HNG 8/3/12 Agenda; Speaker on "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 our speaker, Patricia Hunt Sinacole. 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. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. 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

About Patricia Hunt Sinacole
Patricia Hunt Sinacole is the CEO and Founder of First Beacon Group LLC, a Human Resources (HR) consulting firm that provides 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, 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.

Recap of HNG Meeting of July 20, 2012:

Our 80th meeting of HNG had 37 people, this is nine more than the previous meeting, and twelve signed the New Member list. Barbara McKee was our facilitator. There were no introduction speeches to allow more time for the panel discussion.

We had a panel discussion consisting of Heather Cole, David Ross, Eric Bloom, Bob Norton, and moderated by Hara Narayanan.  The topic was, "Job Search Strategies from an Employer's Point of View."  

The Categories for discussion were: 

         (1) Goals (Know your bulls-eye or standard – i.e. pay, benefits, commute, etc.)

         (2) Know Your Skills (paid or not paid)

         (3) Targeted Resume

         (4) Networking (Referral, Internet, Casual)

         (5) Interviewing & Presentation

         (6) Closing the Deal (Ask for Information, Follow-up and Thanks You Notes)

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

August 17, 2012           Jeffrey DeSocio              "Employment Searching in a Social Media World"

September 7, 2012      TBD

September 21, 2012    Dorian Mintzer                "Here Come the Boomers: New Possibilities for Positive, Creative and Successful Aging"

October 5, 2012            Joellyn Schwerdlin         "Law of Attraction: Five Basic Principles to Make Your Career Dreams Come True"

October 19, 2012         TBD

November 2, 2012       Jen Vondenbrink             "LinkedIn"

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:
Sandra Cipriani        sandraopps@comcast.net   

Gil Krispien               g.krispien@verizon.net  

William Lam             wmlam508@yahoo.com
Barbara McKee        barb6635@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau   vrocheleau@hotmail.com 
Salpi Sarafian           ssarafian@rcn.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)
Andrea Haber              (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Christine Hurley           (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Marilyn Johnson          (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Madeliene Moore        (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Laura Nelson               (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Del Richmond              (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)

__._,_.___

Event for those considering business ownership

Suzanne Gray has conducted successful session at prior Job Search Jam Session events and is continuing to help those looking to get into business for themselves.

LinkedIn Suzanne Gray has sent you a message. Date: 7/22/2012 Subject: Upcoming (FREE) Event! Hi, I hope you are well. I wanted to let you know about our "Start a Business Weekend" July 26-28, which is a free virtual expo for people that are considering business ownership. Like a regular expo there will be booths in addition to informational seminars that people attend. If you know someone who may be interested, they can register here (www.startabusinessweekend.com/?sgray) or give me a call. Thanks for letting them know, keep in touch. - Suzanne View/reply to this message Don't want to receive e-mail notifications? Adjust your message settings. This email was intended for Steve Sherlock. Learn why we included this. © 2012, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Job Search Strategy Session - July 20

The Hopkinton Networking Group and Workforce Central Career Center in Milford are putting together a "Job Search Strategy Session" from the employers point of view.


Friday, July 20 beginning at 10:00 AM - come early to network


Where: 20 Church St, Hopkinton, MA 01748

Hopkinton Networking Group: "Job Search Strategy Session"

The Hopkinton Networking Group and Workforce Central Career Center in Milford are putting together a "Job Search Strategy Session" from the employers point of view.


Friday, July 20 beginning at 10:00 AM - come early to network


Where: 20 Church St, Hopkinton, MA 01748

Still an uphill battle for job seekers

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Still an uphill battle for job seekers

via Economic Policy Institute - Feed by Heidi Shierholz on 6/19/12

The April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, underscores the sluggishness of the recovery, showing that job openings declined by 325,000 in April. Given April's drop in unemployment of 173,000 (unemployment data are from the Current Population Survey and can be found here), this means that the "job-seekers ratio"—the ratio of unemployed workers to job openings—increased by three tenths, to 3.7-to-1.

