Get Out There and Volunteer!

There is an article in my local paper this morning about volunteering. It says that as the poor economy swells, more people are using their professional skills as a volunteer. The benefits of volunteering are numerous and include:

1. Transferable Job Skills - The skills you used as an employee can now "transfer" to a volunteer organization. They keep your resume fresh. For example, if you created PowerPoint presentations at work, you can create PowerPoint presentations for a volunteer group. This activity allows you to continue learning and using your skills.
2. New Skill Development – Let’s say that you never held a leadership position at your former place of employment but as a volunteer, you now find yourself responsible for accomplishing something though a group of people or making strategic decisions. Those skills can now be listed on your resume. As a volunteer you can gather a number of valuable, interesting skills and competencies. Think facilitation, project management, event planning, data analysis, team building and others.
3. Networking - The number one way to find a job! With a volunteer activity you will be interacting with a number of other people. Those people and their contacts can become your contacts. That is a first step towards networking.
4. Possible Career Change - You may realize that you enjoy the tasks and people associated with a particular volunteer opportunity and think about a career change.
5. Community Citizen- Many organizations value service to the community and may consider this when evaluating a resume or interviewing a candidate.
5. Giving Back - This wonderful opportunity helps not only you but many others.

Some people never consider the potential and value of volunteering. Not only are you getting out of the house and away from your immediate job concerns, but you are making a difference AND enhancing your marketability.

The Overqualified Job Seeker

I've been doing a number of trainings for the class, Job Search for the Mature Worker. One of the things we inevitably get to is the Overqualified Statement. Since it is illegal to infer that someone is too old for a position, many hiring managers wonder out loud if the candidate may be overqualified for a particular position. In other words, “Why would you want this job when you are clearly three levels above it?” Some class participant’s have asked if they should dumb their resumes down. It really is a sad mess in the job quest and needlessly makes a candidate and interviewer uncomfortable. It is bad enough knowing that you are getting up there in age but it hurts more when someone in a hiring position acknowledges it.
What are my responses to this?

1. Ask for clarification. What do you mean? How do you define overqualified? Once you get a response, you may be better able to respond.
2. Expect it and be prepared. What is it about this job that you like or can compensate for a lower salary? Is it closer to your home? Can you telecommute? Do you admire their corporate responsibility? Can you work an eight hour day rather than a ten hour day? How can you contribute your knowledge and background to this company in a lesser role? Can you be a mentor? Do you really mind having a lower role in the organization/how does this align with your work values?
3. Prepare a response based upon your reflection.
4. Match your skills and accomplishments to the position. Focus on how your past accomplishments can align with the department/organizational goals.
5. Sell yourself if you really want this position.

Most companies ask this because they think that you will leave after the economy improves or if you get a better offer with a higher paying position. Why would they invest in you if you are going to leave? You can’t blame them for wondering. Be prepared and don’t let them catch you off guard.

Upcoming Job Search Training Sessions

I present highly interactive training sessions on all aspects of the job search. Come by if you are in the area. The partipant's are wonderful and the sessions are jam-packed with useful tips,techniques and tools to help you stand out in the job search. Upcoming sessins include:

3/3/10 - Job Search for the Older Worker. Randolph Library. 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
3/5/10 - Resume Review. Rutgers University. 11:30 am - 2:00 pm.
3/6/10 - Job Search for the Older Worker. Franklin Lakes Library. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
3/9/10 - Career Change for Moms Part One. Raritan Valley Community College. 10:00 am - 12:30 pm.
3/10/10 - Resume Preparation. Bound Brook Library. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
3/12/10 - Resume Review. For Rutgers University at TCONJ. 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
3/13/10 - Job Search for the Older worker. Old Tappan Library. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
3/16/10 - Career Change for Moms Part Two.- Raritan Valley Community College. 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
3/20/10 - Job Search for the Older Worker - Rockaway Public Library. 1;00 pm - 3:00 pm.
3/22/10 - Career Change. Bound Brook Public Library. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
3/23/10 - Telephone Interviewing Part One. Raritan Valley Community College. 7:00 pm - 9:00pm.
3/24/10 - Career Change for Moms. Piscataway Public Library Kennedy Branch. 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
3/25/10 - Telephone Interviewing Part Two. Raritan Valley Community College. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
4/7/10 - Interviewing Skills. Bound Brook Library. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
4/12/10 - Career Change for Moms. North Plainfield Public Library. 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
5/1/10 - Job Search for the Older Worker. Kinnelon Library. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
5/12/10 - Networking Skills. Bound Brook Library. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
5/15/10 - Interviewing Skills. Waldwick Library. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Save your Peformance Appraisals

If your company policy allows, hold on to your past performance appraisals. These are great tools to help you remember your accomplishments. Many times when we leave a company we toss or shred the papers that relate to our past performance. This includes appraisals, paper calendars, certificates of training or other achievements and awards. These documents will help refresh your memory as you try to remember all the tasks, skills and achievements from your past jobs.

