Community Partners: Temple Chai

This is the first in a series of stories about SJN’s Community Partners. These are the individuals and organizations enabling our work.

The Start of a Meaningful Relationship

SJN has hosted its regular meetings and some special events at Temple Chai in North Phoenix since early 2007. Our connection to the temple originated through the efforts of SJN Alum Marcia Finberg, a Temple Chai congregant, who now co-leads the Tempe Career Network.

After meeting at Mountain Valley Church in North Scottsdale for a year, the church could no longer accommodate SJN’s schedule and we began looking for a new home. Because Temple Chai had previously sponsored an employment support program, Marcia thought that they might want to know about SJN’s need for regular meeting space.

Marcia and I met with Sharona Silverman, Director of the Deutsch Family Shalom Center at Temple Chai, on Dec. 26, 2006. We had a warm, friendly conversation, and Sharona was enthusiastic about welcoming SJN to Temple Chai. She viewed the connection as a way to continue the work the temple had offered through its earlier program, Job Transitions and Education for the Changing Workplace. I believed that SJN had found a sponsor who appreciated our mission and was eager to support it. I knew that the collaboration would provide SJN with a haven where our program could thrive.

A Valued Community Partnership

Since that day in December 2006, I have been overwhelmed and touched by how open and easy the Temple Chai community has made it to bring SJN to their campus. Their goodwill and empathy for our cause have enabled our program to prosper. SJN’s earliest meetings, held in the temple’s library, had an average attendance of 30. After two years, we have seen up to 200+ per event, and Temple Chai has adapted, making an adjoining room available.

In addition to SJN’s bi-monthly meetings, we have held workshops like an all-day “Exploring Your Passion and Putting it to Work” where SJN participants could be seen working in pairs in the courtyard. We’ve offered evening events and curriculum workshops, and even a photo shoot. When necessary, we have been able to linger after regular meetings, and the staff has helped with issues around the A/V equipment we own and use there. Other behind-the-scenes gatherings, like SJN planning sessions and volunteer group meetings, have been held at the temple as well.

We are fortunate to work with Temple Chai’s supportive staff including Sheana Abrams, facilities coordinator, who reserves space for our events; Jose Sanchez, maintenance worker, who sets up the double room to meet our requirements; and Marci Beliak, assistant to Sharona Silverman, a valuable resource and contact to others at the temple. Joe Miller joined the temple staff as Executive Director about a year ago and has been a pleasure to know. He has gone out of his way to ensure that SJN has access to double space to accommodate our growing numbers.

The Cost of Operating

The temple has donated meeting space to SJN for three years. In 2009, thanks to member and meeting sponsor donations, we were able to reimburse the temple for some operational expenses.

SJN is grateful to Temple Chai and our friends in the Jewish community for their passionate support of our members and neighbors in career transition. God bless your work as well!

(See the link to all SJN’s Community Partners on our website.)

Christine Vicari-SJN
Founder-Executive Director

Join SJN at last meetings of year!

Dear Friends and Supporters of SJN:

There are three SJN meetings left on the December calendar. Be sure to see our website for programs scheduled and register for:

Thursday evening, Dec 10 - Southeast (Mesa Community College)
Monday evening, Dec 14 - West (Glendale Community College)
Tuesday morning, Dec 15 - North (Temple Chai, Phoenix)

Members, guests, recruiters, employers and first timers are always welcome to attend meetings at any location.

At the Dec 15 meeting in the North, during the 8:30-9:30 AM open networking hour, we are having a light breakfast to celebrate the holidays. Consider wearing your holiday ties and gay apparel. Donations given in the past will cover the food expenses. Donations are always welcome.

If we don’t see you at one of the next three meetings, thank you for your participation this year.

Members can look forward to great offerings and support from SJN in the new year. Watch the website for January events scheduled.

Blessings to you and your families!