MORE: Sort through updated graphs using data from today's report
Despite this increase, the ratio has been slowly but steadily improving since its peak of 6.7-to-1 in summer 2009, and it is likely that April's increase represents month-to-month variability in the data rather than a reversal of that overall trend. However, the odds are still stacked strongly against job seekers; a job-seekers ratio above 3-to-1 means that for more than two out of three unemployed workers, there simply are no jobs.



The JOLTS data are particularly useful for diagnosing the cause of today's persistent high unemployment. The figure below shows the number of unemployed and the number of job openings by sector. Unemployed workers far outnumber job openings in every sector. This underscores that by far the main cause of today's persistent high unemployment is a broad-based lack of demand for workers—and not, as is often claimed, available workers lacking the skills needed for the sectors with job openings.



Unsurprisingly, given the drop in job openings, hires also declined in April, by 160,000. Looking at the data over time, however, hires nevertheless are on a slow upward climb, up 13.5 percent since the official start of the recovery in June 2009. But hiring still has a long way to go before it returns to healthy levels. For example, hiring is still 19.6 percent below its 2007 average.
Voluntary quits decreased by 89,000 in April (lower levels of voluntary quits are not good news, since they signal that workers are less confident about outside job opportunities). However, voluntary quits are also on a general upward climb, having increased 18.3 percent since June 2009. But they too have a long way to go; voluntary quits are still 28.2 percent below their 2007 average.

Layoffs also increased slightly in April, by 68,000. Despite April's increase, the number of layoffs remains at a "normal" level; in fact, it is still below the 2007 average. While the consequences of being laid off are much more severe now due to limited job availability, the likelihood of being laid off is no greater now than before the Great Recession started.
With research assistance from Nicholas Finio and Hilary Wething

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Hopkinton Networking Group: "Elevator Speech: How to Get to the Next Level"

Hello Everyone,
The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by our speaker, Anne Crawford. The facilitator for this week will be Vincent Rocheleau. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. In the second hour, Anne will talk about "Elevator Speech: How to Get to the Next Level."

Elevator Speech: How to Get to the Next Level

This workshop will cover the three essential steps to help you form a precise "Elevator Speech". Anne will discuss your own personal strengths and help you compile a 30 second introduction that does not sound like a machine talking, but actually reflects who you are and hooks them in the process. Be prepared to bring paper, pen, and an open mind. Remember: The key to your success is in yourself. Anne is just trained to bring it out.

About Anne Crawford:

Anne Crawford is a certified life coach specializing in career transitions. She has run workshops for over 5 years, helping men and women recognize their strengths, find clarity in their visions and achieve manageable goals. She is an expert in understanding human behaviors, what drives our emotions, and what is holding her clients back from the life and careers they deserve. Anne has been published in magazines, newspapers, and loves group and individual one on one coaching. She has spoken at many events and assists Bill Lippincott with the Employment Support group of Norton, MA.

Recap of HNG Meeting of May 18, 2012:

Our 76th meeting of HNG had 14 people, this is seventeen less than the previous meeting, and five signed the New Member list. Barbara McKee was our facilitator. There were four introduction speeches.

We had an impromptu interview workshop because our speaker, Joellyn Schwerdlin, had to cancel because of a personal issue.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

June 15, 2012 William Lam "Working a Job Fair"
July 6, 2012 Jen Vondenbrink "LinkedIn"
July 20, 2012 Panel Discussion with Heather Cole and Hari Narayanan
August 3, 2012 Patricia Hunt Sinacole "A Practical Guide to Landing a Job in Today's Employment Market"
August 17, 2012 TBD
September 7, 2012 TBD
September 21, 2012 Dorian Mintzer "Here Come the Boomers: New Possibilities for Positive, Creative and
Successful Aging"

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:
Sandra Cipriani sandraopps@comcast.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
Barbara McKee barb6635@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com
Ralph Sabatino ralphsabatino@ymail.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com

‘Missing workers’ mean the unemployment rate is understating weakness in the...

