What will Job Search Jam Sessions be like?

Unlike other conferences, this one depends upon you and the others participating. You help to make this happen by showing up, asking questions, offering to help and networking. You will get out of this event as much, if not more, than you put in. This will be your time to find out what others know, get your questions answered from those who can answer them, and get to network with others to build your listing of valuable connections.

How should I prepare?
Come to the event prepared to share something you have learned along the way. Come prepared for learn. Come prepared to network (bring business cards).

How should I dress?
Dress as you would for any other networking event, business casual or business comfortable. You still want to make a good first impression but a suit or tux is not required.

What does the facility look like?
Check out the brief video of the facility recorded during May 2010:
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/2010/05/video-tour-of-job-search-jam-session.html

What will the schedule be?
Check out the overall event session schedule here:
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/p/schedule.html

What can I expect the event to be like?
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-to-expect.html

When do the doors open?
The registration/welcome desk will be open at 8:30 AM.
You can check in, pay at the door (if you elected to do that), and make a name tag.

Beginning at 9:00 AM (or thereabouts) we'll provide an overview of an unconference using the open space technology. 

If you want to read up on the unconference format, you can find info here
http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?AboutOpenSpace

here
http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?WorkingInOpenSpace

and here:
http://podcamp.pbworks.com/ scroll down the page to view the section on how to "host a podcamp"


What is the registration fee being used for? 

1. We intentionally don't want to make money, we recognize that funds are tight.
2. We did want to charge something to ensure a reasonable headcount for planning purposes.

Hence, the $8 charge seems reasonable and allows us to plan a good event and to make a contribution to the church for the use of the facility.

Your registration fee ($8.00) paid via Eventbrite nets the organizing team approx. $6.50 (Eventbrite has a charge for processing the credit card). 

From the $6.50 times however many people register, we will plan for refreshments, lunch and will purchase accordingly.

All surplus funds will be donated to the St John the Evangelist Parish. The church has graciously allowed us use of the facility for free. A full accounting of the receipts and expenses will be provided to the attendees.

You can still talk about the event with your friends, neighbors and networked connections. Registrations will be taken at the door on Friday. You can share the event website http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/

or have them go directly to the registration page http://jobsearchjamsessions4.eventbrite.com/


Thank you. See you soon.

The Job Search Jam Sessions organizing committee

What does the Job Search Jam Session schedule look like?

The schedule outline has been drafted for the Job Search Jam Session to be held on Friday, June 14, 2013. Now the team and participants can work to pre-fill some of the slots with topics and speakers. The remainder of the slots can be filled in on the day of this unconference.

There will be a sign up sheet on Friday to get your picture taken to update your LinkedIn profile. If you would like to sign up before Friday, you can do so here
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/2013/05/job-search-jam-sessions-photo-sign-up.html

• We have a representative from the Workforce Central Career Center in Milford schedule to participate and present during the morning.
• We have Denise Zazzera returning for a morning session to do a session on buddy groups. She can also talk on job transitions and importance of certifications for advancement.
• Ken Picard from The Entrepreneur's Source will be there to help with a session or two.
• Bill Lippencott will be ready to do a session or two. As will Gil Krispien and Steve Sherlock.

If you have an idea on a session you could facilitate or lead, please feel free to do so
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/p/schedule.html

The exact schedule will be filled in during the orientation Friday morning. So get there to register between 8:30 and 9:00. You'll have an opportunity to propose a topic of a session, offer to lead a session and of course, network!

At 9:00 we'll begin to fill in the schedule matching topics and speakers with the best room and schedule to ensure everyone gets to learn, share and have some fun.




If you have a question to be answered or a suggestion for a session, you can submit it via this form:




If you have not registered yet, please do so. We need to be able to plan for the food and refreshments.
http://jobsearchjamsessions4.eventbrite.com/

Where will Job Search Jam Sessions be held?

What is the Parish Center like? Where is it located?

These questions are commonly asked and easily answered.

1 - I visited St John Evangelist Parish Center in May 2010 to record this brief video and provide a view to the wonderful space we were able to utilize for the Job Search Jam Sessions held previously. On Friday, Jun 14, 2013 we will use this same space. for Job Search Jam Sessions 4!




2 - The Parish Center is located in Hopkinton and directions to St John the Evangelist can be found via Google:


View Larger Map

If you would like to find directions another way, the address to look for is
20 Church St, Hopkinton, MA 01748

If you haven't registered yet, please do so. It will help us plan to have enough food and refreshments
http://jobsearchjamsessions4.eventbrite.com/

"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 speakers, Brian Hawley and Tom Bodine. 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, 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.

About 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.

