How to Turn Interviews from Interrogations into Conversations

Hello Everyone, 

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker Joellyn Schwerdlin. The facilitator for this week will be Gil Krispien, filling in for Laura Startzenbach who has a phone screen Friday morning. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Joellyn will talk about "How to Turn Interviews from Interrogations into Conversations."

This is the 5th anniversary meeting of the Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) and what better way to celebrate this special occasion than to have Joellyn come back for her eighth visit.

How to Turn Interviews from Interrogations into Conversations

She will deliver the information in two parts: 

1) Performance and Preparation: How to use a “four categories of interview questions” strategy to help you: a) cut down on interview prep time; b) ease nervousness and performance anxiety; c) allow your best communication and human relations skills as well as enthusiasm for the job to shine through; d) engage authentically with the interviewers instead of feeling like you're stuck under the "kleig lights" of Q & A mode. 

2) Close-out and Follow-Up: a) How to answer “Do You Have Any Questions for Me?” at the end of the interview; b) how to establish a solid foundation for following up professionally at the end of the interview and afterward.

Joellyn will also be raffling off a book: "301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview" by John Kador. 

Joellyn Schwerdlin

Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin is a Certified Career Management Coach in private practice, serving executives, managers and professionals who need help with career redirection and productive job searching. Since 1991, Joellyn has coached countless clients in multiple industries and situations onto perfect career paths that are fun, fulfilling and financially-rewarding. Learn more about her services at www.career-success-coach.com.

Recap of HNG Meeting of April 4, 2014:

Our 119th meeting of HNG had 32 people, this is 11 more than the previous meeting; 2 signed the New Member list. William Lam was our facilitator. There were 2 introduction speeches. 

Four landings:
Chris Gruszka Started April 14, 2014 at Hitachi Data Systems in Waltham. (He was out nearly 11 months)
Gail Brodie Started April 14, 2014 at Saint-Gobati (She was out 5 years and 5 days, with short duration jobs in between)
Denise Pellegrino Started April 7, 2014 at Asend Learning in Burlington
Tom O'Connor Started Aril 7, 2014 as a Business Systems Analyst at Beacon Health Strategies in Boston (He was out 11 months)

We had speaker Randall Warniers who talked about "Networking From A to Z."
His topic included:
Networking is much more than an outreach activity you do when you are unemployed. It is an ongoing strategy for building and maintaining good relationships in the workplace and in your personal life. In this slide presentation and discussion he used the alphabet as an organizational tool to find new ways to highlight the essential components of a networking strategy. If your networking skills need to be energized, then this talk provided new insights and a new context for looking at what you can do.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

May 2, 2014 Tom Ingrasia and Jared Chrudinsky "Motivating to Activate Your True Potential"

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: 
Sheri Ablaza sheriablaza@gmail.com
Grace Carcich gracec814@gmail.com 
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com 
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net 
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com 
Laura Startzenbach laura.startzenbach@gmail.com 

HNG Agenda April 4, 2014; Speaker on "Networking From A to Z"

Hello Everyone,  

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker Randall Warniers. The facilitator for this week will be William Lam. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Randall will talk about "Networking From A to Z."

We had Susan Buckey scheduled for this Friday's meeting; however, she had to cancel because of an important meeting that was set up at the same time. Fortunately, when I spoke with Randall, he indicated that he had Friday available, so he was kind enough to bail us out at the last moment.  The presentation Randall will give is an excellent one, and I saw it a few weeks ago at St. Matthews, so for those that might have missed it or perhaps want to see it again, then come to Hopkinton.

Networking From A to Z

Networking is much more than an outreach activity you do when you are unemployed. It is an ongoing strategy for building and maintaining good relationships in the workplace and in your personal life. In this slide presentation and discussion we will use the alphabet as an organizational tool to find new ways to highlight the essential components of a networking strategy. If your networking skills need to be energized, then this talk will provide new insights and a new context for looking at what you can do.

Randall Warniers

Randall Warniers spent nearly two decades in the world of publishing as managing editor of a research journal at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Currently he is a freelance editor, book designer, and publisher. He is also an instructor in photography at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. In 2009 and 2010 he was a facilitator and member of the leadership team at Acton Networkers.