Chris


Christine Vicari
Founder-Executive Director
SOUTHWEST JOB NETWORK
P.O. Box 25674 ~ Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(v) 480 513-1491 - (e) info@southwestjobnet.com
(w) http://www.southwestjobnet.com/

SJN benefits when you order business cards and printing from VistaPrintonline at our website http://www.southwestjobnet.com/business-cards/

Important Notice to Recipients: The information contained in this email has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. The information transmitted by this e-mail is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you received this communication in error, please contact us immediately at (480) 513-1491, and delete the communication from any computer or network system. Southwest Job Network (SJN) is not a job placement forum. We do not match candidates to openings nor do we send resumes to employers or recruiters. There is no guarantee of employment either directly through this group or as a result of association with SJN. BE ADVISED: All incoming correspondence should be business related and respect our User Agreement. All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring or review by, and/or disclosure to any other party as required by law. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might negatively affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the sender for any loss or damage arising in any way in the event that such a virus or defect exist.

Volunteer of the Week: Aidan Foley

Submitted by Dawn Nowatzki – SJN Board Member, and SJN Southeast Program Director

Aidan Foley has been a key volunteer contributor to the post-launch and continued success of SJN Southeast.

Aidan originally joined SJN in November 2006, then landed at Orbital Sciences and moved to alumni status, and returned to SJN as an active job seeker in June 2009.

For those of you who attended an SJN Southeast event over the summer, when Eric Walton was our presenter, you know that Eric assigned “homework” to-dos for everyone to work on in preparation for the next meeting. The first to-do, from the “Emotions” session, was to journal where you were with each of the 10 emotions listed on the Emotional Roller Coaster.

In the earliest SJN Southeast meetings, we had quite a few new members joining us at each meeting, and I would remind everyone before the next session what the homework to-do was, so that first-timers would be prepared.

My introduction to Aidan was his email response to me, the day after receiving this reminder, as follows:

“Hi Dawn, concerning the action item, I did a self assessment (my wife helped too), and I've only seen Denial that my last employer could let me go with so much on my plate, Apprehension in that have I done everything possible to prep for my interview, Accepting that this 'stuff' happens, and Growth that I'm able to offer comfort and humor to others going thru this transition as well as me....”

Since our SJN Southeast group was still very new, and everyone was still getting to know each other, Eric and I asked Aidan at that second meeting if he would mind sharing his response with the group, and he immediately agreed. He was an icebreaker for the other SJN members, and encouraged them to also share their situations.

Before the next meeting, Aidan offered to be an SJN volunteer. When I asked him what he would like to do, he replied that he would do whatever we needed help with, that he typically never got to pick and choose his assignments, and that it seemed that he always got the ones that were in distress and needed a “smokejumper” mentality to solve.

Aidan offered to coordinate with Jerry Holtzclaw and Meridith Sullivan, and he led the creation and roll-out of the Specialty Support Groups (SSGs) in SJN Southeast in early August, and has been the SSG coordinator since then for SJN Southeast.

He also recognized the importance of re-offering the Get Wired to Get Hired workshop and LinkedIn demo at SJN Southeast, and since he was very familiar with LinkedIn, offered to be involved in the hands-on LinkedIn demo presentation that we provided in November.

Aidan was also a Wandering Greeter at all events, and made a point of making sure that no one was sitting alone at a table from the time that they arrived – including Laurie Katapski, the SJN North Site Event Coordinator, who I had invited to sit in and observe an SJN Southeast event!

Beyond that, I could tell that Aidan was always thinking about SJN and its needs as he was going through his daily and weekly job search and networking:

• He would advise as he identified several potential locations for SJN meetings and computer labs.
• At my request, Aidan sought out SJN members with examples of experiences with Maricopa and Phoenix Workforce Connection in advance of an SJN meeting with them to explore opportunities for SJN members.
• He made a valiant effort in trying to convince a retired Lt. Col from another Southeast Valley networking group to drive down to an SJN Southeast event to take digital photos of SJN members for their LinkedIn profiles.
• Aidan was an SJN ambassador as he attended other networking groups, and he referred many first-timers to SJN events both in the North and Southeast, and encouraged them to also volunteer.
• And he followed up with me multiple times after SJN Southeast meetings when he heard about potential opportunities that might be a fit for an SJN member that he had talked to at a previous meeting, but didn’t quite remember who they were.

On Monday, December 7th, Aidan will be transitioning back into SJN Alumni status as he starts at Honeywell Aerospace, through Manpower, as a Senior Advanced Engineer.

I am very grateful for the volunteer contributions and ongoing support that Aidan has provided to me and to SJN Southeast, we will miss him at our upcoming meetings, and we wish him the best in his new opportunity. afoley1@cox.net

Volunteer of the Week: Jamie Mercado, AMEX

SJN members benefit from the support of our neighbors--individuals and their organizations.

