"10 Things you Should Know About Long Term Investing"

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a speaker, Tom Bodine. The facilitator for this week will be Gil Krispien. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, 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 investment textbooks would advise and what most people actually do. In this presentation Tom will highlight 10 interesting facts about investing that may cause you to question your current approach. This seminar can be particularly helpful to people wondering how to react to the recent turmoil in the global markets.

Tom Bodine, ChFC, CLU

Thomas Bodine is an advisor at 3D Asset Management, Inc.* Tom has held senior executive positions with Paul Revere, Allmerica Financial, and Conseco Insurance Group. 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 Dartmouth Alumni Club of Central MA and the Society of Financial Service Professionals in Central MA and is a current board member for Habitat for Humanity North Central MA.

* 3D Asset Management, Inc. is a Registered Investment Advisor based in East Hartford, CT.

Recap of HNG Meeting of August 21, 2015

Our 151st meeting had 16 people, this is three more than the previous meeting; one signed the New Member list. William Lam was our facilitator. There was one introduction speech.

We had a speaker, Patricia Hunt Sinacole, who talked about "A Practical Guide to Landing a Job in Today’s Employment Market."
This included discussing the following items:
* The use/misuse of social media in a search
* Networking tips
* A job hunter’s elevator speech
* Resume and references
* Job search statistics

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

September 18, 2015 Stephen Martins 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:
Sheri Ablaza sheriablaza@gmail.com
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com

"A Practical Guide to Landing a Job in Today’s Employment Market."

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a speaker, Patricia Hunt Sinacole. The facilitator for this week will be William Lam. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Pattie will talk about "A Practical Guide to Landing a Job in Today’s Employment Market."

A Practical Guide to Landing a Job in Today’s Employment Market

* The use/misuse of social media in a search
* Networking tips
* A job hunter’s elevator speech
* Resume and references
* Job search statistics

Patricia Hunt Sinacole

She is the CEO and Founder of First Beacon Group LLC, a Human Resources (HR) consulting firm that provide HR services to a wide variety of companies. Pattie holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA from Babson. Pattie has 20 years of experience in Human Resources working a wide range of clients. Pattie has served as a Guest Lecturer at Babson College. Pattie has been featured in the Boston Business Journal, the Mass High Tech, and The Boston Globe. 

Additionally, Pattie is a regular contributor to the Job Doc and Career Makeover columns in the Boston Globe. Pattie also facilitates live career-related chats on boston.com. 


Schedule for HNG Meetings:

September 4, 2015 Brian Hawley and Tom Bodine "10 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:
Sheri Ablaza sheriablaza@gmail.com
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com 
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net 
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com 
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net 
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com 

"The Changing World of Work"

Hello Everyone, 

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a speaker, Brian Coughlin. The facilitator for this week will be Sheri Ablaza. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Brian will talk about "The Changing World of Work."

"The Changing World of Work"

This program is designed to have the members begin to look at the job search in a different way. The days of life time employment OR Long term employment are over. Today we are all Free Agents and we must begin to think like a free agent. In this job search, you are the President of YOU INC."

Brian Coughlin

Brian Coughlin has accumulated more than three decades of expertise in human resource management, and partnered with many business operations to help them control costs and maximize resources and profits. Brian is experienced in all facets of human resources, including: 

Employee Relations 
* Labor Relations 
* Compensation 
* Payroll Administration 
* Staffing 
* Benefits 
* Union Negotiation and Grievances 

Brian Coughlin has repeatedly and consistently demonstrated the ability to plan, direct, control and lead experienced human resource professionals at larger companies including Texas Instruments®, Smiths Group PLCTM, Liberty Mutual®, Tucker HousewaresTM, and others. He has a successful track record of introducing programs to build strong union-free organizations. While working at companies such as Tredegar Molded ProductsTM and Handy & Harman Electronics Materials Corp.TM, Brian developed a thorough understanding of the special needs of smaller organizations. With more than three decades of experience as an adjunct faculty member at Fisher College, and more recently at Dean College, Brian Coughlin has developed and delivered well-received courses in International Management, Operations Management, Human Resources Management, Principles of Management, and Micro- and Macro-Economics classes. Brian holds an M.S. Degree in Management from Lesley University, and a B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts. 

