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Patricia A. Crew
Master Career Counselor MA, LCPC, NBCC
Patricia has almost 30 years of experience helping individuals pursue, change, manage and advance their careers. As well as a Masters degree in counseling from Catholic University, Patricia has completed numerous post-graduate classes in counseling and career development at Johns Hopkins University.
Patricia previously worked as the Career Development Manager for the Montgomery County Government and as a career counselor for the Montgomery County Commission for Women.
She continues to be a featured speaker with recent presentations topics that include: Secrets to Predicting Career Success That Only You Know, Get Out of Your Own Way To Get What You Want in Your Career and Winning Strategies to Enhance Your Worth at Work.
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COMPREHENSIVE CAREER COUNSELING CAN HELP YOU TO: |
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~ Gain a clear understanding of your core strengths. ~ Do a thorough career exploration. ~ Manage a career change. ~ Improve your work performance. ~ Remove artificial, organizational barriers to success. ~ Navigate thorny management issues. ~ Prevent derailment by building strategic alliances.
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Volume 13: Fall/Winter 2010
Greetings!
Welcome to the 13th edition of the Comprehensive Career Counseling Newsletter. We all know people who have suffered unforeseen layoffs and perhaps you may have been a victim of one yourself. One never knows who is going to get laid off or when. Peter Weddle, an HR consulting expert advises: "The conventional wisdom is that the stuttering U.S. economy is simply not creating new jobs...While a lot of job seekers have been disillusioned by this situation, it is a misinterpretation to think that the job market is bereft of opportunity." The next two editions of my newsletter will follow the successful job search of my client, John*, who leveraged multiple job searching strategies to secure a better job than he had even expected. John's search can provide you with a basic road map to expand your career skills during this challenging time. Upcoming Presentations I would like to invite you to several upcoming presentations. The first two listed below are sponsored by Women in Technology. Recruiting Best Practices - A panel of recruiters will discuss efficient and effective ways to recruit the best employees and I will address how an individual should leverage his/her skills to present the best image to attract recruiters. More information may be found at http://www.womenintechnology.org/calendar_day.asp?date=1/25/2011&event=761. Date: January 25, 2011
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Maggianos Restaurant, McLean, VA The First Five Years of Your Career: American University - WIT and American University will host a frank talk about the truth on how to be successful in your first five years in your professional career (or first five years of your new profession!) More information may be found at http://www.womenintechnology.org/calendar_day.asp?date=1/27/2011&event=802.
Date: January 27, 2011
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Get Out of Your Own Way to Get What You Want in Your Own Career - Sponsored by the Montgomery County Commission for Women. More information may be found at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cfw. Date: February 8, 2011
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm As always, if you have a specific, pressing question that you'd like me to address in an upcoming newsletter, please send me an e-mail to trishacrew@aol.com. I'm interested in knowing what's on your mind. *Name changed to protect identity. |
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Hope in the Middle of the Recession - Part 1
The Roulette Game of Layoffs:
Even the Best Employees Get Laid Off
A former client, laid off eight months ago, recently found an excellent job and I thought his story was worth telling. I'll call him "John," to protect his anonymity. This is a story of dogged persistence, online and traditional networking, updating one's skills, uncovering relevant research, and ferreting out the "real job".
My client John worked for an international information technology organization for 12 years as a programmer and a software quality assurance specialist and had not actively job hunted in all those years. John needed to do some serious work on updating his skills and networking for contacts.
John was notified of his pending layoff, due to outsourcing, last February. After several counseling sessions with me, John wasted no time in developing new technology skills and took advantage of additional training offered by his organization - thus improving his resume
Where to Begin
Support, accountability, identifying strengths and weaknesses, zeroing in on resources, fine tuning your professional image in writing, online and in person are just some of the reasons to seek assistance during your job hunt.
Though spouses, family, friends, and significant others can provide sympathy and encouraging words, they are rarely adept at providing help with developing a strategy for positioning oneself for the job market.
