Career Development Dish

SetFocus Connect Presents…Career Development Tips, Tools, and Tidbits

Career Development Dish

Week 7 of the SharePoint Masters Program

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, August 2nd 2010     

The SharePoint Masters program is almost over as this is week 7. The week focus is SharePoint Portal Management and Darrell Wire will be the instructor for the week.

From the Career Development side, official engagement occurred last week bringing the job search to front and center. A tool that works hand in hand with the job search is networking. Some of the key places we have students network are:

  1. Local User Groups
    1. These are an outstanding opportunity to meet people in your community who currently have an interest and work with the same tools you do. Many have positions using these tools and are fantastic people to connect with.
  2. LinkedIn
    1. Now that the profile is created, it is important to connect with people and begin using the LinkedIn groups to the fullest potential. Start discussions in these groups and respond to discussions where you can provide insight or feedback.
  3. Twitter
    1. Create a Twitter account and start following companies and recruiters who are using Twitter to recruiter. Link your Twitter account to your LinkedIn profile and start sharing interesting information about the new tools you are acquiring or interesting articles or industry updates you discover.
  4. Facebook
    1. While Facebook is inherently social, the more people who know what you are currently doing and what you are looking for the better for you. Students should be sharing the fact they are coming through an intense hand on program that is teaching SharePoint development skills and that they will soon be looking to put these skills to work. You never know where that opportunity could be hiding.
  5. Start a Blog
    1. Create a blog through SetFocus Connect and start sharing the projects you are working on and any other relevant important content you wish to share and discuss.
  6. Look for Local Events or Seminars
    1. Some examples could include MSDN events, like user groups another fantastic opportunity to connect.

As students begin to implement the above they should also be preparing their personal 60 second commercial which will be essential for that question “Tell me a little bit about yourself;” this will undoubtedly be coming up in some of the above situations. It is also important to remember that networking is a tool that will not only help in the job search but will also be essential in career development and enhancement once a position is secured.

The final week is right around the corner!

Week 6 of SharePoint Masters Program

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, July 26th 2010     

A new week is upon us along with new content. In week 6 of the SetFocus SharePoint Masters Program students will be focused on a SharePoint Business Processes project.

From the Career Development side, this is an exciting week as students should be nearing officially engaging with their region Placement Specialist. To become engaged with a Placement Specialist a student needs to complete 3 core self marketing tools:

  1. Resume
  2. LinkedIn Profile
  3. Portfolio

When a student officially engages with a Placement Specialist they can expect:

  1. Placement Specialist is informed by the Career Development Specialist the student is ready for engagement. The Placement Specialist calls the student to introduce him/herself and hear more about the specifics of the individual job search (positions, expected salaries, geography, etc.).
  2. Placement Specialist will identify any hiring partners (recruiters or companies) SetFocus has in their area and connect them as appropriate.
  3. Submit student to any new positions that fit the students needs as they are received.
  4. Provide support during the job search process and answer any questions that arise.
  5. Constantly analyzing job search to identify if any changes need to be made to enhance results.

Students should now post their resume on key job search boards (Dice, Monster, CareerBuilder and any local sites) being sure to refresh this post every week or so. Next week we will discuss Networking opportunities. Stay tuned!

Week 5 of the SharePoint Masters Program!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, July 19th 2010     

The content continues to flow as we enter week 5 of the SetFocus SharePoint Masters Program. The week begins with a one day project focused on Branding and Web Content Management and then student’s transition to a lecture on SharePoint Business Processes given by Darrell Wire.

The Career Development team also continues to provide new content each week during the Brown Bag lunch sessions. Last week we discussed the portfolio and blogging. The portfolio is a visual representation of the project work completed here at SetFocus and any additional samples of work that will help market them and their skills. Students should now be actively capturing screen shots of their project work and preparing to pull these screen shots together in a Word, PowerPoint or PDF document. Below are links to some graduates portfolios.

Portfolio Examples:
Tam Pham: http://slidesha.re/aICoiM
Kaushik Sengupta: http://slidesha.re/9FhXPA
Bamidele Benjamin: http://slidesha.re/9PXj48
Aston Kelly: http://slidesha.re/cg8yNi

Next week the Career Development team will be back to discuss Networking and Darrell will be back with more exciting SharePoint material!

