Today was an extremely wonderful and fantastic day for me and I have the feeling a lot of professionals made some great connections as well. From the moment I walked in until the moment I left, I was able to connect with other Lansing professionals, ran out of all 50+ business cards, and tried to spread the word about my passion for workforce development. For those of you watching my blog, you may notice it dramatically increases on hits from barely over 600 hits to more over the next few days and weeks.
But enough about me for now, I want to tell everyone about the amazing people I met today. I was able to actually meet some of my “tweeps” today along with some Linked In connections, including; Alicia Paterni, Executive Director from Capital Area Business Leadership Network (located within Capital Area Michigan Works in Lansing) and Emily White, Technical Recruiter from HRU Technical Resources, Steve Harmon, Human Resources Specialist and M. Miche Suboski from LEAP (Lansing Economic Area Partnership, Inc.). I also got to touch base with a fellow Davenport University alumni, Walter Shiflet who holds his PHR, MBA, BBA and ABA in Strategic Human Resources Management and International Business. We met a few months ago at a Business Etiquette Dinner hosted by Davenport.
I met an amazing man named Patrick Rich who is the coordinator for the Eaton Rapids Memorial Day Parade and also involved with other non-profit activities. He assists families of fallen soldiers in deciding if their loved ones will be buried locally or even in Arlington Cemetery. He told me about donating hair dryers to the VFW Home for the girls that live there. I’m truly convinced that Patrick is doing beyond his fair share helping out his community, but now he needs his community’s help in partnering with an organization that can truly support his efforts and use his many skills, talents and abilities and offer him a job within the field of helping others.
Speaking of reaching out to the community, I have to point out another amazing business right here in Lansing – Legacy Model & Talent Agency. As the name implies, this is a modeling and talent agency, but did you know that once a year they put on a fashion show where all of the models are cancer survivors? Their last year’s show included a variety of ages, even a six year old that had survived a rare bone cancer! I’m intrigued and I would like to help out in their next year’s survivors fashion show.
I met so many interesting job seekers with all sorts of backgrounds, from some that have a GED, high school diploma, professional certifications, associates, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. I met one lady who is searching for a job and has extensive experience working with disabled individuals including her mother and two children – but keeps hitting road blocks because she doesn’t have the education required for many job opportunities out there. Another job seeker I connected with is a displaced teacher who has taught Spanish and is actively seeking a possible new career path. Several other ladies that I met are looking for administrative assistant positions. I sincerely hope that each and every professional that I have had the privilege of connecting with is fortunate to find a wonderful new career within a Lansing area business.
The setup of the Journey to Jobs was extremely effective, however I only wish I’d had more time to really connect with everyone there – job seekers and recruiters alike. Two hours flew by so quickly and there were so many great tidbits of advice exchanged. I hope to connect with everyone that I touched base with via Twitter, Linked In and even email.
Feel free to keep in touch and pass around this blog. I’ll be updating this over the next several days, adding new companies, schools, volunteering opportunities and networking groups. I’m even considering starting a new networking group that will meet up during the evenings or on weekends so more people can partake and have a chance to meet with local businesses in need of new talent.
Thanks!
Tiffenator
Getting To The Point –
14 hours ago
Practice answering various interview questions. There are numerous books that cover this and have ample suggested ways to answer. Get any of these books and go through the various questions and how you can answer all of them. Even the Internet is filled with sites which will guide you through the possible questions that may be asked. When you answer a question, always try to demonstrate how your skills will benefit the company you want to work with.
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