John recognized that it was important to be able to brainstorm with someone who was objective and professionally trained. "Patricia's ability to identify resources regarding job hunt(ing) strategies and information regarding Federal Government employment and Career Fairs was most useful to me."
Gap Analysis Time
As with all of my clients, I spend considerable time helping to determine the viability of each individual's skills and abilities. Utilizing current and updated relevant job descriptions and speaking to experts in the field, we determine if additional skills and experience are needed for a more marketable resume.
For John, developing additional, updated IT skills was imperative to a successful job hunt. In John's own words: "Patricia recommended that I expand my abilities by enhancing my Java skills and once this was accomplished many more leads were forthcoming."
Creating a Presence - Both Online and In-Person
Because John devoted most of his attention to his previous employment for twelve years, his network was somewhat limited. Networking can be a challenge even to the most extroverted type of individuals.
In his search, John spent much time in person-to-person networking, but also found online social networking very important. As John indicates, "I received lots of leads, mainly through LinkedIn. I used LinkedIn to find contacts at companies I was interested in and they quite often became referrals." If you are interested in social networking, but don't know where to begin, a good start would be to read How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Other Social Networks by Brad & Debra Schepp.
John also garnered new contacts at Career Fairs where he said that he "conducted face-to-face networking which produced a number of significant leads." For an updated listing of Career Fairs and Open Houses, contact jimditt@verizon.net.
Leave No Stone Unturned
While John found himself job hunting in the midst of a serious recession, he ignored the constant "bad news" and searched tirelessly utilizing all strategies available.
Constantly re-evaluating his approach, and remaining objective by speaking with his counselors, John found no single technique sufficed for his search.
He targeted companies which garnered his interest by attending career fairs, became familiar with and utilized a variety of job search engines, showcased his skills using social networking, and most importantly created a broad web of networking contacts for information, advice and referrals.
John streamlined his job hunt with fine-tuned organizational skills and never missed an opportunity to follow up on leads, informational and formal interviews and even casual discussions with friends and family.
John's broad approach landed him a great job - better than he ever expected.
To hear more about John's successful job search, see Part II of my Fall/Winter Newsletter coming soon! |
RECOMMENDATIONS
Touted as the "most comprehensive resource on federal employment for new applicants and federal employees" Karol Taylor's Guide to America's Federal Jobs: A Complete Directory of U.S. Government Career Opportunities offers current information, guidance and tips on job hunting in the federal sector. For a class on how to apply for a federal job, check our Karol Taylor's Web site at www.tayloryourcareer.com. For more information on utilizing social networking as a job hunting tool, check out http://www.careerconsultmd.com/Articles.html and read Job Search and Your Online Presence 1 and 2 by Shahrzad Arasteh. I recently heard one of her presentations and she is terrific.
Jean Stafford, executive coach of Executive Coaching for Women Inc., specializes in the unique demands made on executive women. If you're in need of help in overcoming traditional barriers, identifying new business opportunities, and achieving new levels of both personal and professional satisfaction, I highly recommend that you contact Jean at 703-759-4862 or go to www.jeanstafford.com. - Ready to Work
First Tuesday of the month, 6:00 pm
- Transition Roundtable - TelecomHUB
Second Tuesday of the month, 4:00 pm - CFO Support Group Second Thursday of the month, 4:00 pm For more information, contact ardell.fleeson@cbre.com.
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PARTNERS CORNER
Marva Goldsmith
Most people
have a vision of what they want to achieve but don't understand that their
words, actions and image may be holding them back. Marva Goldsmith, a Certified
Image Professional, delivers image and branding services through workshops,
workbooks, consulting and branded collateral development that helps her clients
market their best self. Check out her Web site at http://marvagoldsmith.com. |
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Missed one of my
newsletters? Click here to go to the archives.
As always, I look forward to your feedback.
Sincerely,
Patricia Crew
Comprehensive Career Counseling
trishacrew@aol.com
301-838-9456
www.crewcounseling.com
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