Week 4 of the SharePoint Masters Program!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, July 12th 2010     

We have made it through the first half of the SharePoint Master Program! There are many exciting learning opportunities ahead including this week’s lecture focusing on Branding and Web Content Management. Corroll Driskell will again be offering his wealth of knowledge through his interactive instruction.

Week four also brings an opportunity for Career Development (CD) headway. At this point students will have had an opportunity to complete their resume, learn about LinkedIn and how to construct an optimal profile and how to leverage LinkedIn for their job search. According to the SharePoint Career Development Timeline which contains ideal CD completion dates, the resume should be completed this week and students should be focusing on the LinkedIn profile. This week we will be discussing the Portfolio and blogging during our lunch time workshop.

Where Should a Student be with the CD Tools by Week 4?

  • Identified ideal positions and what we should be targeting when preparing the personal marketing collateral
  • Watched Resume Video On-demand
  • Attended Resume Workshop
  • Completion of Resume with help from Career Development Representative
  • Begun to work on LinkedIn profile

Next week is right around the corner and continues to present new opportunities and experiences!

Week 3 of the SharePoint Masters Program!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Friday, July 2nd 2010     

The second week has come to a close and the third has begun. The course unquestionably has increased in challenge and the focus for this week will be a continuation of SharePoint for Developers followed by a SharePoint Development project. Projects are real world specifications focusing on concepts recently covered in class and allow students to actively interact with the concepts just learned. While in a project no lectures are given however Teacher Assistants are available for support should any questions or needs arise.

From the Career Development side 3 workshops have been covered thus far; Orientation, Resume and LinkedIn. Next week there will be a pause in the workshop schedule however workshops will resume again the following week. In addition to the workshops, students are invited to an internal SetFocus SharePoint page containing a video on-demand library and support documents for the varying tools.

Samples of the video on-demands include:
• Resume
• Cover Letter
• LinkedIn Overview and Profile
• LinkedIn Groups and Searching
• LinkedIn SlideShare
• Portfolio
• Networking and 60 Second Commercial
• Before and Interview
• During an Interview
• Interview Follow Up
• RSS Feeds
• Job Searching and Engagement

Next week brings us to the half way mark of the program and a week full of fresh opportunity and knowledge!

Week 2 of the SharePoint Masters Program!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, June 28th 2010     

The first week is now behind us and we are moving on to the second! Most have figured out the basic navigation like the GRID (and the importance of the mute button), their virtual machines and some of the small features like Office Communicator. The classroom bond with their fellow classmates is beginning to form and everyone is starting to settle into their stride. The week two focus of the SetFocus SharePoint Masters Program consists of a SharePoint admin project and a lecture on SharePoint for Developers. Darrell Wire will be leading the lecture with the same interactive format as provided the previous week.

On the Career Development front, everyone has attended the CD orientation brown bag session and they are now equipped with knowledge, tools and resources. Everyone knows who their point person is, the big picture focus of the Career Development/Placement Team, videos and documents available, workshop schedules and a roadmap to help guide them. We discussed ideal timelines discovered for optimal results and lastly everyone was invited to join Yammer utilizing their setfocus.com email addresses.

Students First Career Development Assignments:

  • Identify who you are as the product, what do you have to offer prospective employers
  • Begin researching your personal “Ideal Position”
  • Begin constructing your resume utilizing the SetFocus resume template and forward to Career Development Representative

Next week we will continue to the journey into week three. Lots of fun and exciting career “development” ahead!

Week 1 of SharePoint Masters Program!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, June 21st 2010     

The first week of the SetFocus SharePoint Masters Program has arrived! Most students have had an opportunity at this point to test run their GRID setup and Virtual Machines and gain some familiarity to be sure things will go smoothly that first day. In addition to the test run, they will have met some of their fellow classmates with whom they will be working very closely over the next 8 weeks. Class starts promptly at 9:00 AM ET and ends at 5:00 PM ET. The first week of the SharePoint Masters Program is focused on a review of ASP.NET and XML and will be an interactive lecture given by Corroll Driskell. The lectures will utilize a mixture of SetFocus GRID technology, desktop sharing software, and virtual machines allowing access to all of the needed programming environments and tools.

From the Career Development side, the first week also presents the initial introduction to tools and resources designed to market each student. On day one, each student will receive an email containing basic information about how to communicate and work with their Career Development Representative.  This includes the SetFocus resume template which will be the first tool discussed. In addition, each student is invited to a mandatory Career Development Orientation which will take place during a lunch hour that first week and will cover an in-depth Career Development and Placement overview.