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

August 14, 2015 Barbara Finer TechSandBox
August 21, 2105 Patricia Hunt Sinacole 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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com 
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net 
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com 
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net 
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com 

No HNG meeting in Hopkinton today

Hello Everyone,

There is no Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting tomorrow, Friday, June 19th, because of the Rummage Sale taking place in the St. John’s Parish Hall.

Our next scheduled meeting is July 3rd.

Regards,
Gil Krispien

Hopkinton Networking Group: “Finding a Job That Fits When You are Older than 50”

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a Moderated Panel led by Robert Dandrade. The facilitator for this week will be Ronaldo Lu. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, the Moderated Panel will discuss “Finding a Job That Fits When You are Older than 50."

Moderated Panel Discussion Talk on “Finding a Job That Fits When You are Older than 50”

A panel comprised of professionals who have a wide range of diverse experiences and knowledge in the job search and hiring: a Program Manager for a software provider, a Career Advisor and Workshop Facilitator at a local Career Center,a former Sales and Marketing Executive who has his own business, a Recruiter for Human Resources and Financial Services, and a Director of Human Resources.

Lyn Baird

After having been with Compaq and Hewlett Packard for a combined eighteen years, Lyn went through four turbulent transitions over the past nine years -- including two extensive periods of unemployment, as well as moves from commercial high-tech into defense contracting, and then back into commercial high-tech. Presently Lyn helps ready new products for market with MathWorks, a provider of software products for engineering and science. Lyn maintains Program Management and Project Management certifications with Project Management Institute. Lyn developed the “Networking” module for Job Search Workshops for MetroWest and holds the copyright. Lyn is married to Linée, his bride of 30 years, who is a commercial pastel artist. They have three adult special-needs children -- a daughter and two sons. Lyn and Linée live and serve among Trinity Church Congregational of Bolton, where Lyn presently serves as elder and pursues a passion to help the wider church move beyond being a closed club to genuinely engage with the community and the culture. Lyn is part of the leadership of Job Search Workshops for MetroWest.

Norma Brandt-Krevis

Norma Brandt-Krevis is presently employed by Metro Southwest Employment & Training Career Center in Framingham. She has been with the organization for over 11 years and works as a Resource Room Career Advisor and Workshop Facilitator. Her areas of expertise include Using Your Age to Advantage, Résumé Development, Avoiding the Black Hole and triaging customers for training eligibility. She is a PARW certified Résumé Writer. Norma originally came to the center as a customer who experienced first-hand the difficulties of a lay off. Armed with the information she gained through taking workshops, Norma discovered how to use her “transferable skills” to sell herself to an employer and was able to secure two job offers on the same day. Her past experience includes the NF Foundation, Neonatology Associates and Southborough Medical.

Norma is married to “Big Al”, a former NY Jets tackle, and together they have 6 grown children. They are actively involved in their church life at Church of the Nativity in Northborough

Robert Dandrade

For over 42 years he has worked in many roles in multiple industries, hiring hundreds of people. He has also had unexpected job loss twice. In 2012, as part of a 30,000 workforce reduction, he accepted early retirement and transitioned from being an Engineering Program Manager in Hewlett Packard. Rob’s experience also includes Fidelity Investments, Compaq Computer and Digital Equipment Corp, Pepsico and Carrier Corporation. At one point, with Fidelity, he was unexpectedly laid-off. Working with their out-placement agency he realized that his past job searches were based on many incorrect assumptions. Rob applied their recommended practices and he experienced success. Some of the teaching points of the non-profit Job Search Workshops for MetroWest, which he co-founded, emphasize what he learned.

Job Search Workshops for MetroWest is a non-profit organization which has helped over 700 participants address short term job loss situations. This “best practices” workshop is focused on professionals who don't have paid outplacement help when they lose their job. The Workshop summarizes advice the outplacement service firms might provide in two or three weeks into two nights and delivers the content in the context of one’s Christian faith.

