The Art of You by Rob Sarnie - February 10, 2016

Rob Sarnie, a Shrewsbury resident, is currently a Vice President of IT Product Management in the Corporate Technology Group at Fidelity Investments. Rob brings over 27 years of leadership experience. He is an IT executive who focuses on helping associates across Fidelity with Personal Branding, Career Planning, and maintaining a strong focus on the team.

During our WIN workshop on February 10th, Rob Sarnie invited participants to answer these questions;
Who are you?
What makes you unique?
What makes you a superman/superwoman?

These questions can be answered if you analyze your strengths, ask your co-workers how they view you and then create a "personal brand", that is unique. If you know your skills, capabilities and competencies and most importantly, the core values that shape you, you can define yourself.

Rob emphasized that it's important to promote your brand during all interactions and encounters whether in person or via email or on social media. The 4 key aspects of your brand are your look, how you sound, how you act, and what you believe. "Your brand is your reputation over time."

A very informative and interactive session that was beneficial to all the participants.

"Show Them, Don't Tell Them" with Joanne Dennison

No wonder Joanne Dennison is known as "The Guidance Counselor for Grown-ups!" She drew in the participants at the meeting on December 9th, elicited their stories, and gave them valuable feedback.

She shared nuggets such as:

• Have three or more go-to words - adjectives that describe you and build your stories around them.
• Don't let the interviewer take control of the interview. You have to steer the conversation so that you highlight your strengths.
• Give examples from your work experience to demonstrate what you've done to create an impact in your company.
• Ask your friends or colleagues to use three words to describe you. Remember that "compliments are gifts given to you."
• You could also tell your stories to your friends and ask them to say what qualities are revealed through those stories.

Practical information that will help job seekers and anyone who wants to communicate effectively. Thank you Joanne! 

The Interview as Seen From the Other Side of the Table by Bruce MacDonald

On 10/14 Bruce MacDonald gave some great interview tips:

• Think of the questions you would ask if someone was interviewing for the job you're applying to
• Understand the needs of any job before you're interviewed
• The hiring process is designed to weed you out, so prove that you're the best person for the job
• Learn about interview styles, possible questions, responses and traps
• Before the interview, there can be phone screening, video screening or in-person screening
• Find out about the company from their website, social media pages or the employee handbook, if you can get it
• Be ready for a behavioral interview or a situational or case interview.
• Avoid canned answers and cliches
• Be ready with examples or how you improved a situation and have quantifiable results

Some trap questions to be wary of:

• What is the worst job or supervisor you ever had?
• Describe a negative review you received
• What would you change about your last job?
• What do you do in your spare time?

Be prepared with a few questions to ask the interviewer. Some examples are:

• How will I be reviewed? When? By whom?
• Describe the culture of your company
• What is the typical career trajectory for this job?
• Do you have any reservations about me that I can address for you now?

All the attendees enjoyed Bruce's presentation.

Network! Network! Network!

Found an interesting article about networking that I wanted to share:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecenizalevine/2015/08/09/a-3-step-process-to-ensure-you-keep-networking-even-after-you-land-the-job/

I would also like to let you know that the meeting room at the Library (214 Lake Street) is reserved for the WIN group on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 6:30-8 PM. You are welcome to come and network during that time and practice your elevator speeches or do mock interviews. I'm sure all of you have experiences that will help someone else in their career paths and everyone could benefit from networking. 

The meeting room is available on August 26th, September 9th, September 23rd, October 14th and October 28th. So, please avail yourselves of the space. Also, please let me know if one of you would like to do a presentation on any job-search related topic and I'll communicate it to the group. If I invite special speakers, I'll let you know; but, the Library is for the community members to gather and be engaged and that is what I would like to facilitate. 

Building an Effective and Selective Network

Ellen Goodman, Financial Adviser with Prudential Finances, shared her knowledge and advice on enhancing your sphere of influence and strategies to achieve your personal and professional goals. 

Having spent the last 20 plus years in the financial services industry, primarily dealing with large corporations, Ellen felt that she needed to find a professional environment, where she could deal with people on an individual level.  As her passion in life has always been to help people through education and counseling, it was a natural fit for her to join Prudential as a Financial Adviser. Over the course of Ellen’s career, she’s helped clients by providing expertise, insight, and access to the financial products that can help them achieve their goals.

Linda Townsend's presentation on The Importance of Feedback

On May 13th, Linda Townsend, Principal, Townsend Coaching Partners, gave a valuable presentation on The Importance of Feedback. She explained how feedback can be solicited and the ways in which feedback can help us. 

Feedback helps:

• Uncover blindspots
• Build self-awareness
• Provide course correction
• Improve performance
• Enrich relationships
• Boost self-esteem

She elaborated on what are the right questions to be asked and from whom one can solicit feedback. 

She mentioned a couple online feedback tools:
360Reach - http://www.reachcc.com/360reach

https://popforms.com

Thank you, Linda, for a great presentation!

Resources at Workforce Career Center

On April 22nd, Roy Lucas from the Workforce Central Career Center shared information about the resources available at the Center in Worcester. Here is a link to the website: http://www.workforcecentralma.org/job-seeker-services

Thank you, Roy, for your presentation!