By acknowledging their contributions, we also capture and share our stories.

Jamie Mercado is an employee of American Express Corporation (AMEX). Like many corporations in America, AMEX sponsors an Employee Volunteer Program with a purpose of “faciiltating an active and socially responsible voice for employees in the communities in which they live and work.”

Jamie started volunteering with SJN this spring. When asked how and why she found and chose to volunteer with SJN, Jamie replied, “I found SJN through Google. SJN was the first organization on the list that popped up and I called and spoke to Bill Austin, Chris Vicari and then Raoul Encinas. They were all so helpful and caring! Immediately I felt a connection to their warmth, professionalism, and compassion to help others.”

Jamie brought a team of collegues to SJN, and they were assigned to help with the Mock Interview session on May 26th. “I was hooked on SJN after that and wanted to extend my help.”

For her continued involvement, Jamie participated on a team developing the new curriculum for the Interviewing and Managing Offers module and worked in that effort from May thru August of 2009.

Volunteering Benefits Jamie’s Career
When the curriculum was ready for delivery, Jamie committed to becoming an SJN trainer. “Although I have instructed for about 20 of my 22 years at AMEX, it had always been to internal AMEX employees (both entry level and exempt level) and always pretty small groups of 12-70 at most. Presenting at SJN allowed me to break out of my shell and deliver curriculum to around 180 people, helping to break my fear of speaking in front of large audiences.”

AMEX Matching Gift
As an acknowledgment of Jamie’s volunteer work, AMEX is planning to make a $500 donation to SJN.

SJN members are grateful to Jamie, her colleagues and American Express Corporation for their contribution to SJN. Perhaps other SJN supporters and alumni members have employee volunteer programs or opportunities for matching grants that could benefit SJN as well. If so, contact me to arrange the verification of our 501c3 non profit status and set up SJN as a benefactor of your volunteer service or company grant.

Great knowing and working with you on the SJN team, Jamie!



Christine Vicari
Founder-Executive Director
SOUTHWEST JOB NETWORK
P.O. Box 25674 ~ Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(v) 480 513-1491 - (e) info@southwestjobnet.com
(w) http://www.southwestjobnet.com/

SJN benefits when you order business cards and printing from VistaPrintonline at our website http://www.southwestjobnet.com/business-cards/

Important Notice to Recipients: The information contained in this email has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. The information transmitted by this e-mail is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you received this communication in error, please contact us immediately at (480) 513-1491, and delete the communication from any computer or network system. Southwest Job Network (SJN) is not a job placement forum. We do not match candidates to openings nor do we send resumes to employers or recruiters. There is no guarantee of employment either directly through this group or as a result of association with SJN. BE ADVISED: All incoming correspondence should be business related and respect our User Agreement. All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring or review by, and/or disclosure to any other party as required by law. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might negatively affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the sender for any loss or damage arising in any way in the event that such a virus or defect exist.

Veterans' Day THANKS

To all our Veterans--SJN members, friends and neighbors:

Thinking of all of you today and thanking you for your service.

My father served in Europe during WW II. At that time, households with veterans actively serving in the war put a red star in their window. My grandparents had four sons all serving overseas, and they proudly displayed four stars in their front window. They were even interviewed in the local newspaper. I am going to see if I can find a copy of that article and share with you.

My brother served in Korea and my husband was in the Army during the Vietnam Era. We hold our military servicemen and women in the highest regard.

I volunteer in the Phoenix helping neighbors in transition, and have met many wonderful service people -- always proud to work with and support their transitions.

Today, my husband went to Home Depot and noticed a promotion for a 10% discount with a veteran's ID. He searched in his wallet and found a 40 year old Army photo ID--hasn't been touched in that many years! And Home Depot honored it. Way to go! I understand various restaurants in the area are offering free meals as well--check it out. I'm not the only one who wants to show love, appreciation and thanks to each of you.


God bless,

Chris

Volunteers of the Week: Karen England-Rick Gould

Karen England and Rick Gould, of Gould Intelligent, an I/T staffing, custom software and website development firm, have been key contributors to the launch and continued success of SJN operations in the West Valley!

