Gabriella Calzolari's presentation on LinkedIn

With over 1 million members, LinkedIn is a growing professional networking site used by companies, hiring managers, job seekers and those currently employed as a way of making connections, gathering information and following trends. Gabriella Calzolari, director of recruitment and selection at Northwest Mutual, gave workshop attendees a good overview of how to use the site to your maximum advantage.

By joining an industry, alumni or common interest group, you can easily make multiple connections and learn what your peers and their organizations are involved in. Your LinkedIn profile should not be an exact copy of your resume; instead, Gabriella suggested listing your top five strengths for which you want to be recognized. Asking for and giving endorsements of skills helps to boost your profile as well.

Other tips that Gabriella offered were to be anonymous when looking at employers' profiles, reorder the way in which others will view your own profile, and include a professional head shot so you'll be more recognizable. Also, be sure to include nicknames, previous names and alternate spellings of your name(s) to make it easier for people to find you. For job seekers, she noted that it's a good idea to include your status in your title so that recruiters and potential employers will be aware of your availability. Some companies have even made it possible to apply for a position directly from LinkedIn, a time-saving and easy shortcut to the often cumbersome on-line application process.

As for formatting, bullets make your profile easier to read. Don't make it too long, and list your accomplishments instead of your duties and responsibilities. You can also post articles and quotes to make your profile more interesting.

Finally, Gabriella recommended following companies and people you admire, and looking at the LinkedIn pages of employers. She concluded her presentation by answering questions and offering one-on-one help to those who would like it. 

Posted by Cynthia Carlson

Talk on LinkedIn on May 28

LinkedIn is the most effective professional networking tool today. Every professional should have a LinkedIn profile. If you are looking for some tips on how to create an account and start networking, attend our WIN meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 6:30-8 PM.

Gabriella Calzolari, Director of HR, Northwestern Mutual will teach you how to establish a presence on LinkedIn and grow your network. She will also help you learn how to effectively search and use filters; have an appealing profile (title, work history, skills); join groups; and post articles.

Limited spots available, so please register from the Calendar link on the library website or click here.

Dr. Becker's Informative Presentation

Drawing from his years of experience working with hiring managers, human resources professionals and executives, Ethan Becker, president and senior coaching partner of The Speech Improvement Company, Inc., shared some practical, proven techniques for people to use before, during and after the interview. He started by defining the interview as the "getting and receiving of information."

Because nervousness is often a concern for interviewees, Dr. Becker demonstrated two techniques to help control the accompanying physical symptoms: diaphragmatic breathing and, what he called the "ten second relaxer," a subtle way in which to create a pressure point to which to redirect stress.

He discussed the four elements of an interview that candidates should think about and focus on: time; place; people, and purpose; and how each of those elements factors into the interview experience. He also outlined five key pieces of information that the candidate should be sure to incorporate into the interview: a can-do statement to reinforce your ability to perform the job; a benefit statement illustrating how your contributions will benefit the team and the company; your experience and background and how they'll translate to the new position; your work style and; an action statement such as asking for a time frame for a decision.

Dr. Becker stressed the importance of having a theme for your candidacy so that you can be sure to convey the most important thing you want the interviewer to remember about you professionally and personally. A theme can be a valuable tool to guide candidates when they're faced with a question they're not quite sure how to answer. Themes should be reinforced with examples and stories to make them more relevant to the discussion.

The presentation concluded with some excellent advice - Always be authentic. Attendees received some customized answers to their specific questions, and left with a firmer understanding of the interview process and how to successfully navigate through it.

Cynthia Carlson, WIN Coordinator

Interview With Confidence by Dr. Ethan Becker

Our next WIN workshop is on May 14, 6:30-8 PM.

Dr. Ethan Becker, President and Senior Coaching Partner with The Speech Improvement Company, Inc., is also the co-author of the book Mastering Communication at Work. He is energetic and inspirational as both a trainer and coach to his clients. 

At this workshop, you can learn skills and techniques from a professional coach to ensure that you present yourself with clarity and confidence during the job interview. This workshop will allow you to leave a job interview with the confidence that you presented yourself in a clear, confident and effective manner. 

Please register for the workshop by clicking here.

Presentation by Jolene Jennings

Presenter Jolene Jennings provided thoughtful and helpful insight into the advantages of volunteering your professional expertise while looking for your next job. Ms. Jennings, site director of Jericho Road Project in Worcester, started by giving an overview of the agency's mission, which is two-fold: to match the professional skills of volunteers with the needs of community-based non-profit organizations to help with strategy and development for long-term growth, expansion and improvement, and; The Leadership Connection, which provides governance training for board development. 

Both job seekers and organizations benefit from skills-based partnerships--the job-seeker by remaining active in his/her profession while they're not working in a paid position, and the organization by receiving expert advice and guidance at no cost. Currently there are 30 non-profit organizations in the Worcester area which have projects in progress with the assistance of Jericho Road volunteers.

There are other benefits for job seekers as well. Through their volunteer work, job seekers can make good networking connections which can be very helpful during their job search. Recent statistics show that volunteers may increase their chances of finding a paid position by 27%.

Ms. Jennings, who holds a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Management from Worcester State University, has twenty years of successful professional leadership in both the non-profit and volunteer arenas. Her presentation was truly inspirational and provided valuable information about the many ways in which volunteering can be a positive alternative strategy for job seekers while providing much-needed support to the area's non-profit organizations.
You can find out more information at  www.jerichoroadproject.org/Worcester 

Cynthia Carlson, WIN Coordinator

Jericho Road Project - A Volunteering Opportunity - WIN program on April 23rd

Jericho Road connects volunteer experts with nonprofits that offer critical services to under-served residents in their communities. In addition to volunteer matching, Jericho Road also trains and places corporate leaders on nonprofit boards through our Leadership Connection Program. Jolene Jennings, Director of the Worcester branch, has twenty years experience producing visible impact in the nonprofit sector in Worcester County. She has created, enhanced and managed organizational structure and effectiveness in areas of anti-hunger, entrepreneurship, elder services, self-sufficiency, and volunteerism, and has been a dedicated advocate for girls and women’s personal and professional development since 2002. Her leadership and accomplishments include: Founding Member and Board Officer for Dress for Success Worcester; Interim Director for the Center for Women & Enterprise Worcester; and Founder and Sole Proprietor of Wise Women Resource. She will talk about what Jericho Road Worcester does and how people can use their professional skills to volunteer and stay involved at nonprofits in need between employment. Please register for the workshop by clicking here

"Your Elevator Speech" by Anne Crawford

Starting the presentation with her own "elevator speech", career coach and presenter Anne Crawford gave job seekers an effective formula for creating their own quick, concise summary of who they are and what they do.

The first element? Your name! That's followed by a short explanation of what you do--and what you can do for a company or organization. The last component is identifying your target market, which should give enough information to provoke a follow-up question from the listener. That gives the job seeker the opportunity to expand on his/her skills, talents and accomplishments.

Anne first worked with the group as a whole, offering suggestions for improving current elevator speeches for those who shared them. Then she divided the audience into smaller groups where participants helped each other create effective elevator speeches following Anne's suggestions. Job seekers left the meeting with a clearer sense of their goals and achievements and how to effectively communicate them at a moment's notice.

Posted by Cynthia Carlson, WIN participant