With his wife Carol, Rob celebrated 46 years this past year. They have a 22 year old daughter (plus 3 other children over 39).Rob is a “Elder Emeritus” for Faith Community Church of Hopkinton, having served there in multiple capacities for 30 years.

Wende Malster

Wende has over two decades of search and placement experience in Human Resources and Financial Services. She is a meticulous “detective,” uncovering the real needs of each client and developing a detailed picture of the requirements for each position. Her proven discernment and genuine commitment to client satisfaction has resulted in exceptionally high rates of retention and advancement for her clients. Prior to starting her own practice, she was a Vice President at Gatti & Associates where she recruited HR professionals for companies such as GE, Bain Capital, Sonesta, Moderna Therapeutics, and Rhode Island School of Design.

Wende is a Principal with M2-Partners. She is considered to be one of the most successful Executive Search professionals specializing in Human Resources in the New England area. She finds outstanding HR leadership for high-growth Fortune 500 companies as well as start-up ventures. Our placement track record is exceptional: over 90% of our candidates are retained for more than one year and over 70% are promoted within three years.

Wende holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Lawrence University, and completed several courses in the Human Resources Professional Certificate program at Bentley University. She is active in several Human Resources associations and is on the Board of Directors of a local non-profit organization. The content she developed for a Job Search workshop at New England Chapel in 2009 has been incorporated into the curriculum used today in the Job Search Workshops for MetroWest. Wende is married to Rob, and they have two daughters, Lindsay (17) and Lauren (15). They are active members of New England Chapel in Franklin.

Donelle Wright

Donelle Wright is a Director of Human Resources at EMC. She is the HR Business Partner for two global sales organizations--strategic alliances and global accounts. Donelle joined EMC three years ago after several years of working as an independent HR consultant and leadership coach. Prior to that, Donelle worked for the legacy Hewlett Packard Company for 18 years holding a number of positions in Human Resources at the regional, national, and corporate level. She is also a
professional certified coach. When not working, Donelle is the mother of two teenage daughters, and on the boards of three non-profit organizations in Worcester County where she lives in Holden.

Recap of HNG Meeting of May 15, 2015:

Our 146th meeting had 18 people, this is two less than the previous meeting; no one signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were no introduction speeches.

Landings:
Jocelyn Beauregard Started May 25th full time at People United Bank in Westborough as HR Manager; was out 10 months
Bob O'Donnell Started May 21st full time at Regal Beloit as District Manager of Sales; was out 4 months

We conducted an Interview Questions Workshop which went over very well. It was enlightening; it was informative; and it was interesting to hear the various suggestive responses to the questions. Jocelyn, since she is a HR person, gave a lot of good input for answers to the questions.

We had 8 people who took advantage of William's photo session and had their photo taken

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

June 5, 2015 Moderated Panel Discussion “Finding a Job That Fits When You are Older than 50”
June 19, 2015 Brian Hawley and Tom Bodine "10 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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Michelle Levesque mdlevesque222@yahoo.com
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com

Interview Questions Workshop

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by an Interview Questions Workshop. The facilitator for this week will be Gil Krispien. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, we will conduct an Interview Questions Workshop.

Interview Questions Workshop

We have had an Interview Workshop in the past and it was always a lot of fun and a learning experience. Each person is both an interviewee and interviewer. We start off by someone is selected to be interviewed and selects an interview question from the bag/can of interview questions. The person is asked the question by the interviewer and his / her response is analyzed by the group with possible suggestions for a better response. The person selected to be interviewed now becomes the interviewer and selects someone to be interviewed, and the process is continued until everyone has a chance to conduct both roles.

William Lam Photo Session

William will be conducting a photo session for those who would like their picture taken for LinkedIn or for any other purpose. Please bring a flash drive, a read-write CD, or any device where the photos can be copied onto. Dress the way you feel appropriate for the picture.