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

‘Missing workers’ mean the unemployment rate is understating weakness in the job market

via Economic Policy Institute - Feed by Heidi Shierholz on 5/30/12

The labor force participation rate (the share of working-age people who either have a job or are jobless but actively seeking work) has dropped by more than two percentage points since the start of the Great Recession in Dec. 2007. According to a recent EPI analysis, roughly two-thirds of this decline is due to weak job prospects in the recession and its aftermath (these changes are generally labeled cyclical), while the remaining one-third is a result of long-term trends such as baby boomers beginning to retire (changes generally labeled structural). The cyclical portion of the decline in the labor force participation rate represents nearly four million workers who would be in the labor market if job prospects were strong. The existence of this large pool of "missing workers"—workers who have either dropped out of or never entered the labor market because of the lack of job opportunities—means that the unemployment rate is understating weakness in the labor market.

Arguably the best single measure for assessing recent labor market trends is the employment-to-population ratio of 25-54-year-olds, which is simply the share of the 25-54 population that has a job. The restricted age range—25-54-year-olds, or people of "prime working age"—helps insure that trends are not being driven by retiring baby-boomers or increasing college enrollment of young people, but are instead caused purely by changes in job opportunities.

As the figure shows, the share of employed workers 25-54 plunged dramatically from the start of the Great Recession through the fourth quarter of 2009, and then, for nearly two years, essentially bumped around at the bottom of that extremely deep hole. Since the fall of last year, the ratio has just begun to show signs of improvement.



This means that the improvement in the unemployment rate, from 10.0 percent in Oct. 2009 to 8.1 percent in April 2012, has largely been due to people dropping out of, or not entering, the labor force—not to a larger share of potential workers finding work. This also means that while expansionary policies to generate demand are urgently needed and will help spur job growth, they may also generate upward pressure on the unemployment rate as these missing workers begin to enter or reenter the labor market. That kind of upward pressure on the unemployment rate would be a positive sign.

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“Networkers” Get the Job Done - By Ann Needle (The Stow Independent)

As good as this article is, there is a worthy addition out there to tell the story of the group that spun off of the Acton meetings to arrange meetings in Hopkinton. The members are all part of the Acton Yahoo group so the numbers are included.

 

http://www.stowindependent.com/

"Networkers" Get the Job Done - by Ann Needle
One local group has proven that out of work does not mean out of luck. Since it formed in 2002, Acton Networkers can claim that about 12,811 job seekers have come through the group's e-mail list in the past decade, with a current membership of 2,156.

http://www.stowindependent.com/JobMay23.html

The Stow Independent... Online May 23, 2012

"Networkers" Get the Job Done
By Ann Needle

One local group has proven that out of work does not mean out of luck. Since it formed in 2002, Acton Networkers can claim that about 12,811 job seekers have come through the group's e-mail list in the past decade, with a current membership of 2,156.
The group formed in the wake of 9/11's sluggish market — especially in high tech — combining five separate church groups for job-hunters in the area with members of a Yahoo e-mail distribution list. The name came about when one of these churches, St. Matthew's United Methodist in Acton, became the main meeting site. Today, the group is even listed as a resource in the Riley Guide job seekers' site, at http://www.rileyguide.com/support.html.
About 25 members started that first AN group, sharing "needs and leads" with each other, and working on job-hunting skills and market research. The founders came from St. Isidore's Church, Acton's Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, St. Matthew's United Methodist Church, First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Concord, and Our Lady of Fatima Church, Sudbury.
Network co-founder Craig Schomp of Stow spoke recently of why, though working full-time now, he remains deeply involved with a group that shepherded him through one of life's toughest times.
Schomp began his story with being laid off from a start-up one week after 9/11. Soon after, Schomp formed a networking group at St. Isidore's, with about five members. He also attended a few other church-based networking meetings in the area, all of them small groups that traded leads and tips in job searching.
After Schomp created a job-seekers group on Yahoo, the church groups agreed to combine in March 2002, launching alongside Schomp's Yahoo list.
The "Kimball's Challenge"
Schomp noted that trading contacts and tips has been just a piece of what Acton Networkers has helped accomplish for clients. There also have been job-hunting exercises formed by the group, including what Schomp described as the "Kimball's Challenge".
Chatting at a visit to Kimball's Ice Cream in Westford, Schomp explained that a few of the members were discussing how to handle the ongoing challenge of digging their resumes out of the apparent black holes that suck them away when sent to companies, especially high-tech firms. "So, we told people to put on a suit, knock on the door [of the desired company] and come back and report to us," he said.
Out of work from high tech for a year, Schomp recalled how he took himself up on his own challenge when his unemployment compensation ran out. After spotting a help wanted ad for a salesperson at a local Volkswagon dealership, Schomp said he knocked on the dealer's door, rather than chance sending in a resume that did not list any related experience.