As successful recruiters and business leaders, Karen and Rick are passionate about sharing their knowledge and best practices with job seeking members of SJN. Karen and Rick have contributed on the Curriculum Development Innovation Council, helped people individually and as a group by donating their time to resume reviews, sharing "what works and what doesn't" in the Phoenix market, and by presenting core SJN workshops including New Member Orientation, Manage the Emotions of Career Transition and Develop Your Vision, and Interviewing and Managing Offers.

According to Karen, “Rick and I wanted a way to help folks in the community where we work and live. SJN--a great organization that is providing tangible, positive support to people in job transition--provided us with a great avenue in which to do this. SJN allows us to share our skills and experience to help job seekers. Besides, we both love to speak (those of you who have heard us know this!) and you kindly loan us your stage. We believe in SJN and the work Chris and her team are doing and plan to continue supporting SJN operations in the West Valley into 2010. Thanks for letting us be a part of all this.”

SJN and its members thank Karen and Rick for their continued contribution to the success of our organization and our mission to support our neighbors develop their career management skills.

Volunteers of the Week: SJN Marketing Innovation Council

It is a pleasure to recognize the efforts and initiative of the SJN Marketing Innovation Council (IC).

This group of professionals has committed to working on several short-term and long-term projects, including: jump-starting a PR program, updating web content, writing up award applications and re-designing the logo, marketing brochures and signage to reflect SJN’s name change, the renovated curriculum and this year’s expansion. The team continues to develop SJN’s strategic marketing plan.

Comprised of talented individuals with a variety of marketing backgrounds, SJN marketing volunteers are happy to share that several of their members have landed jobs since the Innovation Council formed.

Marketing Innovation Council Members include: Ellen DeDominico, Lori Kocmich-Stang, Paula Masiulewicz, June Meitz, Deborah Pace, Lynn Riley, Sam Rosen, Lisa Sorg-Friedman, Rhonda Wrenn, and Alex Zarazua.

Members who have landed are: Maribeth Brady, Kevin Dumcum and Jerry Kaster.

Interested in volunteering with SJN’s marketing professionals? Join them immediately after SJN North Tuesday morning meetings. In advance of the next Marketing IC meeting, you can reach out to this group via email to: info@southwestjobnet.com

MANY THANKS TO OUR MARKETERS!


For more information about SJN and to see our upcoming events offered at three locations: Phoenix, Southeast and West Valley, see our website.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT!

Christine Vicari
Founder-Executive Director

Volunteer of the Week: Al Walsh

SJN Volunteer of the Week: AL WALSH
Events Coordinator, SJN Programs in the West Valley
alwalsh@aol.com

Meet Al Walsh, an affable guy who joined SJN as a recruiter-resource in 2007. This year, Al partnered with SJN Board Members to lead the strategic planning to launch SJN in the West Valley.

To support this expansion, Al established a relationship and formed a partnership with the Glendale Community College Director of Career Services. Working with college representatives, he coordinated room availability, equipment and other logistical tasks to execute successful events at the school.

To staff the expansion, Al recruited, trained and managed a team of 25 volunteers to provide support before, during and after events. He cross-trained volunteers to fulfill complex assignments. This ensured consistent delivery and provided for succession planning. He also coordinated with SJN Board members and other event coordinators to maintain consistent processes at all three SJN locations.

SJN is very proud of Al’s contribution—and throughout all our encounters with him he has been professional, upbeat, dedicated and committed to the success of the endeavors he undertakes and the members he serves.

Many thanks, Al.

Training Trainers to Deliver SJN Curriculum

Training sessions are planned to teach facilitators the SJN curriculum.

Have you ever wanted to share yourself with others from SJN? Want to lead the crowd? Want to get more experience with speaking in public? If the answer to any of these questions is positive, then plan on attending a Train-the-Trainer session to get the deep understanding to be able to co-lead one of the SJN Modules at one of our three valley-wide locations.

The sessions will be held at the following times at Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85032.

Monday, October 5

9 AM -12 N Emotions and Vision
1 PM -4 PM Marketing Plan and Tools

Thursday, October 8
9 AM -12 N Leads and Networking
1 AM - 4 PM Interviews and Offers

In addition to trainees, we are also looking for 2-3 people to lead the training sessions. So if you have lead a module or been through the TTT for that module and want to help out by leading, please contact me to get on the schedule.

