50+ Re-employment Group met on Monday, 11 February 2013 at Jewish Family Services in Dallas, Texas. Allison Harding led this session that was attended by 21 people. Allison is the Director of Career Employment Services at Jewish Family Services - Dallas.

Every person in the workforce or looking for employment should have a LinkedIn profile that is 100 percent complete. Unemployed persons network through their LinkedIn contacts to find people in their target companies.

Resume on Monster, Career Finder, Indeed, and similar websites needs to be generic. This resume needs to be updated weekly to keep it near the top of the list that recruiters see; otherwise, it moves further down the list each week. Recruiters look at resumes near the top of the list only. When a recruiter responds to a resume on one of these websites, continue to use that resume instead of providing a customized resume.

There are two categories of recruiter: executive/independent and corporate/in-house. The executive/independent is NOT interested in a job seeker unless they see potential to place them in a job. The only get paid when they match an applicant to an employer. Corporate/in-house recruiters are typically 21 to 28 years old who are looking at 200 to 1000 resumes each business day.

Do NOT pay for job search tools. There are plenty of FREE tools for job searches.

Jobs from $35,000 to $70,000 are GONE! They are on the road or highway to NOWHERE. These jobs have been replaced by entry level jobs at $25,000 plus bonuses. Get off of the NOWHERE highway, and get out of your box. Go to professional society meetings and volunteer. Every place where you interact with people provides opportunities to meet somebody who will provide information that leads to a job. You never know when or where you will meet the person.

Likewise, stay in contact with former colleagues. People who you have worked with know what you can do and enjoy doing; therefore, they can recognize job opportunities that might be a good fit for you and provide you information that might lead to your next job.

There is an average of 1000 applicants for each job description. Each resume gets seven seconds of the recruiter’s attention. Buzz words need to be near the top of resume. If the recruiter sees something related to the job they are trying to fill, they will read more of that resume.

Use STAR stories in interviews to distinguish yourself from other applicants. STAR is a mnemonic for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Thus, a STAR story describes a situation, the task or action performed to produce the result.  Hiring managers are more likely to remember the candidate who told a STAR story than candidates who do not tell STAR stories. 

Networking Lunch on Friday, 09 November 2012 was at Jason’s Deli, 4801 W. Parker Road, Plano, Texas. Nine people participated including: Lee Brucker, Sue Heusing, Scott Parker, Mark Siegel, Judith Rhodes, and Joyce E. Dunst. 

North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group meet on Friday, 09 November 2012 at Christ United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. Jeff Morris moderates this group. Elizabeth McCormack described her experience in Army Warrant Officer School and helicopter Flight School.

NEXT WEEK: Jeff Morris will talk about the redesigned CareerDFW and recently launched CareerUSA. Also 4th Anniversary Party for North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group will be held.

CareerConnection has moved from Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church to University Park United Methodist Church; both churches are in Dallas, Texas. The first session at University Park United Methodist Church will be Tuesday, 06 November 2012.

CareerConnection now meets each Tuesday from 10:00 AM to noon at University Park United Methodist Church, 4024 Caruth Blvd. (Preston and Caruth), Dallas, Texas 75225. There is a NEW member orientation on Tuesdays from 8:45 AM to 10:00 AM. For more info go to www.careerconnection.org or call 214-739-7153. There is a $20 registration fee and $10 per month fee for CareerConnection.

Career Jump-Start met on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 at First United Methodist Church of Richardson, Texas. About 42 people were present to learn from a panel of human resources experts. Panelists were: Kurt VandeMotter, Myra Olvera, Joyce Wood, and Sedrick Evans. Kurt VandeMotter is a principal at Calise & Co.  Myra Olvera is a manager in human resources at Borden Dairy Company. Joyce Wood is a contract recruiter. Sedrick Evans is a human resources consultant to Dean Foods.  Advice provided by this panel includes:

• Keep a positive attitude
• Select an accountability partner or team of up to three or four persons
• Resumes need to match interests and be tailored to each job description
• Tell a great story about yourself
• Include a professional summary in your resume 
• Understand that average recruiters read only the top one half of the first page of each resume
• Interviews continue through conversations with receptionist, breaks, lunch, etc. 
• Realize that the CEO’s secretary might be giving the receptionist a break and participating in your interview
• Two-minute introduction provides response to request to tell about yourself – have this memorized to overcome nervousness 
• When possible, tour the business (retail store) before going to the interview
• Research the company thoroughly 
• Phone interviews are some of the hardest - dress for the job and watch your expressions in a mirror – expressions are conveyed over the telephone 
• Follow-up with a thank you (details were debated)
• Answer why they should hire you

NEXT WEEK: NO MEETING on Tuesday 03 July 2012 due to the Independence Day Holiday on 04 July 2012

Career Jump-Start usually meets on Tuesday evenings at First United Methodist Church, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas 75080. Official information about this group is available at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CJS-HPUMC/ and  http://www.fumcr.com/pages/caring_career_support. 

North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group met on Friday, 25 May 2012 at the City of Plano - Preston Meadow Park Pavilion for networking and their third annual un-company picnic. The formal networking meeting agenda included:

• Announcement of Landings
• Announcement of Interviews
• Announcement of Job Fairs
• Announcement of Workshops
• Announcement of Practice Interview Sessions
• Reading of the Career Tip-of-the-Week – Networking Tools
• 30-second commercials

There was more networking while the hot dogs cooked. Items provided as part of the picnic were:

• Two hot dogs
• Bag of chips
• One large cookie
• Two soft drinks

Other food items (fruit salad, baked beans, deserts, etc.) were shared by members of the group. Everything tasted wonderful. The strong wind was somewhat troublesome and uncomfortable. Otherwise, I believe everybody enjoyed the meeting and networking.