About Tom 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.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

June 7, 2013 Brian Hawley & Tom Bodine "10 Things You Should Know About Long Term Investing"
June 21, 2013 Robert Dandrade "Face-to-Face Networking"

General Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators:
Elinor Kerr elinorkerr@yahoo.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Kathy McKenna kmurphmckenna@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com

Job Search Jam Sessions - Photo sign up list

William Lam will set up in one of the session rooms to take a professional photo so you can update your LinkedIn profile. If you would like to schedule time for your photo please use the form below. Note the schedule will be confirmed on Friday, Jun 14th.

Dress professionally for the photo
Please bring a flash drive or memory stick to take the photos home with you




If you have not registered, please consider doing so. Your registration will help the food and snack planning.
http://jobsearchjamsessions4.eventbrite.com/

Job Search Jam Sessions - June 14 - Flyer available

Help spread the word about the Job Search Jam Sessions scheduled for June 14, 2013.

Download the flyer and hang it in a good place to help spread the word.

Where? 

• your local college placement office or career center
• MA Career Centers 
• local coffee shop 
• post office 
• your local library 
• local church 

and anywhere you think someone looking for work might be able to see it and find out about the event.


View the PDF format:



Download the PDF format:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczd0ZwRENBTTkzOFU/edit

LATEST SEASONALLY UNADJUSTED JOB AND UNEMPLOYMENT ESTIMATES FOR LOCAL LABOR MARKETS IN THE COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

LATEST SEASONALLY UNADJUSTED JOB AND UNEMPLOYMENT ESTIMATES FOR LOCAL LABOR MARKETS IN THE COMMONWEALTH

BOSTON MA – May 21, 2013 – The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development today reported that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates for April were down in all areas, with the exception of Amherst.  Over the year, the rates were down in seven areas; up in fourteen areas; and unchanged in one area. 

Statewide, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, down 0.5 of a percentage point over the month and 45,200 jobs were added in April.  Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was unchanged from the April 2012 rate of 6.3 percent and Massachusetts added 48,100 jobs. 

In April, over the month job gains occurred in eleven of the twelve areas.  The largest job gains were in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Springfield, Barnstable, Worcester, and Framingham areas.  The Pittsfield area was the only area to record a job loss. 

Over the year, ten of the twelve areas added jobs with the largest percentage gains in the Barnstable, Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury and Peabody areas.
The seasonally adjusted statewide April unemployment rate, released on May 16th, was 6.4 percent, unchanged over the month and down 0.2 of a percentage point from the 6.6 percent rate recorded in April 2012.  The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 1,400 job loss in April following a loss of 3,800 jobs in March. 

The labor force, unemployment rates and jobs estimates for Massachusetts, and for every other state, are based on several different statistical methodologies specified by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates. 

NOTES:  The May 2013 unemployment rate, labor force data, and jobs estimates for Massachusetts will be released on June 20, 2013; local unemployment statistics will be released on June 25, 2013.  Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi. See the 2013 Media Advisory annual schedule for complete listing of release dates.

MASSACHUSETTS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 6.4 PERCENT

Jobs down 1,400 in April, up 12,900 in 2013

BOSTON– May 16, 2013 – The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development today reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary estimates show that Massachusetts' total unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.4 percent and the Commonwealth lost 1,400 jobs in April.

Professional, Scientific, and Business Services, Information, and the Education and Health Services sectors added jobs in April. In the first four months of 2013, Massachusetts added 12,900 jobs. Over the year, Massachusetts added 46,200 jobs, 43,600 of which were in the private sector.

Over the year, the unemployment rate was down 0.2 of a percentage point from the April 2012 rate of 6.6 percent. Revised numbers from the BLS estimate Massachusetts lost 3,800 jobs in March rather than 5,500 jobs as was reported last month.

April 2013 Employment Overview

Professional, Scientific, and Business Services added 4,500 (+0.9%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Professional, Scientific, and Business Services added 16,200 (+3.3%) jobs.

Information gained 900 (+1.0%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Information gained 2,700 (+3.1%) jobs.

Education and Health Services added 700 (+0.1%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Education and Health Services gained 15,600 (+2.3%) jobs.

Other Services gained 200 (+0.2%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Other Services added 2,300 (+1.9%) jobs.

Leisure and Hospitality lost 1,900 (-0.6%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Leisure and Hospitality added 4,900 jobs (+1.5%).

Financial Activities lost 1,400 (-0.7%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Financial Activities shed 1,300 (-0.6%) jobs.

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities lost 1,400 (-0.3%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 3,500 (+0.6%) jobs.

Construction lost 600 (-0.5%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Construction added 2,700 (+2.4%) jobs.

Manufacturing lost 300 jobs (-0.1%) over the month. Over the year, Manufacturing lost 2,900 (-1.1%) jobs.

Government lost 2,000 (-0.5%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Government gained 2,600 (+0.6%) jobs.