Contact: Daniel McCrobie
daniel@righthalfmarketing.com 480.335.0927


If you have any questions for me, don't hesitate to be in touch.

Many thanks!

Christine Vicari
Founder-Executive Director
SOUTHWEST JOB NETWORK (SJN)
Chris.Vicari@southwestjobnet.com

Volunteers of the Week

As my readers know, SOUTHWEST JOB NETWORK (SJN) is an all-volunteer organization. Our volunteers are the best. Read about the contributions of two of them.

KAREN ZELLER offered to photograph SJN members and provide digital images for their profiles, blogs, etc for a $5 fee. Karen conducted the photo shoot this week at Temple Chai where we had our regular meeting. She donated her time and talent and the money she collected to SJN. This worked out very well—as Karen patiently took photos until each subject was satisfied with the results. Karen donated $130 to SJN. Thanks, Karen!

Thanks also go to the team of administrative volunteers who managed the flow of people being photographed, took the money, etc. One volunteer offered his jacket and tie to another member who came unprepared for the shoot, but took advantage of it when there was time for Karen to photograph him. That's the spirit!

The second volunteer I want to recognize is MARYANNA LEVENSON who approached Einstein Bros (where we’ve been purchasing bagels for some time) to see if they would donate the bagels to SJN. She couldn’t get anyone to return her calls.

Maryanna took the further initiative to talk to Chompie’s. While the deal isn’t “signed,” it appears that Chompie’s is willing to consider this donation, and I have just sent the required evidence of our nonprofit status along with a letter explaining what SJN does in the community. Fingers crossed!

These are two examples of members who offered to put energy behind their ideas—and each made a significant impact. THANK YOU Karen and Maryanna.

I ask members to think about KAREN and MARYANNA when you have ideas of things that SJN could do or services SJN could provide. Remembering we operate entirely on donated services. Ask yourself, “Is there something I can do with my time, talent and ideas to make an impact on the organization and my job seeker peers?” I bet you can!

Blessings and good weekend,

Chris Vicari-SJN
Founder-Executive Director

SJN Establishes Emeritus Board

I am pleased to share a recent decision of the SJN Board of Directors to establish an SJN Emeritus Board to honor the service of past board members of our organization. As a local, grassroots nonprofit, our volunteer board has been and remains the lynchpin of our success.

We are pleased to recognize each of the Board members in our organization's history through membership in our Emeritus Board. They are:

Maria Wojtczak
Jim O’Hara
Steve Wild
Patrick Hanley
Doug Bruhnke


Congratulations! and thank you again for your service.

From time to time, vacancies occur on the board. To be considered, send a letter of interest with a resume to the SJN Nominating Committee at info@scottsdalejobnet.com

Thank you,

Christine Vicari

Founder-Executive Director

www.scottsdalejobnet.com

June Events at SJN

Meeting location: Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix, AZ 85032
Meeting times: 8:30-9:30 AM Open Networking, Resume Reviews
Customary Meeting Donation $5

Meeting: Tues, June 2 – Temple Chai

COPING WITH THE EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER OF JOB TRANSITION

SJN friend Dave Sherman joins us on June 2 to offer job seekers insights and inspiration to maintain a positive self image and attitude during job transition. Topics Dave will address:

• Being aware of the emotional rollercoaster of change.
• Finding many reasons to be upbeat and positive.
• Tips and tools to help you cope with the ups and downs.
• Exercises to develop coping strategies.
• Options/resources when outside help is needed.

Workshop: Thurs, June 4 – Glendale Community College

SJN’S GET WIRED TO GET HIRED!

Come to this SJN seminar to understand how to make maximum use of the powerful tools available through the internet, with the understanding that the goal is to get you hired. Among other things, you will:

• Understand how internet tools fit into each phase of SJN’s Curriculum for the Job Search Process.
• Discover free resources that help you reach hiring decision makers.
• Learn how to tap into the power of LinkedIn to further your job search.

REGISTRATION: This free workshop is co-sponsored with Glendale Community College. This Intermediate-level seminar is best for those with basic understanding of and familiarity with LinkedIn and other tools such as Google. For more details and to register: http://getwired-060409.eventbrite.com/.

