The Stories We Choose To Tell by Sarah M. Kipp

Sarah M. Kipp has over twenty years of experience as a writing coach, educator, and speaker. She has coaching certificates from the International Coach Federation and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). In 2007, Sarah founded Express Yourself Write, a coaching and advising firm for leaders. Check out her wesbite, www.SarahMKipp.com. 

On February 25th, Sarah addressed WIN participants and spoke on the topic, The Stories We Choose To Tell. She began by posing the questions:
To whom do we tell our stories?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
She urged participants to notice the stories they tell themselves; the stories they tell others and what draws them to other people's stories. 

Remember that you are telling a story when you are attending an interview or interacting with people. It's important to pay attention to Intentionality, Content and Authenticity. 
Intentionality - What kind of impression do we want to create on our listeners?
Content - Show, instead of tell. Highlight your positive traits with examples or anecdotes.
Authenticity - Convey that you are genuine by your body language, eye contact, passion and the aura that you exude.

Sarah's engaging presentation gave participants a chance to reflect and rethink their strategies while interacting with their coworkers, family members or strangers. 

"Creating a Winning Resume" - Presentation by Jesse Sherwood

Jesse Sherwood has held the position of Manager, Financial Services with Prudential Financial, Greater New England Financial Group since 1995. He gave an excellent presentation on How to Create a Winning Resume. 
He listed the important components of a resume:
Header: Name, Address, Phone number, E-mail
Objective: Without using the word Objective, state your objective - a concise statement of what you want to do
Summary of Qualifications: focus on experience, areas of expertise and professional skills 
Employment History: Company names, dates of employers and titles
Responsibilities and results achieved
Additional relevant information, such as certifications, licenses, languages you speak etc
Education

A resume's purpose is to get you a face-to-face interview. A one-page resume is ideal; if you have two pages, highlight the salient points on the first page. Jesse went over the two kinds of resumes - functional and chronological. Create a functional resume if your experience has been gained in different, unconnected jobs. Use a chronological resume if you are applying for a position in highly traditional fields. Lots of tips that the attendees appreciated. 

Happy 2015 - 2 exciting workshops in January

Two Work Initiative Network (WIN) workshops in January at the Shrewsbury Public Library, 214 Lake Street, Shrewsbury

Seven Wonders of the Social Media World (Social Media 101) by Alicia Williams- Wed, Jan 14, 6:30-8 PM

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Pinterest. Google+. Tumblr. Instagram. The Seven Wonders of the Social Media World. You've heard of them. You've been told 'your business should be on social media.' But you're unconvinced, overwhelmed, or stuck at square one. Alicia Williams explains why a social media presence is vital to modern business success, demystifies and differentiates these Seven Wonders (the seven most popular social media networks today), and determines which channels are essential for your company.

Mastering the Seven Wonders (Social Media 102) by Alicia Williams- Wed, Jan 28, 6:30-8 PM

You've learned to distinguish the Seven Wonders of the Social Media World (if you attended the WIN session on January 14th) and established your company's social media presence, but you're unsure how—exactly—to continuously and successfully market your business in the social world. In Mastering The Seven Wonders, Alicia Williams arms you with the necessary tools to expertly navigate these seven most popular social media networks, optimize frequency of social posts, and consistently create effective messages that cultivate lasting engagement.

To register for the Jan 14 workshop, please click here.

To register for the Jan 28 workshop, please click here

Branding Yourself Online and In Person by Rachelle Lappinen

Rachelle Lappinen, Career Counselor at YWCA, shared tips for online job hunting on December 10 at our last WIN meeting for the year. She went over the "7 things to become an All Star on LinkedIn," that include Industry and Location; Current Position; 2 past positions; Education; Skills; Professional profile photo; and at least 50 connections. She encouraged participants to update their LinkedIn status at least once a week and share links to relevant newspaper articles or any announcements.

Rachelle shared statistics on the percentage of people who get their jobs from networking - it's a whopping 60%. She encouraged participants to go to networking meetings; seek informational interviews at the company that they are interested in; and connect to people via LinkedIn groups. Rachelle's presentation was really informative and appreciated by all the attendees.

Digital Dirt: How to Manage Your Online Reputation by Jaclyn Jarmulowicz

I thought that I had met Jaclyn before (in a WIN seminar) and she had impressed me, so I was pleased when she walked in the door last Wednesday night.  Jaclyn Jarmulowicz is a young, pretty, energetic woman who works for Employment and Training Resources, currently assigned to the Youth Team in Lowell.

Digital Dirt, covering many different types of social networking, is a huge topic.  We started with class introductions; there were more than 15 of us and we were a very diverse group.  Some of us are ‘in transition’ and some are still working but looking for better situations; some attendees were anxious to learn about social networking for their job search or for their volunteer work.

In her introduction, Jaclyn shared some interesting statistics.  Do you know that if Facebook was a country its population would be the third highest in the world?  That’s right – China, then India, then Facebook!  Social media is here to stay.  We’ve got to Take Control:  Come to Terms With It, Learn It, Own It, Address It, Brand It.

We were led through a quick discussion of various websites that we can use in a job search or for our own enjoyment:

Facebook – Use this site to fight age bias; prove to future employers that you know what you’re doing in this technological world!  Use this site for networking; find friends or friends of friends who can give you insight to a company you are considering.  You can also set up a Facebook page for your small business or for a worthy cause that you are supporting.