Recap of HNG Meeting of March 21, 2014:

Our 118th meeting of HNG had 21 people,  this is 22 less than the previous meeting; 3 signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were 5 introduction speeches.

Two landings:

Kathleen Hendrick     Project Manager at Blackduck Software starting March 31, 2014

Tadas Petronis         Started March 14, 2014 at Hipower Energy in Acton heading up their logistics efforts

We had speaker Mario Tardif who talked about "Filling in the Gap- Getting in Shape and Volunteer- All at the same place."

His topic included:

Through `Membership for All the Y is open to everyone regardless of ability to pay. Start your day with a great work out that leaves you energized and ready for a productive job search. Especially for those of us over 50 - we need to show that we can still do the job. We can also help you fill in the time gaps with wonderful opportunities to volunteer and help your community at the same

time.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

April 18, 2014    Joellyn Schwerdlin      "How to Turn Interviews From Interrogations Into Conversations"

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:

Sheri Ablaza            sheriablaza@gmail.com  

Grace Carcich          gracec814@gmail.com 

Emilia Gordon          emiliagne@gmail.com

Gil Krispien              g.krispien@verizon.net    

William Lam             wmlam508@yahoo.com       

Laura Startzenbach  laura.startzenbach@gmail.com        

Daren Canfield          (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Patricia Centola        (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Marjorie Cernigliaro   (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Sandra Cipriani         (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

MaryLou Fish           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Andrea Haber           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Ed Haddad              (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Christine Hurley        (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Marilyn Johnson       (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Kathy McKenna        (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Madeliene Moore      (HNGCoordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Laura Nelson            (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Del Richmond           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Vincent Rocheleau    (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Ralph Sabatino         (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Diane Shelley           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Steve Sherlock         (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Nancy Spadorcia      (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Jack Speranza         (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Mark Sullivan           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Mario Tardif              (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)

Qing Ye                   (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Denise Zazzera        (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

"10 Things you Should Know About Long Term Investing"

Hello Everyone,
Now that we are in the winter months, if the Hopkinton schools are cancelled on the day of our meeting then we do not meet; however, if there is a delay, then we do meet. Even if the schools are not closed, if the weather is bad, it is best to stay home then risk an accident.

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speakers Brian Hawley and Tom Bodine. The facilitator for this week will be Laura Startzenbach. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Brian and Tom will talk about "10 Things you Should Know About Long Term Investing."

10 Things you Should Know About Long Term Investing

Whether they do it themselves or have someone do it for them most people have some level of retirement savings to invest. For many people there is a marked difference between what the textbooks would say and what they actually do. In this presentation Brian and Tom will highlight 10 interesting facts about investing that may cause you to question your current approach.

Brian Hawley, CFA, FSA

Brian is a principal in Sterling Financial Partners. He began his career as an actuary. He became involved in investing, getting his CFA designation in 1986. His presentation is designed to help investors by providing them with basic information available in investing textbooks.

Thomas Bodine, CLU, ChFC

Thomas Bodine is an advisor at 3D Asset Management. Tom has 30 years experience in sales and senior management positions in the securities and insurance industries.

Tom has held senior executive positions with Paul Revere, Allmerica Financial, and Conseco Insurance Group His roles included responsibility for sales channel performance and product line financial performance.

Tom earned a BA in economics from Dartmouth College, as well as Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Life Underwriter designations from the American College. He has served as president of The Society of Financial Service Professionals in Central Massachusetts and the Dartmouth Alumni Club of Central MA.

Recap of HNG Meeting of January 17, 2014:

Our 114th meeting of HNG had 37 people, this is 16 more than the previous meeting; 6 signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were 6 introduction speeches.

Three landings:
Eileen Coughlin Disch Part-time project manager at a software company started January 7, 2014; full-time in fall
Henry Taillacq Rexel Holdings in Mansfield
MaryLou Fish Three-month contract at National Grid as a HR Analyst started January 21, 2014

We had speakers Ed Yee and Elinor Kerr who talked about "Everything you Wanted to Know About Contracting but Were Afraid to Ask."
The topics included:

- What is a W2 employee? What is a 1099 Contractor? And what is the difference?
- What are the Benefits and Draw-Backs of each?
- What are the pros and cons from the Hiring Company’s perspective?
- What various permutations for contracting exist -- Direct; through a contracting house, as a W2; or Independent Contractor?
- How does working to a 'contract' or statement of work compare to being a statuary employee?
- What should new contractors expect in the hiring process? [Signing a contract, Negotiation of rates, Payments, Personal liability, Expectations, etc.]
- What should contractors do to prepare for starting work? [Record keeping, Equipment, Setting-Up the business, Health insurance, Liability insurance, Invoicing, etc.]
- What is expected of you on the job as a contractor?
- What to do when the contract is about to end?

