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!

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!

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 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!

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!

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!

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!

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?

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.

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.