When the dealership asked Schomp what made him think he could sell cars, Schomp told them, "Every time my boy sees a Bug [VW Beetle] on the road, he punches his sister. If you have that sort of brand recognition in my family, it should be easy."
He smiled, "At the end of three months, I was the top guy in the dealership."

Schomp also credits the personal skills learned from AN in helping him land his current job as a lead software engineer at Egenera Inc. When Egenera was in its start-up days, he recalled, "They had no jobs, none." But that did not stop Schomp from contacting the company and offering to write some software on how he would manage one of Egenera's products. Egenera took Schomp up on his offer of a demonstration. It was this demo that Schomp credits with putting him ahead of the pack when a job did open up, leading to his being hired.

"What we realized is your qualifications are only part of the story. You need face time," said Schomp. "If you make a connection, it pushes the resume right to the top."
And, as the Kimballs' visit proved, just having a group to rely on can make a difference.
As Co-Founder Paul Gaboury explained, "When you're out of work, one of your worst enemies is too much time on your hands. AN gave me an opportunity to invest some of that time into helping people by providing them with resources and connections and all of the tools I didn't get from the executive outplacement firm I passed through." He added, "Seeing how it has evolved is both sad and gratifying — sad that the economy still has so many people in need, but gratifying that AN is there to help."
Schomp noted, "I know it works, because the unemployment office sends people to us."

AN lists its meetings on its web site, at http://www.ActonNetworkers.org. Anyone from any profession is welcome. To get onto AN's Yahoo e-mal list, those interested must attend at least one meeting.

The price of membership is cheap —everyone chips in for coffee at the meetings, according to Schomp. "There is a standing tradition that anyone who did get a job with help should stop by, share their story, and bring donuts. I don't think a meeting has been without donuts since its founding."

_

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From  Suzanne Gray" sgray@esourcecoach.com 

Soft skills still outweigh education in entry-level hires: infographic

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Soft skills still outweigh education in entry-level hires: infographic

via Posts from the Econsultancy blog by Heather Taylor on 5/8/12

The marketing world is known for its love of hiring interns but with unemployment rates on the rise, are internships really going to lead to new jobs for graduates? And what are employers looking for?
A new study by Millennial Branding and Experience reveal an employment gap between employers and students. Even though 91% of employers think students should have between one and two internships before graduation, 50% haven't hired any interns in the last six months. In fact, over three quarters of employers have hired 30% fewer interns into full time positions of late.
As for social media, currently only 16% of employers look to social media to recruit and 35% use those networks for background checks. The majority of them looking to LinkedIn and Facebook in the hiring process. Thankfully, for those twitter addicts out there, only 2% check Twitter…for now.
What exactly are these employers looking for in entry-level talent? Jennifer Floren, Founder and CEO, Experience found the results rely less on education.

Of all the things employers look for when hiring entry-level talent, it's the so-called 'soft skills' that are valued most: communication, teamwork, flexibility and positive attitude are by far the most sought-after skills. Employers understand that everything else can be taught, so they look for the most promising raw material to work with.

This study is interesting for those looking at how we are hiring in this digital age. Keeping these results in mind, employers need to look at evolving their hiring processes and graduates may need to be more targeted at how they approach the opportunities they take before joining the workforce.

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