Taxes:
- How to prepare your 1040 and 1099 Schedule C tax filing?
- How to make Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments including Self Employment Tax (SE)?
- What are appropriate Expenses and Deductions - commuting, home office, insurance, professional fees, dues, equipment (depreciation or 179), other expenses (handout some
Schedule C forms)?
- What are the IRS/State red flags (likely causes of audits)?
- Comparison of pay rate as a 1099 vs. annual salary.
- Resources for those considering 1099 work - IRS website, ' Contracting for Dummies', Tax Pub 17, other.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

February 7, 2014 Brian Hawley & Tom Bodine "Ten Things you Should Know About Long Term Investing"

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:
Grace Carcich grace814@gmail.com
Ed Haddad ehaddadjr@verizon.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com
Laura Startzenbach laura.startzenbach@gmail.com

CNC Machine operator Info session

Hello Folks:  Here is a golden opportunity (for the right persons – 12 of them) to get the training to become  a CNC Machine operator which is one of the hot career paths.  People who are mechanically inclined and good with their hands and wants to get into the machine operator field, don't miss out his opportunity to be there in Milford Career center on Friday the 31^st from 10 – 12 to put in your application for the training.

See you all those mechanics Friday.  Call to register for the orientation. You will be glad you did!!!

CNC SKILLS TRAINING

MassMEP's Green Manufacturing Skills Training,

WPI's Haas Technical Education Center &

Worcester Technical High School

Milford Orientation Meeting

January 31st 10:00am- 12:00 pm

Workforce Central, 425 Fortune Blvd., Milford

Training Dates: Starts "End of March 2014"

9 week, 340 hour class

Learn CNC, Milling, Turning, Blueprint Reading, Metrology, MasterCAM

REQUIREMENTS:

● Complete an application ● Complete a reading and math skills assessment

● Have some mechanical aptitude

● Pass drug screen ● Pass background check ● Show evidence of employability

With warm regards,

 

Hari Narayanan

Business Service Representative

Workforce Central Career Center

425 Fortune Blvd. - Suite 201

Milford MA 01757

Tel: 508. 478. 4300 x 122

Fax: 508. 473. 0534

www. workforcecentralma.org

email: hnarayanan@detma.org

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"Everything you Wanted to Know About Contracting but Were Afraid to Ask"

Hello Everyone,
Now that we are in the winter months, if the Hopkinton schools are cancelled on the day of our meeting then we do not meet; however, if there is a delay, then we do meet. Even if the schools are not closed, if the weather is bad, it is best to stay home then risk an accident.

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speakers Ed Yee and Elinor Kerr. The facilitator for this week will be Laura Startzenbach. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Ed and Elinor will talk about "Everything you Wanted to Know About Contracting but Were Afraid to Ask."

Everything you Wanted to Know About Contracting but Were Afraid to Ask

Ed Yee, an independent consultant and Elinor Kerr, an HR professional, will help you navigate your way between W2 work and independent 1099 contracting work. Explore the Pro's and Con's to these two different work engagements and learn the benefits each provide. Come and bring your questions.

Topics to be covered include:

- What is a W2 employee? What is a 1099 Contractor? And what is the difference?
- What are the Benefits and Draw-Backs of each?
- What are the pros and cons from the Hiring Company’s perspective?
- What various permutations for contracting exist -- Direct; through a contracting house, as a W2; or Independent Contractor?
- How does working to a 'contract' or statement of work compare to being a statuary employee?
- What should new contractors expect in the hiring process? [Signing a contract, Negotiation of rates, Payments, Personal liability, Expectations, etc.]
- What should contractors do to prepare for starting work? [Record keeping, Equipment, Setting-Up the business, Health insurance, Liability insurance, Invoicing, etc.]
- What is expected of you on the job as a contractor?
- What to do when the contract is about to end?

