Personal & Career Development Workshop

Welcome!

• Landing a job can create life changing experiences however, our primary focus is specific to helping the participant find a career.

- Teach soft skills - Help build confidence - Provide support

Agenda

1Week 1- Soft Skills

Job search resourcesBranding

Online Job Search

2Week 2- Resumes

InterviewingMock InterviewsInterview follow

up

3Week 3Job Offers

NetworkingWhose hiring

now?

What the next few weeks will look like!

Ice Breaker

• Everyone gets nervous when applying or interviewing for jobs

• Take a minute to think about your biggest job search concern

• Consider : How might you alleviate your concern? How can I feel more in control of the situation?

• (Share if you feel comfortable)

Soft Skills and Why They are Important

Soft Skills are the personal attributes you need to succeed in the workplace. You can be successful at getting the job but how do you get and maintain those critical skills to keep the job?

• Good Listener• Willing to accept feedback• Critical Thinker• Courteous• Collaborative• Deal With difficult situations• Dependable• Desire to Learn• Effective Communicator• Honest• Independent• Responsible• Great Work Ethic• Self Aware

Be Honest with yourself. What areas are strengths for you and what are the areas you need to work on to be successful?

• Every day you need to have your next day planned out and every week you need to have your next week planned out.

• You will constantly need to make changes to accommodate the needs of your job search

• It is suggested in the first few weeks of your job search you will need to be more aggressive in the amount of time you put into you job search routine since you will have more research and job postings to review.

• At or about the third week you should see a harmony form within your routine.

Your Daily Routine

• Start with building a target list of employers

• List of companies and organizations you desire to work for, even though they may not have advertised job postings.

• Take a few of these companies and track down the contact information of the person who would be doing the hiring for your type of position at each of these companies.

Job Search Resources

Target Lists of Employers

Build Your Personal Brand….recognize these brands?

Build Your Personal Brand

• For better or worse, we all have a personal brand and reputation

• A brand is anything—a symbol, design, name, sound, reputation, emotion, employees, tone, and much more—that separates one thing from another.

• Branding on a business-level is common, but today branding is becoming just as important on a personal level.

• From your online presence to what other things people say or think when you come to mind is important

Build Your Personal Brand

Job Search Resources

• Referrals – Family/Friends• Direct Employer Contact• One-Stop Centers - Vocational Rehabilitation• Disability Organizations – By State• Job Placement Agencies – Ultimate Staffing,

Ledgent, Adecco, Kelly Services, etc• Career Networking – LinkedIn • Online Job Search – Monster, Indeed.com,

Careerbuilder

Why do an online job search?

• You'll have access to job postings in all sectors of work, at all levels and pay grades, all over the world.

• You can search for jobs at any hour of the day or night, on any day of the week, whenever you have time.

• You'll gain practice with computer skills, which means you'll be beefing up your skill set as you search.

• Online interactions are lower-pressure than face-to-face ones, so it'll be easier to keep your composure.

• Powerful search tools will help you discover and browse career areas you might never have considered

• Let’s walk through a live demo

Resume vs. Application

Resumes• Resumes are wonderful

tools for better understanding a candidate’s background.

• A resume, though, is like an advertisement for the candidate.

• If the resume is not requested, still include one

• Allow your resume to tell YOUR story

• Its ok to have 1-2 page resumes

Application• Applications are legal

documents that require the applicant’s signature.

• For example, the application will ask if you have served any jail time in the past. This is something that is not on your resume, however will need to be entered onto a job application.

• The job application obtains information that you may have left off of your resume intentionally however is required, sometimes for legal reasons.

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Week 2

PHONE INTERVIEWBEHAVIORAL BASED INTERVIEWS GROUP/PANEL INTERVIEWTAG TEAMMEAL TIME INTERVIEWSECOND/FOLLOW UP INTERVIEW

Types of Interviews

Before the Interview

• Research the Company• Ask some questions?

How many people will be interviewing me? How can I best prepare for the interview? What kinds of questions will be asked?

Beginning the Interview

• Firmly shake hands to those you meet• Greet all involved• Be Friendly to everyone (Admins, Parking

attendants, Sr. Leaders)• Follow the interviewer’s lead (direction,

seating)

During the Interview• Remember….Nervousness is normal• Remind yourself this is part of the process• Be yourself…but avoid personal issues• Don’t bad mouth your current/former boss• Have a few questions prepared to ask the interviewer

Examples: • What do you think are the most important qualities for

someone to excel in this role?• What are your expectations for this role during the first 30

days, 60 days?

Post Interview

• Thank them for their time• Ask when you can expect follow up• Follow up with a thank you note/email

Do not get discouraged! Learn from the process and be patient

Mock Interviews

Mock Interviews

• Since most companies use Behavioral based interviewing method, we’ll focus on that tonight.

• We’ll spend 10 minutes doing mock interviews• We’ll do an example and then you’ll interview

your neighbor• Remember STAR- Situation/Task, Action and

Result

STAR – Behavioral Based Interviews

• One of the keys to success in interviewing is practice, so we encourage you to take the time to work out answers to these questions using one of the suggested methods, such as the STAR approach.

1. Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.

2. What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

Congrats you got the offer, now what?

• Ask for the offer in writing. • Ask any outstanding questions you

have in your head• Ask for time to think it over if

you're not 100 percent sure.

The Employment Offer

BROADCAST IT

» We’ll have these slides available

» Resource packets in the rear of the room

Access to Resources