Things to Expect Your First Week:

  • An email from the Career Development Team which will Include:
    • Contact Information and Welcome from Career Development and Placement Team
    • SetFocus Resume Template
    • Guide for Resume Template
    • Identify You Ideal Position Worksheet
    • Instructions for Yammer setup
  • A calendar invite for the Career Development Orientation Presentation
  • A Career Development Orientation discussing and reviewing how we will work together and resources available
  • An open invitation to meet one on one with you Career Development Representative via the GRID

As you can see the first week is full of new experiences and opportunities, the beginning of what will ultimately result in new career possibilities. Next week, we will discover week 2!

Creating a Personal Brand

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, June 14th 2010     

I recently discovered and started following a blog titled “Brand-Yourself” (http://blog.brand-yourself.com/). I am continually telling my students that they in essence are a product – their skills are something they are selling during the job search process and it is important to have marketing collateral to support this “sales” process. This blog and site allowed me to see even beyond that initial selling stage to the next level – creating a personal brand.

To many this may sound completely ludicrous, why would individual people need to create a brand for themselves? When we think of creating a brand we usually think of a company or an organization that is selling a product or providing services or goods. We generally do not think of individuals with skills or services to provide. However crazy this may sound, it is important to identify with the evolution of social media, things have changed. When looking for a position we no longer purchase the local paper and begin circling position we are interested in. It is also safe to say if you are solely relying on job boards for positions you are severely limiting yourself.  And while the job seeker has changed their job search methods, so too have the hiring managers. Where do they turn when researching a candidate – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs – they are putting your name into a search engine to see what comes up, identifying what type of personal brand you, the individual has created.

Having a strong on-line presence is crucial and is why in working with the SetFocus Master’s Program  students we focus on helping them create a presence through LinkedIn, Portfolio’s and Blogging. We want our students/graduates/alumni to not only be found in the searches but we the content found to help them “sell” themselves and legitimize their skills.

What type of personal brand have you constructed for yourself?

SetFocus Career Services – What do they Offer?

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, June 7th 2010     

Many of you considering SetFocus may find yourself asking – what will the SetFocus Career Services provide me? We get this question often so this week I wanted to discuss some of the benefits students, graduates and alumni can expect from the Career Services available at SetFocus.

As the job market began to shift over two years ago SetFocus also had to adapt to the new market and our answer was developing a new position, Regional Placement Specialists. Creating this new division in the team allowed for more specific focus inside the department. Career Development Representatives work with students to help create tools designed to market them and their new skills (Resume, LinkedIn profile and Portfolio). The Placement Specialist are available to assist in the job search including connecting the student to any companies/recruiters we have established partnerships with, submitting them to any new positions that arise and overall being available for support as the student begins applying to positions from their end.

In addition to having a dedicated Career Development Representative and Placement Specialist there are workshops and on-line resources focused on a series of Career Development tools. The Core Workshop series consist of:

  1. Career Development Orientation
  2. Resume/Cover Letter
  3. LinkedIn
  4. Portfolio/Blog
  5. Networking
  6. Job Search
  7. Interview
  8. Wrap Up and Alumni Services

To help reinforce the workshop content there is an on-line library of video on-demands and corresponding documents for each tool and skill set. Students have lifelong access to this site and all the content and resources available.

In addition to the assistance provided while in class and upon graduation, the Career Services SetFocus offers are lifelong. As an alumnus, should you find yourself back on the market, looking to move or simply just looking to remarket yourself – SetFocus is always here to loop you back into our services and assist in any way we can.

The Career Development and Placement Team are committed to the success of our Students, Graduates and Alumni. We are always re-evaluating our tools and looking for ways to enhance the offerings we provide.

Post Graduation for .NET Master’s Program

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, May 31st 2010     

The training is now officially over and you may be asking yourself – now what? As this new chapter opens, so does a new focus. While the job tools and the job search have always been on the to-do list, with the close of class this allows the graduate to begin focusing all their attention here. For those who have not had an opportunity to complete their resume, LinkedIn profile and portfolio it is imperative they do so as soon as possible so the work can begin with their regional placement specialist.