NOTE: SJN representatives are not certified or accredited LinkedIn trainers and are not associated with LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a registered trademark of LinkedIn Corporation.


Meeting: Tues, June 16 – Temple Chai

HOW TO IMPRESS THE HR PROFESSIONAL

Bob Neckes, Corporate Director of Human Resources & Risk Management for Macayo's Mexican Kitchen & Fiesta Canning, will share the human resource manager’s perspective with job seekers. Learning what HR wants to see and hear-- in your resume, cover letter and application and during interviews--will make a difference in your application process. Bob will offer his recommendations on addressing roadblocks in your work history and encourage job seekers to be open-minded about companies, industries, and leads to organizations you may not have previously considered.


Workshop: Mon, June 22 – Jobing.com, 5-8 PM
North 22nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016

SJN’S GET WIRED TO GET HIRED—HANDS ON!

Come to this SJN seminar to understand how to make maximum use of the powerful tools available through the internet, with the understanding that the goal is to get you hired. Among other things, you will:

• Understand how internet tools fit into each phase of SJN’s Curriculum for the Job Search Process.
• Discover free resources that help you reach hiring decision makers.
• Learn how to tap into the power of LinkedIn to further your job search.

REGISTRATION/FEE: $15.00
Follow link to sign up and pre-pay: http://getwired062209.eventbrite.com/

Internet connection at the Jobing.com offices enables participants to bring a laptop and work live.

NOTE: SJN representatives are not certified or accredited LinkedIn trainers and are not associated with LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a registered trademark of LinkedIn Corporation.

Call for Volunteer Trainers, Presenters

Call for Volunteers!

Are you a Training Expert, Skilled Presenter or Public Speaker?

SJN needs you and your capabilities! As we look to increase the value and benefits we offer to job seekers in the community, one way you can help is by delivering SJN-approved content.

One of the first things we are doing is developing our “Train the Trainer” sessions so that we can equip more people to deliver the SJN curriculum.

We’re collecting information over the next few weeks and building our database. Even if you cannot volunteer right now, please submit your information so that we can keep you informed of our opportunities down the road. If you’re interested, please click this link. http://www.surveyshare.com/survey/take/?sid=87671

If you know someone who might find this an interesting volunteer opportunity, please send them this email.

THANK YOU,

Chris Vicari, Founder-Ex. Director
Scottsdale Job Network

SJN: 3/30 Grab Hold of Your Career in Tough Times

GRAB HOLD OF YOUR CAREER IN TOUGH TIMES
An Evening Panel Discussion--Not Just for Job Seekers

Monday, March 30, 2009

No fee. No registration necessary.

Location: Civic Center Library
3839 N Drinkwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 312-7323

5:30-6:30 PM – Open Networking
6:30-8:00 PM – Panel Discussion

In today's economy, just about everyone is concerned about their job or job opportunities. You may currently be looking for a job. You may suspect you'll soon be looking for a job. You may be thinking about changes in your professional life. Regardless of your situation, you're probably a little uncertain about your prospects. We have good news: opportunities present themselves every day, even in the toughest economy.

Treat yourself to an evening of lively discussion with a panel of professionals who know all about career coaching, business leadership, and professional networking. Ask them anything you want to know about managing career opportunities in today's market; you'll take home a diverse view of new ideas and perspectives!

• SJN is seeking an event sponsor. If you can help us connect with one, please contact SJN member and event coordinator: Raoul Encinas raoul.encinas@cox.net - thank you!

Panel Information

Jim O'Hara is one of the founding partners and President of Kellen James, a National Staffing Consultancy and is recognized as an authority on Human Capital Consulting. Jim is responsible for the strategic direction of the firm and management of significant consulting assignments. Jim has held executive level assignments for both national and international firms encompassing a twenty-five year corporate career. Prior to forming Kellen James, Jim served as Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing for several Divisions of a multi-national information provider serving legal, accounting, information and educational verticals. Jim earned his undergraduate degree from The Citadel and his MBA from Pepperdine University.