Taxes:
- How to prepare your 1040 and 1099 Schedule C tax filing?
- How to make Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments including Self Employment Tax (SE)?
- What are appropriate Expenses and Deductions - commuting, home office, insurance, professional fees, dues, equipment (depreciation or 179), other expenses (handout some
Schedule C forms)?
- What are the IRS/State red flags (likely causes of audits)?
- Comparison of pay rate as a 1099 vs. annual salary.
- Resources for those considering 1099 work - IRS website, ' Contracting for Dummies', Tax Pub 17, other.

Open Discussion – questions from the audience

Ed Yee

Ed Yee is a Tax Advisor for H&R Block specializing in self employment and small business practices. He has also worked as an independent consultant and as part of the management team of a contracting house. In addition, he served in various management roles in Engineering, Marketing and Product Management at Digital, Compaq, and HP. He currently serves as a board member/officer for a number of local nonprofit/professional associations. Ed has been a long time supporter of Acton
Networkers.

Elinor Kerr

Elinor Kerr is a Human Resources professional with over 20 years of experience, primarily in the manufacturing environment. Elinor is bilingual in Spanish, and finds this to be an exceptional skill in her field. Her history runs the gamut from a small, start-up, high-tech company in which she developed HR, Payroll, and Safety to working at the Corporate Director level with multi-site responsibilities at mid-size companies. Elinor has been a long-time supporter of Acton Networkers.

Summary of Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) for 2013

The average attendance for the 23 meetings in 2013 was 32.

The average attendance for the 24 meetings in 2012 was 31.
The average attendance for the 22 meetings in 2011 was 27.
The average attendance for the 25 meetings in 2010 was 54.
The average attendance for the 19 meetings in 2009 was 63.

The number of new members: 123.

Landings: 16 Nancy Murphy, Martha Groves, Bryna Davidow, Jim Loch, David Ethier, Jill Mann, Vicki Viana, Jim Lekas, Vincent Rocheleau, Maria Marucci, Sandra Cipriani, Gail Arnold, Lisa Craycraft, George Kocyan, Jeff Beauchaine, and Max Lambardo

Money collected: $694.00
Expenses: $268.08
Significant event: Presentation of new lectern to the pastor of St. John's, Ft. Cannon, on March 1, 2013.
Cost of lectern: $946.46

Recap of HNG Meeting of January 3, 2014

The meeting was cancelled because of the snow storm.

Recap of HNG Meeting of December 20, 2013:

Our 113th meeting of HNG had 21 people, this is 8 less than the previous meeting; 4 signed the New Member list. William Lam was our facilitator. There were 4 introduction speeches.

One landing:
Max Lombardo Starting January 13, 2014 at Perkin Elmer

We conducted an Open Forum on a few topics. The following list was posted on the whiteboard:
- Network:
On telephone
Face-to-face: buddy groups
Social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Tweeter, etc.
- Resume and Cover letters
- Interview questions
- Cold calling
- Positive attitude:
Emotion and mindset
Getting started in the morning
- Dealing / handling rejections
- Communicating effectively:
Toastmasters
Value statement as presented by Stuart Papp
Elevator speech: 15, 30, and 60 second speech
- Money management
Health insurance cost
Unemployment checks running out
- Other income
eBay
Survival jobs: part / full time
- Recruiters: one-night-stand types versus long-term relationship ones
- Hiring managers: What do they want?
- Age concerns

The discussion mainly focused on dates on the resume, questions asked at an interview, rejections, and hiring managers. This is the first time we did something like this, and it was enjoyed by everyone. Gail Brodie suggested we do this once each quarter, so we will give it a try, and schedule it again on March 21, 2014.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

January 17, 2014 Ed Yee and Elinor Kerr

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:
MaryLou Fish marylouisefish@gmail.com
Ed Haddad ehaddadjr@verizon.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com
Laura Startzenbach laura.startzenbach@gmail.com

Open Forum Discussion

Hello Everyone,
The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be an Open Forum Discussion. The facilitator for this week will be William Lam. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, an "Open Forum Discussion on Various Topics" will occur.

If anyone wants to bring in any "goodies" to share, since being close to Christmas, then please do so.