Recap of HNG Meeting of May 1, 2015:

Our 145th meeting had 20 people, this is one more than the previous meeting; three signed the New Member list. Emilia Gordon was our facilitator. There were three introduction speeches.

Landings:
Michelle Levesque Robert Half & Accountemps Salaried Professional Service Division, started April 29th

We had a speaker, Kristen Beyer, whose subject was, "Learn Ways to Preserve Your Future During a Job Transition."
This covered the following:

* How can I manage expenses and continue to pay bills without a regular salary?
* How can I continue to provide my family with medical care without my employer’s insurance coverage?
* What are the long-term consequences if I tap into my retirement savings?
* How will a job loss affect my tax situation?

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

June 5, 2015 Robert Dandrade & Panel of IT Professionals “Finding a Job That Fits When You are Older than 50”

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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBPO) - Job Opportunity Announcement – NOW OPEN

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently hiring 2,000 Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPO) by September 30, 2015.  A CBPO entry-level job opportunity announcement is currently open on USAJOBS until May 11, 2015 or until 15,000 applications are received.  

CBP Officers play a vital role in preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States and enforcing customs, immigration, and agriculture laws and regulations at U.S. ports of entry.

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, CBP requires that every employee be reliable, trustworthy, and fit for duty. To meet these standards, applicants must undergo and successfully pass a thorough background investigation (which includes a polygraph examination), a medical examination, two preemployment fitness examinations, a drug test, and a structured interview in order to be placed in a CBP Officer position. Information on how to apply for the CBP Officer career is located on the following CBP webpage:  http://www.cbp.gov/careers/join-cbp/which-cbp-career/cbp-officer.

On this website, you will find the following information:

·            CBP Officer Qualifications and Requirements

·            Duty Locations Where CBP Officers are Hired

·            How To Apply and Schedule for the CBP Officer Entrance Examination

·            Reporting for Duty and Training

CBP's Office of Human Resources Management (HRM) recruits for the CBPO positions using short-term vacancy announcements throughout the year.  This provides candidates the opportunity to move through the hiring process quickly and efficiently, and facilitates hiring quality candidates to report to the Office of Field Operations Academy fully prepared to join the proud ranks of CBP Officers.  Below is the schedule for the Job Announcements for CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents that will be open throughout 2015.

CBP Job Announcements for 2015
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers	April 27 ⎼ May 11
U.S. Border Patrol Agents	May 22 – June 8
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers	June 26 – July 13
U.S. Border Patrol Agents	October 16 – November 2
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers	November 27 – December 14

We need your assistance in reaching our hiring goals.  Please help us fill our ranks with individuals who share our core values of vigilance, integrity, and service to country.  Encourage your friends, neighbors, and family members to visit http://www.cbp.gov/careers to learn more about this occupation that protects our Nation's borders from terrorism, human and drug smuggling, illegal migration, and agricultural pests while simultaneously facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade.

By spreading the word about our Agency's upcoming job opportunities, you can help us build a better and stronger CBP.

Follow us on twitter: @CustomsBorder.

"Learn Ways to Preserve Your Future During a Job Transition"

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker, Kristen Beyer. The facilitator for this week will be Emilia Gordon. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Kristen will talk about "Learn Ways to Preserve Your Future During a Job Transition."

Learn Ways to Preserve Your Future During a Job Transition

Weathering job transitions. Preserving your future … This presentation can help answer your questions about how unemployment could affect your future including:

* How can I manage expenses and continue to pay bills without a regular salary?
* How can I continue to provide my family with medical care without my employer’s insurance coverage?
* What are the long-term consequences if I tap into my retirement savings?
* How will a job loss affect my tax situation?

This will be followed by a discussion on how to best manage finances and retirement savings during a job transition. Please come with questions!

Kristen Beyer

Kristen Beyer is a Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial and specializes in Comprehensive Financial Planning, Asset Management, Retirement Planning and Estate Planning. She has been with Ameriprise for 17 years. You can find out more at http://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/kristen.k.beyer/

Recap of HNG Meeting of April 17, 2015:

Our 144th meeting had 19 people, this is five less than the previous meeting; no one signed the New Member list. William Lam was our facilitator. There were no introduction speeches.