Lynn Moran has over 30 years of successful business experience, including five years as the President of Ethel M® Chocolates, a boutique retail and wholesale gourmet confectionary company. While President of Ethel M®, Lynn launched a literacy program titled “Feed Your Mind” that provided books to children. In 2002, she was named one of the Most Influential Businesswomen in Southern Nevada. Lynn was also the Executive VP of Sales for Russ Berrie. Lynn opened Sonoran Life Transition and Performance Coaching in 2008 where she focuses primarily on executive and business coaching/consulting. She has a BS degree in Business, a MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a Certified Coach.

Zach Hubbell is Co-Founder of www.pursuethepassion.com, a program of the Jobing Foundation. His work with Pursue the Passion began shortly after college when he and 3 friends set off across the country on a 16,000 mile road trip, interviewing over 200 professionals who loved their work. Currently Zach and Co-Founder Brett Farmiloe have been touring the country speaking to students and adults about their experiences. They promote a weekly video career profile and are developing a book and documentary coming out later this year.

Sara Klug, who calls herself a pre-boomer, is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) with 30 years in HR across numerous industries. As an Education Engineer with OdesseyWare in Chandler, she assists in product evaluation and design and serves as a conduit between the customer community and the software development team. Sara has a BS in Education and MA in Organizational Management. As an educator, Sara taught school in Okinawa and Germany. She also launched a branch office for a California Relocation Management company which became profitable within 15 months. Sara is an advocate of networking, volunteerism, keeping up-to-date skills, and maintaining a positive attitude during transitions, having been through 2 layoffs in 8 years. She is an alumnus of the SJN program and a supporter of SJN since its inception.

Moderator: Raoul Encinas is Vice President at Preod, a professional services firm based in Princeton, NJ. He has 20 years of experience leading large-scale organizational change, turnaround, and strategy initiatives. In this capacity, he directly hired or influenced the hiring of over 100 employees across a variety of job functions and industries. Raoul is a frequent speaker on job search topics, writes the weekly “AskSJN” column, and has directly helped hundreds of job seekers dramatically improve their results.

New Fees for Non-Job Seekers

SJN exists to help job seekers during transition. Our non-profit organization also provides a forum for business supporters to connect with the available talent among our members.

At this stage in our young development, SJN does not have corporate sponsors or other sources of consistent income besides the event donations. Demand for our services has increased significantly in the past year – our current membership is about 1,600 members, more than twice the level at this time last year. This growth has significantly impacted our operating expenses.

In January of 2009, we took some necessary actions to increase income, requesting a voluntary $5 per meeting fee and instituted nominal workshop fees of $10 to $15 for our special training events.

We now need to take additional steps in order to address the increases in our operating expenses and will be instituting fees for non-job seekers attending our meetings or using our table space service. There has been increased interest and attendance at SJN events from business people prospecting for clients and contacts. The SJN Board of Directors has decided to institute a $10 per meeting fee for non-job seekers at our meetings. This change will be effective with our next meeting on March 3.

MEETING SPONSORS
In addition, SJN has been providing table space for businesses to recruit staff. This space is also of interest to businesses interested in promoting their services to members. Therefore, SJN plans to institute a $50 charge to those businesses who set up at the tables in the back of the room and to also provide those businesses a one minute opportunity to promote their business during the meeting.

SJN reserves the right to limit access to table space.

Space needs to be reserved in advance by email to info@scottsdalejobnet.com and $50 payment is due in advance and can be made through the PayPal link on the top right of the SJN website.

Thank you for your continued support of SJN.

Chris Vicari, Founder-President
Scottsdale Job Network (SJN)

The Techie with the Holey Jeans

At a recent SJN meeting, one of our business supporters noticed a job seeker wearing ripped blue jeans and a loud t-shirt. The businessman commented to me was that this job seeker wasn’t coming across as serious about his search.


I thought about that for a while. I had known this job seeker for a few months and thought he had enough trust in me to hear my comments. The next day, I decided to risk annoying him and wrote under the subject line “constructive criticism.”


I explained to the job seeker that he was sending off the wrong signals with his casual attire . . . which was the opinion of people scouting for talent. I explained that networking events should be thought of as pre-interviews, because you are getting a chance to be noticed.

Fortunately, The Techie with the Holey Jeans responded to my suggestions with appreciation. He acknowledged that he knew my intention was to help him. He also explained that in his industry, jeans and casual clothes were the standard. However, despite his being financially challenged, he was going to Good Will for some decent clothes.