Labor Force Overview

The April 2013 estimates show 3,250,300 Massachusetts residents were employed and 222,800 were unemployed, for a total labor force of 3,473,200. The April labor force increased by 2,500 from 3,470,700 in March 2013, as 2,900 more residents were employed and 500 fewer residents were unemployed over the month. The labor force was an estimated 3,200 below the 3,476,400 April 2012 estimate, with 5,000 more residents employed and 8,300 fewer residents unemployed.

The unemployment rate is based on a monthly sample of households. The job estimates are derived from a monthly sample survey of employers. As a result, the two statistics may exhibit different monthly trends.

NOTES: Beginning with the March 2011 estimates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has assumed responsibility for the production of the CES State and sub-state jobs estimates. BLS has also implemented methodological changes which may increase the month to month variability of the estimates. See Changes to procedures for producing Current Employment Statistics (CES) State estimates.

Local area unemployment statistics for April 2013 will be released on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The preliminary May 2013 and revised April 2013 unemployment rate, labor force data and jobs estimates for Massachusetts will be released on Thursday, June 20, 2013. See Media Advisory for a complete list of release dates.

Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi.

Confident, Assertive, In-Charge: Developing the Attributes of Leadership

Hello Everyone, 

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker, Alex Bering. 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. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. 

In the second hour, Alex will talk about "Confident, Assertive, In-Charge: Developing the Attributes of Leadership."

Confident, Assertive, In-Charge: Developing the Attributes of Leadership

Now you can learn to tap into your latent power, unleash your inner attitudes of confidence and enthusiasm and build your visibility in the organization at Confident, Assertive, In Charge: Developing the Attitudes of Leadership. 

About Alex Bering

Alex (The Y Guy) Bering is an Author, Speaker, Coach for the, Dale Carnegie Training Company. He's a Master Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP) & a Board Certified Hypnotherapist teaching people how to re-wire their thoughts and re-program their behaviors to create a more compelling future. He provides Consulting, Training & Coaching in 6-Key Areas: Leadership Development, Sales Effectiveness, Presentation Effectiveness, Team Member Engagement, and Eliminating Stress/Fear/Anxiety by mastering your thoughts and emotions. 

His background in the corporate and educational world includes 15 years - as a Sales Consultant who built a $2,000,000 book of business for Liberty Mutual in 2005, then created The Y Guy, LLC to teach college weekend workshops: How to Speed Read Human Behavior & How to Master your Emotions while working with Comcast, Cintas, and the Hospitality Industry as a Sales Manager/ Consultant/ Sales Representative. His experience includes management, marketing & sales, research and development while holding an MBA in Entrepreneurship.

Alex is the author of, "How Divorce Saved My Life," which is a personal story of hitting, "rock bottom" and losing everything he worked so hard for. Barnes & Noble purchased his story and it's now available in local stores. He's appeared on, "The Jordan Rich Show" on WBZ NewsRadio & "The Ron Van Dam Show" on USTREAM morning talk radio. 

He has also appeared in a major motion picture movie called, "Amistad," directed by Steven Spielberg. Working alongside Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins & Djimon Housou was a life changing experience.
General Information

The networking group meets in Hopkinton, at St. John the Evangelist Church parish hall. The meeting occurs, from 9:00 to noon and will meet the first and third Friday's 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's to allow everyone to attend the Acton Networking Group or any other networking group, if they wanted, on the days we do not meet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators: 
Elinor Kerr elinorkerr@yahoo.com 
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net 
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com 
Kathy McKenna kmurphmckenna@comcast.net 
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com 
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com 

Not all states of unemployment are equal

Bloomberg.com had an interesting article on Monday:

Being jobless is always tough. In some states, though, it's tougher than in others. Many provide barely enough unemployment income to let people scrape by. Where the unemployment rate is high, the competition for jobs is that much rougher. In states with a big gap between the richest and poorest, the psychological toll of joblessness can be greater, with high-paying jobs hard to get and low-paying jobs unequal to the bills. Across the board, nearly 11 percent in cuts in federally funded unemployment benefits went into effect on March 31, further shrinking resources.

For each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, we considered the unemployment insurance benefit, the unemployment rate as of March 2013 and the wealth disparity expressed as a ratio of rich households to poor ones; a ratio over 1 is high. The result is our list of the 10 worst states to be unemployed in, from No. 10 (bad) to No. 1 (worst of the worst.)

Check out the gallery of the Top 10 Worst States to be unemployed (and be thankful MA is not among them!)
http://www.bloomberg.com/money-gallery/2013-05-09/the-top-10-worst-states-to-be-unemployed.html


If you are anywhere near Hopkinton, MA, make your plans to travel there for the Job Search Jam Sessions to be held on June 14. The sessions will help you navigate the world of unemployment.
http://jobsearchjamsessions.blogspot.com/2013/04/job-search-jam-sessions-ready-to-return.html