Your Parachute"  offers useful tips on job search, presentation, interviewing and networking.
        • Ms Taylor took questions from the audience.
      • Ms. Taylor's book "Leading the Way to Success" from Insight Publishing was raffled off.  Copies of the book were also available for sale at the end of the meeting.
    • Athena Ford, Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP), http://www.philaup.org, spoke about the services and programs offered through PUP for people in need of information
      • Job Club - this is a program provided through PUP they meet at the PUP offices every Wednesday @ 10 am  Their program is geared more toward entry level positions, but offers job seekers the opportunity to participate.
      • Volunteering is a terrific way to stay active involved and network your way into a new job or career opportunity.
      • HEMAP - is an emergency housing assistance program in Pennsylvania designed to assist PA residents who may need help with paying rent or mortgage.  There is a counselor available at PUP to help you complete the paperwork and provide advice.
      • Filing for Unemployment - if you need advice about filing and or appealing unemployment, they have law students and legal counsel available to assist you with your unemployment matters if additional assistance is required.
      • Health Care Navigator - There are people on staff who can help obtain and source health care insurance.
    • Steve Lember, SCORE - Jenkintown, http://www.score513.org, is a volunteer organization of seasoned entrepeneurs and retired executives and small business owners who offer practical advice and assistance to individuals considering starting their own business.  They assist with business plan development, market research, mentoring, practical well thought out advice on business structure.  They are funded in part by the SBA [Small Business Administration a federal agency]
    • Due to budget cuts Career Link was unable to send someone to talk about the services and courses offered by Pennsylvania to job seekers.  
      • They offer job clubs, job counseling, mock interviewing, career advice, live training sessions on how to determine the right job for you based on your skills and experience
      • Check them out at http://www.cwds.state.pa.us/
    • Marsha Levell, Job seeker, spoke about: job search, job seekers club and online tools
      • Dealing with job loss: DON'T burn bridges, assess your skills, determine what your next job step will be, determine your financial needs.  A good resource for this is a book by Lita Epstein, "Surviving a Job Layoff"
      • Assessing the job landscape: Most jobs are acquired through Networking nearly 80%, next is advertisements online and job boards 12%, 8% through going directly to local companies
        • Networking is about letting people know you need a job.  Thinking about how to describe why you are unemployed, and crafting an elevator speech 30-90 seconds describing what you do, what your skills are, and what you are looking for from your next job.  People can help you better if they know and understand what you need
        • Putting together a job search:  Getting a job is a job, so set aside time every day to write letters, make phone calls, peruse job boards and web spiders.
          • A good resource for job search structure and resources is : Knock 'Em Dead books by Martin Yate, the full text is available online at www.knockemdead.com he has produced 
            • Knock 'Em Dead Resumes
            • Knock 'Em Dead Cover Letters
            • Knock 'Em Dead 2009 or 2010 updated annually to help you structure a job search
          • Online networking - connect with colleagues, research companies, find jobs, find hiring managers and human resources contacts or simply find someone you know who works at a company you are interested in targeting or applying to for an available position.
            • Linked In, right now is the largest and most robust online business networking website.  http://www.linkedin.com is free and extremely useful.  you can create your own webpage in linked in by entering information about your work experience, more description about your experience than you would place on a resume, education, certifications and licenses.  You can use this webpage as an online resume depository with more flourish.
            • Success Hawk, http://www.successhawk.com
            • Plaxo, http://www.plaxo.com
            • Namyz, http://www.namyz.com
            • Spoke, http://www.spoke.com
            • There are others, google search can help you find affinity or industry / job related networking sites.
          • Web spiders - are websites which search (trawl) through other websites to locate job opportunities by job title, location and salary.  These are free and you can set up a system where the web spiders will email you with daily or weekly updates
          • Job banks
          • An email will go out to those expressing an interest in participating in the job search club.
  • Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.

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