For those that are engaged, communication with their placement specialist becomes critical. As students begin to apply to positions and become more engaged in their job search we request they complete a Weekly Action Tracker document. Doing so provides numerous benefits including:

  1. Creating an organizational system allowing the graduate to see where they have applied, who they have followed up with and next steps they should be taking.
  2. The ability to identify any patterns, for example – is the graduate obtaining a number of interviews but nothing is developing after this stage. If this is the case we may want to evaluate the interview to determine if there is anything we can do together to yield better results.
  3. This enables the Placement Specialist to be sure they are not doing dual submissions to positions or recruiters.

Other documents we encourage students to use as they proceed is the Interview Review form and the Employer Recruiter document. The Interview Review form is designed to help the graduate better evaluate their interview performance. This document should be completed right after the interview and can be reviewed with either their Placement Specialist or their Career Development Representative.  

The Employer Recruiter document can be used to communicate any new contacts the graduate feels would benefit from contact with SetFocus. We are always happy to reach out on our students/graduates behalf to discuss SetFocus and why that individual with SetFocus makes them a valuable and viable candidate.

Again this partnership takes place until the student/graduate secures a position at which point another chapter ends and another begins.

.NET Master’s Program Final Week!

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, May 24th 2010     

The time has come, the final week of the .NET Master’s Program. While 14 weeks can feel like a long time I think most would agree, looking back the time flies. As a review here is what was covered over the 14 week span:

.NET Master’s Program:

• Programming with C#
• Framework 3.5 New Features and Intro to XML
• Framework Project
• Developing Windows Applications using VS2008
• Window Project
• Querying SQL Server 2008
• ADO.NET and LINQ
• ASP.NET Using VS2008
• Web Project Week
• Windows Communication Foundation
• WCF Projects
• Final Group Project

This week allows students to work on their final project as teams using all of the skills acquired over the past 14 weeks. On graduation day the teams gather and present their final projects to their instructor and the Dean of Student, Robert Witkowski. Once the presentations are finished the students have an opportunity to reflect on the past 14 weeks and discuss their future goals.

While this is the end of one chapter of the journey it is a beginning to the next – becoming a SetFocus Alumnus and moving into that next position with support from the SetFocus Placement Team. Two resounding themes are expressed to the students, we are always here and you are now part of the SetFocus family.

Congratulation to our recent .NET graduates. You should be very proud of your accomplishment and we all look forward to seeing your continued success!

Week 13 .NET Masters Program

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Sunday, May 16th 2010     

Only two weeks remain and the main focus is Projects! This week’s project revolves around WCF. Charlie Filippo and Jimmy Robertson will both be assisting students as they work through the project.

From the Career Development side, the Workshop series comes to a conclusion with the “Wrap Up” presentation scheduled for Thursday. All three departments will have a representative available including a Career Development Representative, a Placement Specialist and the Alumni Coordinator, Laurel Velazquez. The presentation briefly reviews some of the core tools and discusses what a student can expect from the Career Services and Alumni benefits. Some of these benefits include:

1. Lifelong access to personal SetFocus email
2. Lifelong access to the SetFocus SharePoint site
3. Discounts on future training
4. Alumni Newsletter
5. Lifelong Career Development Services

The Wrap Up presentation is also a fantastic opportunity for students to ask any lingering questions. Next week brings a very monumental moment – graduation!

Article Alley – Best Practices for Writing a Successful Resume

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Thursday, May 13th 2010     

Every edition of The Career News: Weekly News, Tips, and Tools for Your Job Search provides readers with multiple quick-read articles, across a variety of topics. In her article, “Best Practices for Putting Together a Successful Resume( March 1, 2010 edition), Alesia Benedict discusses some key elements to include in your resume.  She highlights the idea that most job seekers “don’t think about [their] resume until [they] need it,” and that they find themselves scrambling when they realize it is outdated.

Benedict suggests keeping your resume up to date, focusing on current experiences and relevant descriptions…and she is absolutely correct! Updating your resume on a regular basis is key to your career success.   And knowing all of the essential information to include is critical.

When compiling the body of your resume make sure to include the following:

Heading – with your name, location, a working phone number, an email address that you check on a regular basis, and your LinkedIn profile and/or personal website address.

Summary – visit SetFocus Connect’s Career Development Dish and read about putting together your summary in Article Alley – Writing Your Resume Summary.