Branch Out – This is a service just recently bought by Facebook to search out job opportunities.  Log in through your Facebook account.

Twitter – This is a website used by high-paced professional workers to filter information, to have control of information you receive, and to be the first to get breaking news.  ‘Twitter is a great source of information.’

Instagram – Show your creative side and use this website to share photos and videos (with captions).  It’s the perfect tool to create a portfolio of your work, to use to raise awareness for a cause or to do fundraising.

Google Alert – You can do a Google Alert on yourself or on any companies that you are interested in.  (Go to google.com/alerts)

PIPL.com – This website will help you to pull public records information – anything that your name is attached to that is open to the public to view.  Use PIPL to keep track of topics that could impact your career.

LinkedIn – This is the #1 candidate sourcing tool used by recruiters.  The website lists what you did and when you did it.  Some hints:

Be sure your current job is listed in the current section; many recruiters don’t look further than this. 

If you’re unemployed, call yourself ‘In Transition,’ (ex.  I’m a Customer Service Rep/ Physical Therapist/ Software Engineer in Transition). 

In LinkedIn, it’s all about the buzz words.  Read other people’s job descriptions to get some hints on updated language to use.

Try to get lots of referrals and recommendations on your page.

Lastly, include a photo!!!  Recruiters call sites without photos ‘incomplete.’  And no selfies!!  Get someone to take a clear picture of you against a solid background when your clothes and hair look stylish.

Jaclyn shared some thoughts on ‘Best Practices’ when posting on any social media.  Don’t put in any comments on politics, religion, or race.  People reading your comments could pre-judge you, and not read further. 

Last words – ‘A job search can be overwhelming and confusing.’  Do use the one-stop centers as a job-hunting source. Got to ETRCC.com.  Thanks, Jaclyn, for some great advice.

Posted by Linda Wagner, WIN Participant

Sarah Kipp's excellent presentation on "Communicate to Connect"

Too bad it was raining on Wednesday night.  A lot of people missed a very interesting presentation by Sarah Kipp, ‘Communicate to Connect.’

For a better connection when we communicate, we should concentrate on our clarity and our confidence.  (These hints work for oral, as well as written, communication.)

Sarah spoke about many aspects of communication but, due to limited time, spent most of the class talking about preparedness.  How do we ensure better communication?  Preparation, engagement and feedback.  Think about your speaking event, interview, or conversation/ discussion in advance when you can.  Sarah suggested thinking TAP-F:  Topic, Audience, Purpose, Form.

Topic:  Be sure that you know your stuff!  A question was asked about what to do about unexpected interview questions.  Prepare as much as you can.  If you are ready for the questions you can anticipate, then you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed with surprises.  Don’t be afraid to take a moment to gather your thoughts. 

Audience:  Look at your communication through the eyes of the other person.

We need to be clear about what we want to say, but good communicators should also have a good grasp about what the listener needs to hear.  What is going on in their minds?  What motivates them?  Why do they care to be part of your conversation?

Purpose:  What is the purpose of this speaking event or interview?  To inform, persuade, entertain?  You might have to change your style slightly to be sure that you are offering your listener what they are expecting.    

Form:  What is the structure of your speaking event?  Will you be in an office or a conference room or an auditorium?  Will you have a one-on-one interview or will you be doing a presentation in front of 200 people?  Find out as much as possible so that you can have confidence in your surroundings.

After a class question about confidence, Sarah shared her Bruce Schneider poster of Seven Levels of Energetic Self-Perception.  Look at yourself honestly.

How do you want to show yourself?  If you want to make a confident impression, show yourself as confident.  Visualize yourself in your ‘communicating’ position – what appearance to you want to portray?

What can you do to get your energy level up?  Use your own strategies.  When getting ready for speaking occasions, Sarah shared with the group that she uses a special song, gets the beat inside her.  It lifts her up, energizes her.

We ended the class with a short discussion on Feedback.  Though our feedback after speaking events is mostly self (‘I answered that question very well.’ or ‘I should have stressed my experience more.’), try to find occasions to record yourself.  If you do Skype or phone calls, use a recorder to see how you are sounding to others.  Then be frank with yourself -  How could I have made my communication better?

I’m going to take Sarah’s advice.  I need to be self-aware – stay in that confident place.  I’ll spend time preparing before an interview.  I’ll keep my energy level up.  I’ll self-reflect afterwards.  Thanks Sarah.

Posted by Linda Wagner, WIN Participant

Mike Chase's presentation

Mike Chase, a meeting and events manager specializing in executive briefings, meeting management and facilitation, gave some valuable tips for job seekers. His 10 steps to shorten the job search are simple but effective tools that would help job seekers.

• ·         Got organized?
• ·         Got dressed?
• ·         Got focus?
• ·         Got reality?
• ·         Got training?
• ·         Got brand?
• ·         Got connected?
• ·         Got buddies?
• ·         Got incentives?
• ·         Got balance?

He elaborated and gave pointers for each of the ten categories. A very valuable presentation that was appreciated by the participants.

I would like to thank the Shrewsbury Fire Department for letting us use their meeting space while the Library is transitioning to a temporary site.