Next Meeting: Friday, 01 June 2012 at Christ United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas (the typical meeting location) will be Open Forum. 

Career Jump-Start met on Tuesday, 22 May 2012 at First United Methodist Church of Richardson, Texas. Between 20 and 30 persons were present and heard Dave Peters’ program about Networking.

Serve others to serve yourself.

Good old Boy network is detrimental to networking.

Build a quality network.

Assertive Leaders serve others before their self.

Target companies should be listed vertically rather than horizontally. This places your most desired company at the top of the list with other companies being less desirable the lower they are in the list.

Companies treat employees in one of two ways: as a commodity or as a resource.

How do we setup a network? Approach networking like you will always be networking. Add contacts to your network based on predetermined criteria such as:

1.       They should be in the 95th percentile of what they do.

2.       They should value honesty and ethics beyond reproach.

3.       They should be flexible and adaptable.

4.       They should be servant leaders.

5.       They should have a passion for what they do.

This list of criteria should be customized to fit your specific needs.

Use the World Wide Web to identify where you want to work, and then use LinkedIn to find people in that company. Contact these people to determine if the company will be a good fit.

Setup an advisory board of four or five people who will guide your efforts.

Setup a support group.

Employment Transition Ministry (ETM), setup 12 years ago, is the other career support ministry of First United Methodist Church of Richardson, Texas.

NEXT WEEK: Curt Fuller will describe a marketing plan to send to your networking group.

Career Jump-Start usually meets on Tuesday evenings at First United Methodist Church, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas 75080. Official information about this group is available at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CJS-HPUMC/ or http://www.fumcr.com/pages/caring_career_support. 

United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church met on Saturday, 12 May 2012. Eight were present at this meeting. Reasons for the small turnout are unknown. Topics discussed included: 

• Delivery of scholarship certificates to recipients’
• Fund raising through golf tournaments
• We need to publicize Messenger of Hope Golf Tournament on the Internet
• We need to get more sponsors for the Messenger of Hope Golf Tournament
• Lunch to honor scholarship recipients on 20 May 2012 – 85 to 100 people are expected to attend this lunch

The North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group met on Friday, 11 May 2012 at Christ United Methodist Church, 3101 Coit Road Plano, Texas 75075. The agenda included:

• Landings – there was one
• Good News – one member had four interviews this week
• Job Fairs this coming week (Refer to CareerDFW.org)
• Workshops this coming week (Refer to CareerDFW.org)
• Interview practice scheduled with a group member
• Plans for picnic
• Career Tip of the Week
• New Member Orientation (across the hall) & 30-Second Commercials (in main room)
• Guest Speaker: John Jacobs, M.C.R., Senior Vice President, Richardson, Texas – Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Jacobs reviewed changes that have occurred in Richardson, Texas since 2000. In 2000, Telecom Corridor was the main feature of Richardson. Between 2000 and 2002, Richardson lost 20,000 jobs causing it to have a double-digit unemployment rate. Today, the big three companies in Richardson are: AT&T, Bank of America, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

There are ten data centers in Richardson with four more in the planning stages. Over half of all Internet traffic passes through Richardson each day.

Empty office space in Richardson is the result of Blue Cross Blue Shield building a new campus in Richardson and moving out of former office space.

Richardson is the second largest day-time employer in the area; Dallas is the largest. The variety of transportation options in Richardson makes this possible.

Networking is the most effective was to find employment – 80 percent of people who land find that job through people they know.

Mr. Jacobs described some of the newest employers in Richardson.

Today’s economy has an extremely mobile workforce. Many people are making places such as Starbucks their office. These people can use https://liquidspace.com/ to locate and rent office space. This functionality is also available with Apps for iPhone and Android.

Next Meeting: Friday, 18 May 2012 Dennis J. O'Hagan, GRI, IRES, CDPE, AHS, SFR will talk about the Information Interview

Jewish Family Services – 50+ Networking Group met on Monday, 07 May 2012. Allison Harding led this meeting.

Key point made in the workshop lead by Jay Arbetter earlier in the day: make the person you are talking with know you like or love them.

A 30-second commercial should include:

• Names of target companies
• Description of what you do and job title
• What you want to do
• If changing careers, what is the desired career
• Specific statement of what you want to explore or what you want to sell
• Identification of who you are – NOT a job description
• Personality

Pain spotting involves identifying what you are doing wrong and changing it.

We all have something to offer; we need to figure out how to package it.

Emphasize different characteristics and traits depending on who you are talking with.

• When talking to Human Resources, they want safety and no problems. 
• When talking to a Director, they want somebody to save or make money, is knowledgeable, and looks good.
• When talking to CFO/COO/CEO, they want a big thinker, rock star, and problem solver. They want someone who is smarter than they are who will accomplish goals and win. 

This 50+ Networking Group meets on most Monday afternoons at Jewish Family Services of Greater Dallas, 5402 Arapaho Road - Dallas, Texas 75248. Official information for this group and other networking groups hosted by Jewish Family Services of Greater Dallas is available at http://www.jfsdallas.org/ and http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/JFS-CareerNet/.