A performance appraisal usually lists several goal statements and a description of how you accomplished these. If completed correctly there are usually specific descriptors of how many, how much and how you went about achieving something. Why knock yourself out trying to remember what you did when it is highlighted in your appraisal?

Excerpt from Job Search for Moms

I have finished my book, Job Search for Moms and have sent it off for publication. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from the chapter on professional networking.


Your professional networking contacts are among the peers, bosses, and businesses that you have had dealings during your years in the workplace. If you maintained a cordial, supportive, and trusting business relationship with this very important contact group, it can enhance your job search not only as networking contacts, but as future business references.
Your peers should be added to your networking worksheet. They can be grouped into two categories; those people you have worked with on a daily basis and the professional contacts from your specific industry or profession. Your work peers have similar skills and are familiar with various industry directions and contacts. They have developed relationships with relative business contacts and they may be able to help you grow your network. These individuals are familiar with your skills, knowledge, and competencies. When networking for you, they will be better able to “talk shop” in regard to your specific strengths and skills. Your peer networking group consists of the people who work in the same business, industry, or profession as you. You may have met them at a conference or business event. If you are looking to find a job in the same industry these people are important networking contacts. You may want to schedule a meeting or lunch with them to explain your situation and to ask for their advice or feedback. Again networking is not asking for a job, but for developing collaborative relationships. When meeting with a group, be prepared to discuss industry trends, technology, training methods or vendors, contacts, and advice. Networking is a two-way street. Look for and forward any business information that you think might benefit your networking contacts such as technology, new business direction, and the like.

Job Search for Moms is available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or Lulu.

Blackbird Fly

There is always someone in each job search class that asks about the unusual name of my company, Blackbird Learning Associates. "Where did you get that name?", or "Why did you name your company after a bird?" are the questions I often get.

I tell them the story and it goes like this...
When I lost my job of 21 years I was naturally very distressed, hurt and sad. As I drove home after packing up my boxes I asked my parent's (who are no longer here) to help me rediscover my direction. The radio was on in my car. As I spoke that thought out loud, the radio played the Beatles song, “Blackbird.” Now I have hummed along to that song for years but never really paid it much attention. That day, though, I listened."Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you have only waited for this moment to arise" are the words I held onto that day. It was then that I knew that if I ever opened a business, the word "Blackbird" would figure into it somehow.

Recently I decided that I shouldn't be so selfish and that I should share the Blackbird story with others. You see, I am not the only one who should spread my wings and fly. You have remarkable skills, you are resourceful and your talents are abundant. You too have only waited for this moment to arise. Go for it, soar, and know that you are a treasure. Someone will scoop you up.

Blackbird: Lennon/McCartney
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Quick Resume Tips

I'm back! I have been away from writing The Flap for so long and it is not because I ran out of ideas. Business has picked up and I am designing and facilitating training programs on Motivation Skills, Time Management, Telephone Interviewing, Career Reflection for Mothers,and Interviewing Skills for Managers. I am also very close to finishing the book, Job Search Skills for Mommies and I am hoping for a Q1 publication date.

I wanted to tell you about a resume interaction I just had at the bank. My bank is very focused on customer service. As soon as I walked in, my banker took me to his desk and handled my transaction right there. He asked how things were and I told him how I have been running around giving the job search trainings. Right then and there he asked for help with his resume.(No charge of course.)
He had absolutely no idea how to start. Since we were in his open office and had a limited window of time, I shared with him my favorite secrets:

1. Write a Summary Statement highlighting your strengths. This one or two sentence statement is your personal brand and it should make an impact.

2. Identify 6 skills that are a combination of your job knowledge and soft skills. If you get stuck identifying them, go to a job search engine, such as Indeed.com and look up your title. If your strengths include some of the job skills written there, "borrow" them for your resume. Just make sure that you can back them up with hard evidence such as your accomplishments.

3. Designing the statements describing your job function for a chronological resume is difficult. Where do you start? I sent him to the Occupational Handbook put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and had him look up the word, Banker. He was amazed that the words there described what he did at the bank. Here again, he could "borrow" the general description from the Handbook and season it with his own accomplishments.

These tips can help you get started on creating your resume. Like I told him, each resume should be targeted to every position that interests you. There is no more one size fits all.
Glad to be back.