Job Search Jam Sessions ready to return June 14

The economic outlook still has no prediction on a return to ‘full employment’. Recent Dept of Labor statistics show more than 3 applicants for each posted job and hundreds more dropping off the unemployment count.

This Job Search Jam Sessions event will provide you with help for your job search and explore alternatives like entrepreneurship. Sessions will provide you with the tips and tricks to build your network and explore the use of social media tools.

While many runners train for a long time to start the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, the Job Search Jam Sessions is an event to help you prepare to deal with your job search. “This is an ‘unconference’ for the unemployed and underemployed,” says Steve Sherlock, lead organizer. “The event’s organizers and session facilitators all have experience dealing with the challenges of layoffs and unemployment, and they are enthusiastic about sharing what they’ve learned to help your job search.”

In coordination with the Hopkinton Networking Group, Job Search Jam Session 4 will offer networking opportunities and motivational support for unemployed and under-unemployed workers.  New and recent college graduates are welcome to participate to learn and share the tips and tricks of the job search.

Job Search Jam Session 4 is scheduled for Friday, June 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The location: St. John the Evangelist Parish Center, 20 Church Street, Hopkinton, Mass. The event has the capacity to serve up to two hundred job seekers from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and anyone willing to get to Hopkinton.

Persons interested in attending should register at http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com. 

The cost is – $8 per person.  You can pay via credit card or cash at the door. 

Attendees will be asked to check in at the Parish Center on Jun 14, between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m.  Coffee, refreshments and snacks will be available for the morning and afternoon break. Lunch will also be served during the conference.  

Proceeds from ticket sales will help defray expenses. Any ‘profit’ will be donated to the Church in return for the use of their facility.

Directions to the St. John the Evangelist Parish Center can be found on the church’s website (http://www.stjohnhopkinton.com).

“Job Search Jam Session participants will be able to acquire dozens of new LinkedIn connections. More importantly, they will share experiences from the job search with their peers, learn what has worked for others, and at the end of the day they’ll return home more informed, more confident and motivated to pursue new opportunities.”

Job Search Jam Sessions Agenda

The event will feature both seminar-like sessions and informal opportunities to network in small groups. Speakers are still being lined up. The agenda will be adapted to reflect the needs and interests of participants. There will be sessions devoted to job interviews, your elevator pitch, and the use of social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Information on specific sessions will be posted to http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com as the schedule is filled in.

What sessions would you like to see?

If you have a suggestion for a session that you would either like to participate in or offer to lead, or a question that you would like to see addressed during the event, please use this form to submit your idea.

"Building a Job Search Toolbox"

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a speaker, Randall Warniers. The facilitator for this week will be Salpi Sarafian. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. In the second hour, Randall will talk about "Building a Job Search Toolbox."

 

 

Building a Job Search Toolbox

 

A clean suit, a good resume, shined shoes, and a smile are no longer enough to compete in a wired world and a rapidly changing marketplace. Today's new world of work demands an expanded set of job-search skills. This presentation will describe the necessary skills a modern job seeker needs to compete effectively and be employable. Some of these skills are traditional (interpersonal networking), some are new (social media), and some are radical (are you on YouTube?). Knowing the tools you need to bring your job search up to date is an essential step in finding your next position.

 

 

About Randall Warniers

Randall Warniers is an editor, writer, book designer, publisher, and photographer. He wrote computer graphics software for many years, and then spent nearly two decades in the world of publishing as managing editor of a research journal at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Currently he is working as an editor and designer on six book projects. He is also an instructor in photography at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, where he currently teaches "Mastering Digital Photography" and other classes, and at the MIT Media Lab, where he teaches "Camera Clinic" and "Workflow Clinic." In 2009 and 2010 he was a facilitator and member of the leadership team at Acton Networkers.

 

Recap of HNG Meeting of April 5, 2013:

 

Our 97th meeting of HNG had 40 people, this is 20 more than the previous meeting 12 signed the New Member list. Elinor Kerr was our facilitator. There were 6 introduction speeches.

 

There was one landing:

Jill Mann Starting at Quintiles, a healthcare company in Cambridge, in sales.

 

We had a speaker, Elinor Kerr, who talked about "Job Search from the Perspective of HR."

 

Her topic discussed job searches from both sides of the desk, in order to clarify for candidates what’s involved from the HR perspective and how they can differentiate themselves from the pack. She discussed how jobs are found; information on helpful websites; steps HR uses in the hiring process; what candidates can do to combat a lull in activity; how to prep References; how improved communications between HR and the Hiring Manager will benefit you; and what a candidate can do to improve his/her chance of receiving an offer.

 

 

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

 

April 19, 2013 Randall Warniers "Building a Job Search Toolbox"

 

General Information:

The networking group meets in Hopkinton, at St. John the Evangelist Church parish hall. The meeting occurs, from 10 to 12 noon, and will meet the first and third Friday of the month. The parish hall has a capacity for 250 people and there is plenty of parking spaces in the parking lot and on the street. Around the perimeter of the parish hall are rooms to allow us to have focused network groups or for any other purpose we need. We chose the first and third Friday to allow everyone to attend the Acton Networking Group or any other networking group, if they wanted, on the Friday we do not meet.

We will maintain our close affiliation with Acton Networkers by using the same list-server to share information between the groups. Any e-mails specific to the Hopkinton Networking Group (HNG) will be indicated in the subject line either by "Hopkinton Networking Group" or "HNG"; this way anyone attending these meetings will know the e-mail is intended for them.


We will follow the following agenda items:
* Welcome
* Landings (with doughnuts)
* Announcements
* New member introductions
* Needs and Leads
* Speaker(s), Workshop, or Focus Group
* Cleanup


For those new members who give their introductions, this is what we would like to know:
* Name
* Skills and Value Statement
* Where have you been?
* Where are you going?
* Your title
* Your target companies
* Geography of search
* Name and e-mail address


If anyone wants to join our team, please let one of us know; we could always use the extra help and input for ideas.


Directions:
Take Rt. 495 North/South and get off Exit 21A. Go through three traffic lights. Colella's Supermarket is on the right at the third traffic light. The first street after the third traffic light is Church Street, take a right turn. The church is on the right. Go around to the left of the parking lot and go into the side entrance of the parish hall.


Depending upon where you live, perhaps you may want to use Mapquest for a more direct route. The address of the church is:
St. John the Evangelist
20 Church Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748


Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators: 
Elinor Kerr               elinorkerr@...

Gil Krispien             g.krispien@...
William Lam            wmlam508@...
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@...
Salpi Sarafian         ssarafian@...