I am so proud of this gentleman for his openness to my unsolicited advice. He actually is stepping it up a notch and removing any doubts in the minds of potential employers--or others who might serve as contacts for him--and I wish him luck. He impressed me with his willigness to hear criticism and adjust his approach.


If any employers want to meet really high talented professional people with integrity who will be good to your organization and clients, come join us at SJN.

Scottsdale Job Network Meeting Feb 3, 2009

Scottsdale Job Network Meeting

Improving Your Interviewing Skills Part 2

Scottsdale Jobs Network

Join us on MEETING: Tues, Feb 3, 2009 8:30-9:30 AM Resume Reviews, Open Networking 9:30-11:30 AM - Meeting with Guest speaker

Location: Temple Chai - 4645 East Marilyn Road Phoenix, Arizona 85032

STARTING OR WORKING IN A SMALL BUSINESS

Facilitator: Doug Bruhnke will moderate a panel of entrepreneurial business founders and owners to discuss what its like to start and work in a small business. Considering the current economy, all work options should be considered!

Panelists:

Lon Safko Lon is an award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, CEO, consultant, author and speaker www.lonsafko.com His 18 inventions and more than 30,000 papers are in the Smithsonian, and he was recently selected by the Smithsonian to represent The American Inventor at their annual conference Lon is the founder of eight successful companies, including Paper Models, Inc. His latest book The Social Media Bible by Wiley & Sons unlocks the mysteries of the hottest new Internet wave, Social Media, such as Facebook and YouTube.

Abhay Jajoo Abhay is a serial entrepreneur with growing businesses in Phoenix. One of his companies is Eupath, which provides US and Canada-based companies with software development, analytics and legal processing services to incubate and scale operations at lower cost in India while keeping their proprietary business processes in-house www.eupath.com

Lesley Gates-McCulley Lesley is the owner of Gates to HR www.gatestohr.com which she founded after leaving Phelps Dodge. She has extensive human resources management experience in diverse corporate and work site environments, including small business through Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Throughout her career she has created HR infrastructure and led project teams aimed at starting or working in a small business.

Jeffrey Taylor After a corporate career with Citibank and Peat Marwick, Jeffrey read an issue of Entrepreneur and became one. During his successful consulting career he published two textbooks which are still used by global financial institutions. In the last couple of years he has lectured on Sarbanes-Oxley to major financial institutions, developed business plans for start-up companies, prepared companies to go public, helped companies raise both private and public capital and made independent movies. His new book, Going from W2 to 1099?, will be published this summer.

Thank you,
Bill Austin

Email: | Scottsdale Job Network | Voice Mail: Phone: (480) 513-1491

Scottsdale Job Network



Phoenix Jobs

All I Want for Christmas is a ROOT CANAL?

Well, no, that really wasn’t on my list, but Santa managed to decide that the holidays would be more interesting if I needed immediate dental attention. Fortunately, despite flying cross country (and back), the dreaded procedure was able to be postponed until next Friday.

This situation points to the fact that while we plan good things, often other stuff happens.

Unemployment is part of the stuff of life that hits people the same way—doesn’t happen at a good time and is not welcome when it’s not your choice.

So now what? If part of your year-end news was displacement from steady employment, Scottsdale Job Network (SJN) and the leaders of our group really do understand and want to help.

As a non-profit group run entirely by volunteers who have experienced many career and life transitions, we offer a program of support.

Consider joining us at Temple Chai in Phoenix, our meeting location, on the first and third Tuesday mornings of each month. See the SJN website for more information about our program. The EVENTS CALENDAR offers the meeting schedule and description of presentations planned. The next meeting is Tues, January 6, 2009 – starting 8:30 AM with networking and 9:30 AM with meeting-presentation.

You can expect to be welcomed by caring and friendly people who want to make you part of the group. You’ll be made aware of resources that benefit the job seeker—including resume reviews, a Yahoo Group with information, links, a membership list and prior presentations. You’ll hear guest speakers addressing topics to help your search and have the opportunity to network with business supporters and other job seekers.

At the Jan 6 meeting, Jobing.com Foundation’s Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell will energize the audience with a presentation on Pursuing the Passion.

We hope all the job seekers we meet are back to work very soon and then able to help others still in transition.

Blessings for a great new year!


Christine Vicari-SJN
Founder-President