Certifications – include a list of certifications that you have. You never know when these will set you apart from other candidates who have the same qualifications.

Skills – list all skills that are relevant to the position(s) for which you are applying

Work Experience – start with your most recent position and work your way back 10 to 15 years. Include the name of the organization, its location, the dates you worked, and your position title. You also want to include no less than 3 bullet pointed descriptions of your position responsibilities. Begin each of these with an action verb; present tense if you are still in the position and past tense if you are not. Quantify whenever possible and stay away from personal pronouns.

Education – again, start with the most recent and work backwards. Include your degree, field of study, and GPA, if it is above 3.0. Do not include your graduation year, unless it is within the last 5 years, or any high school information.

You will also want to include any volunteer work you’ve done, published articles you’ve written, military experience, honors and awards you’ve received, and professional organizations you belong to. Once you have compiled your resume, check it for spelling and grammar mistakes and save it with a distinguishable title, including your full name so that it is easily identifiable when sending it to perspective employers.

Your resume is your calling card and needs to be the best representation of you so make sure to highlight your accomplishments!

Tune in next week when we will examine Career Development’s next Step for Success, putting together your LinkedIn profile.

Week 12 .NET Masters Program

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Monday, May 10th 2010     

 

The final stretch is upon us and week 12 of the SetFocus .NET Masters Program brings the last week of lecture. This week the focus will be Windows Communication Foundation and James Arendt makes his instructional debut providing his immense knowledge. From the Career Development side things are still heating up. With the job search in full swing it is time to focus on interview techniques. For many people just the word “interview” can provoke anxiety and fear. The key to an interview is preparation and recognizing this is an opportunity for you to learn more about the company and the position. The interview is as much for you as it is for the company. 

The Career Development and Placement Team are also here to help with the preparation. We have a Career Development Workshop dedicated to the three key stages of an interview; before, during and after. We also provide one on one Mock Interview support to help build confidence and provide a platform to practice. My colleague Jenny Gordon has actually constructed multiple Blog posts on these very topics including:

Do’s & Don’ts: Dressing for your Interviews:
http://blogs.setfocus.com/careerdevelopment/dos-donts-dressing-for-your-interviews/

Article Alley – Interview Follow Up:
 http://blogs.setfocus.com/careerdevelopment/interview-follow-up/ 

Do’s & Don’ts of Interviewing:
http://blogs.setfocus.com/careerdevelopment/dos-donts-of-interviewing/

Article Alley – Phone Interviews:
http://blogs.setfocus.com/careerdevelopment/article-ally-phone-interviews/

What could you improve to yield better results from your interviews?

Next week we will begin to look at the transition from student to alumni as we move into week 13!

Article Alley – Writing Your Resume Summary

Posted by SFCareerGirl on Friday, May 7th 2010     

Your resume summary is the first piece of information a potential employer reads about you.  SetFocus teaches, in our Steps for Sucess, that it should leave them wanting to know more about you and entice them to continue reading through the rest of your resume.

In the article “How to write a Professional Summary for Your Resume,” Maxwell Hurst discusses writing an effective, eye – catching, resume summary and its pieces.  He begins by telling the reader what NOT to include.  He suggests, and is correct in suggesting, that you stay away from mentioning any personal information that is not related to your career, such as marital status, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. These are not details a “potential employer [needs] in order to pre-screen your qualifications.”

Hurst goes on to outline the three key elements that should be included in the summary.  The first is details about your experiences and skills as they relate to the position for which you are applying.  Don’t get into too much detail but do highlight key positions and tools.  Next you want to include what you can and will do for the organization, focusing on how you are different from other candidates.  Lastly, include your professional goals, making sure to tie them back into the opportunity at hand.

The article also mentions a few key things to keep in mind.

  • When composing your summary feel free to format it as a short paragraph or some easy to read bullet points.
  • Write your summary in the third person and remember to stay away from using personal pronouns.
  • It’s ok to have more than one summary! Depending on the position you are applying for, there’s a good chance you’ll need to tweak your summary or write a different one for each application.
  • Make sure your summary, just like the rest of your resume, is error free!

By highlighting your experiences, accomplishments, abilities to contribute, and your professional goals you will create a dynamic first impression and make yourself stand out from the rest of the pack. Need to know how to compose a successful resume?  Stay tuned to next week’s blog where we will take a look at putting together the body of a resume.

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