Open Forum Discussion

For those attending, the following topics will be prioritized to see which gets discussed first:
- Network:
On telephone
Face-to-face: buddy groups
Social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Tweeter, etc.
- Resume and Cover letters
- Interview questions
- Cold calling
- Positive attitude:
Emotion and mindset
Getting started in the morning
- Dealing / handling rejections
- Communicating effectively:
Toastmasters
Value statement as presented by Stuart Papp
Elevator speech: 15, 30, and 60 second speech
- Money management
Health insurance cost
Unemployment checks running out
- Other income
eBay
Survival jobs: part / full time
- Recruiters: one-night-stand types versus long-term relationship ones
- Hiring managers: What do they want?

Two landings:
George Kocyan Started December 9th at SanDisk; 50 minute commute
Jeff Beauchaine Starting in January at Comnet

We had a speaker Kevin Kopec who talked about "Understanding You Training Options." Here is what he covered:
- Why is the Training so important?
- Choose Your Method of Training
- What to look for when choosing a Training Provider
- Ways to Fund Training
- New England - State Career Centers
- Self Fund
- Vendor Payment Plans
- Training Proposal – Get Started
- The Jargon working with Career Centers
- How Long Does it Take to get approved?

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

January 3, 2014 Ed Yee + Panel Tax Details

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:
MaryLou Fish marylouisefish@gmail.com
Ed Haddad ehaddadjr@verizon.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com
Laura Startzenbach laura.startzenbach@gmail.com

"Understanding Your Training Options"

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be a talk led by Kevin Kopec. The facilitator for this week will be MaryLou Fish. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Kevin will give a presentation on "Understanding Your Training Options."

Understanding Your Training Options

Kevin will cover the following topics in a multi-slide presentation:
- Why is the Training so important?
- Choose Your Method of Training
- What to look for when choosing a Training Provider
- Ways to Fund Training
- New England - State Career Centers
- Self Fund
- Vendor Payment Plans
- Training Proposal – Get Started
- The Jargon working with Career Centers
- How Long Does it Take to get approved?

Kevin Kopec

Kevin Kopec is an accomplished career coach in the area of Project Management and process improvement. A career changer himself in the early 90’s he has been providing career guidance and training options with folks from all fields. In 1995 he relocated to Massachusetts and worked for Computer Science Corporation in Cambridge.

In 1998 he headed up Worcester Polytechnic adult continuing education classes and later in 2005 at New Horizons in Waltham. Since 2010, Kevin, in his capacity as Director of Consumer Training has been working with dislocated workers with the highly regarded programs at William George Associates in Burlington, MA focusing on Project Management and Process Improvement.

Recap of HNG Meeting of November 15, 2013:

Our 111th meeting of HNG had 48 people, this is 15 more than the previous meeting; 8 signed the New Member list. Ed Haddad was our facilitator. There were 7 introduction speeches.

We had a speaker Ed Yee who talked about "Tax Topics to Consider While in Transition." Here is what he covered:

- W2 vs 1099 EMPLOYMENT, benefits and implications
a. Estimated tax payments
b. Self-Employment tax
c. Benefits of Schedule C income
d. Trade-offs, employment (W2) v. project work (1099)
e. Record-keeping
f. 401K loans

- Tax things to consider while in transition
a. Not withholding from unemployment payments
b. Raiding retirement accounts
c. Job hunting expenses and education (what's deductible)

- Tax things to consider before the end of the tax year for 2013
a. Roth conversions
b. Planning capital gains
c. Timing income when possible
d. Estimate tax due to avoid penalties and interest
e. Key IRS filing dates for 2013 tax returns

- IRS penalties

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

December 20, 2013 Open Forum Discussion

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:
MaryLou Fish marylouisefish@gmail.com
Ed Haddad ehaddadjr@verizon.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com
Laura Startzenbach laura.startzenbach@gmail.com

"Tax Topics to Consider While in Transition"

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton NetworkersGroup (HNG) meeting will be a talk led by Ed Yee. The facilitator for this week will be Ed Haddad. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Ed will give a presentation on "Tax Topics to Consider While in Transition."