We had a speaker, Lisa Rosen, whose subject was, "Managing Your Job Search." This covered the following:

Keep Calm and Job Search On…This presentation resulted in learning how to start, organize or restart your job search plan. She discussed tips and strategies to conduct an effective job search in today’s challenging employment environment.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

May 15, 2015 Interview Questions Workshop & Photo Session by William Lam

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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Michelle Levesque mdlevesque222@yahoo.com
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com

HNG: Managing Your Job Search

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker, Lisa Rosen. The facilitator for this week will be William Lam. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Lisa will talk about "Managing Your Job Search."

Managing Your Job Search

Keep Calm and Job Search On…This presentation will result in learning how to start, organize or restart your job search plan. We will discuss tips and strategies to conduct an effective job search in today’s challenging employment environment.

Lisa Rosen

Lisa Rosen, Career Advisor and Workshop Facilitator at Employment & Training Resources in Framingham, has 10+ years’ experience in recruiting and human resources. An accomplished workshop facilitator, she has led classes in Managing Your Job Search, Developing Your Self Marketing Pitch and Networking Works to name a few. Additionally, she is certified as a professional résumé writer. Her guidance and support has led to many jobseekers returning to work.

Recap of HNG Meeting of April 3, 2015:

Our 143rd meeting had 24 people, this is three less than the previous meeting; seven signed the New Member list. Ronaldo Lu was our facilitator. There were seven introduction speeches.

We had a speaker, Bill Lippincott, whose subject was, "How to Keep a Positive Attitude." This covered the following:
* Learn to be a sales professional
* Go into unchartered territory
* Go into uncomfortable situations and get yourself out
* List positive re-acclamations; your best defense for all the "No's"
* Finally, he gave a quote from Sir Winston Churchill, something about hell; however, there were two that I uncovered that fit
quite appropriately to everyone's situation and Bill's talk:
"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know
you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."

And:

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

This was an enlightening presentation, and he was kind and gracious to fill in at the last moment for the scheduled speaker who had to cancel.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

April 17, 2015 Lisa Rosen "Managing Your Job Search"
May 1, 2015 Kristen Beyer 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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net

HNG meeting: Interview Workshop or Speaker TBD

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by either an Interview Workshop or a speaker. The speaker that was scheduled for this week had to cancel because she is in transition of moving to Schenectady, New York, so attempts are being made to get someone else, and if that fails then we will conduct an Interview Workshop. An update to this agenda will be sent in the next day or two if a speaker has become available. The facilitator for this week will be Ronaldo Lu. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, we will conduct either an Interview Workshop or a speaker.

Interview Workshop

We have had an Interview Workshop in the past and it was always a lot of fun and a learning experience. Each person is both an interviewee and interviewer. We start off by someone is selected to be interviewed and selects an interview question from the bag/can of interview questions. The person is asked the question by the interviewer and his / her response is analyzed by the group with possible suggestions for a better response. The person selected to be interviewed now becomes the interviewer and selects someone to be interviewed, and the process is continued until everyone has a chance to conduct both roles.

Recap of HNG Meeting of March 20, 2015:

Our 142nd meeting had 27 people, this is seven more than the previous meeting; nine signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were nine introduction speeches.

We had a speaker, Lisa Rosen, whose subject was, "Tips on Networking." This covered the following:
The goal is to UNDERSTAND what Networking is and how it is beneficial. The benefit is seeing directly how “strangers” can network amongst themselves. This addressed the WHO, What and Where components. Who should be networking? What is networking? And where should you network? Learned how to understand and start networking. The session covered tips and strategies on HOW to network smarter and develop a plan in order to obtain employment in today’s challenging environment.

This was an excellent presentation, and she will be coming back again for a similar subject or something different.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

April 17, 2015 Lee-Ann Johnson 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:
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
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net