Tax Topics to Consider While in Transition

- W2 vs 1099 EMPLOYMENT, benefits and implications

  a.  Estimated tax payments

  b.  Self-Employment tax

  c.  Benefits of Schedule C income

  d.  Trade-offs, employment (W2) v. project work (1099)

  e.  Record-keeping

  f.   401K loans

- Tax things to consider while in transition

  a.  Not withholding from unemployment payments

  b.  Raiding retirement accounts

  c.  Job hunting expenses and education (what's deductible)

- Tax things to consider before the end of the tax year for 2013

  a.  Roth conversions

  b.  Planning capital gains

  c.  Timing income when possible

  d.  Estimate tax due to avoid penalties and interest

  e.  Key IRS filing dates for 2013 tax returns

- IRS penalties

- Tax questions on your mind

Ed Yee

Ed Yee, a seasonal tax advisor for H&R Block, manages a tax office in the Boston metro west district and specializes in self employment taxes and practices.  He served in various management roles in Engineering, Marketing and Product Management roles at Digital, Compaq and HP.  He currently serves as a board member/officer on a number of local nonprofit/professional associations.  Ed has been a long time supporter of the Acton Networkers group.

Recap of HNG Meeting of November 1, 2013:

Our 110th meeting of HNG had 33 people,  this is 13 less than the previous meeting; 5 signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were 4 introduction speeches.

We had speakers Larry Corbin and Brian Levitre who talked about "Federal Job search." They covered the following items:

   - Today's Government

   - Federal Hiring Process

   - Veteran Friendly

   - Office of Personnel Management

   - Application Process

   - Federal Application

   - Forms

   - Helpful Resources

   - Federal Resume

   - Work Experience Tips

This was an incredible talk, and it was an enlightening experience.  I hope to have both back again in about six months.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

December 6, 2013    Kevin Kopec                                 TBD

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:

MaryLou Fish           marylouisefish@gmail.com   

Ed Haddad               ehaddadjr@verizon.net 

Gil Krispien              g.krispien@verizon.net 

William Lam             wmlam508@yahoo.com 

Salpi Sarafian           ssarafian@rcn.com 

Laura Startzenbach   laura.startzenbach@gmail.com 

Now hiring - Artistry Kitchen

We are looking for people who understand and appreciate the art of hospitality and recognize the

importance of being involved in our community. If you are a motivated, service-oriented team

player who is ready to be part of the pre-opening team of this property, please forward your resume

to jobs@artistryboston.com.

AVAILABLE POSITIONS
Line Cook, Prep Cook, Bartender, Server, Greeter, Busperson, Runner, Dishwasher

BENEFITS
• Competitive Compensation
• Health Insurance
• Paid Time Off

VISIT US AT OUR JOB FAIR!

When: Wednesday, November 13 from 12 PM to 8 PM

Where: Rockland Trust Bank, 58 Main St., Franklin MA

RSVP: info@artistrykitchen.com

Apply at www.artistrykitchen.com

Artistry Kitchen is part of an emerging multi-faceted hospitality company in Massachusetts called
Artistry. In addition to Artistry Kitchen, the organization is comprised of The Inn at Hastings Park,
a boutique inn and restaurant, as well as a full-service catering and event planning company.


The Artistry Kitchen flyer:




Where is Artistry Kitchen?
in downtown Franklin on the corner of Cottage and East Central

Dean College Hosts Early Childhood Education Training on Nutrition

The Dean College School of Continuing Studies will be hosting a free training for early childhood educators on the topic of nutrition. The event will be held on Wednesday November 20, 2013 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM and participants will earn two hours of nutrition training from the Department of Early Education and Care.  Seating is limited. 

Highlighting the schedule is a presentation from Pam Mele, titled "Growing up Healthy: A nutrition seminar for early childhood education providers", Pam is an adjunct faculty member and expert in the field of Early Education with over 30 years experience working with young children and educators. 

"On behalf of Dean College's School of Continuing Studies, I am pleased we are able to support the professional development of early childhood educators in our community on such a critical topic as childhood nutrition," says Veatrice Carabine, Dean of the School of Continuing Studies at Dean College. 

The training will take place in the Golder Room, located in the Dean College Campus Center. Attendees are asked to park in the Campus Center parking lot, at 109 West Central Street/Route 140. 

To register for the event, please call 508-541-1629 or email vcarabine@dean.edu. For more information, please visit www.dean.edu