March 2015 |
Transition-e-news Volume 3 Issue 104 |
|
|
Sponsored By: |
Transition Insight
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength not a lack of knowledge but rather a lack of will. "
|
 |
|
|
||||
|
|||||
Click here for a complete list and description of organizations of TAOnline.com growing Partners! |
 |
|
|
Four Lessons You Might Not Learn at TAP© Tom Wolfe, author; all rights reserved; excerpts from Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition; used with the permission of the author and publisher, www.potomacbooksinc.com. An important step in leaving the military and starting your life as a civilian is the DOD’s transition assistance program. Referred to as TAP or TurboTap, or, most recently and more accurately, Transition GPS. A bit confused? Visit www.dodtap.mil for an overview, embedded resources, and links to each service branch’s iteration of the program. When TAP first appeared 20+ years ago it ran for five hours and participation was voluntary. Now it takes a week and attendance is mandatory, although retirees may opt out. The mission and content of TAP is important and the value you receive depends on the trainers at your post or base and the amount of effort you put into it. Regardless of the quality of the service provided and your participation, you might miss out on some critical information, especially in the job hunting and interviewing components of the program. Here are four important lessons to add to what you already know. 1. Self-knowledge To interview successfully you must have knowledge about the company and the job. This helps you determine your level of interest and convey that interest to the interviewer. That’s not good enough. You must also present yourself so that the interviewer sees you in the job, doing it well and smiling. Your ability to do that depends on knowing who you are and what makes you tick. What are your attributes, skills, traits, and personality characteristics? More importantly, which of these are most appropriate for that particular interview? In addition to your inventory of skills and traits, you must be ready to discuss specific examples of each. Saying you possess a particular talent is not good enough. You have to be able to prove it and the best proof is an actual story from your life that illustrates that talent or skill and its positive impact on the mission. You must also be aware of your weaknesses, deficits, failures, and disappointments. Being able to openly and honestly discuss this topic is critical to interviewing success. Nobody is perfect. Everyone has regrets. We all make mistakes. What matters are the lessons we learn, the corrections we make, and the resulting self-awareness. Believe it or not, this touchy subject can have a positive impact on the interview. 2. Interviewing Empathy A few years ago I was conducting an interview preparation session and emphasizing to the group the importance of presenting oneself in such a way as to be appealing to the interviewer. In mid-sentence one of the attendees interrupted me to say, "Tom, I am sorry, but it sounds like you are advising us to just tell the interviewer what he or she wants to hear and I have a problem with that." I thought about that statement for a moment and replied, well, yes, that is exactly what I am recommending, but with one critical caveat—truthfulness. Although it is quite easy to identify and focus on what is important to you, for an interview to be successful, you must also remember what is important to the interviewer. What matters to him? What does she care about? What are his priorities? Why is she interviewing? Hitting those hot buttons will contribute to your success. With prior knowledge of the particulars of the job, the company, and the location you should be able to hit those buttons. That is what I call interviewing empathy. So you can see that, yes, it is essential to tell the interviewer exactly what he or she wants to hear, as long as it’s the truth. Consider the converse. What if you fail to emphasize information about yourself that is both true and relevant to the position? That might have been the very piece of information the interviewer needed to designate you as the right person for the job. 3. The Power of Questions Some of the most powerful tools in your transition toolbox are the questions you will ask throughout the job-hunting process. To understand why questions are such an important aspect of your career transition, let’s start with this one—why do we ask them? There are two answers; one is fairly obvious and the other somewhat obscure. The obvious reason we ask questions is to get answers. In your job search there is much to learn about a potential position and a new organization before you can commit to a new career. Why is the position available? What are the responsibilities of the job? What is the potential for career growth? How is individual performance measured? What is the corporate culture? Will the compensation, benefits, and location support quality-of-life goals? The answers will help you decide if the opportunity is right for you. The less obvious yet equally powerful force behind asking questions is their ability to convey interest in the opportunity and the company. Conveying interest is critical to successful interviewing. Just because you are in the interview does not mean you are interested in the job. Although you could be the most qualified candidate on the planet, you will not get the offer unless the company knows with certainty that you are sincerely interested. Short of coming right out and saying "I am interested," asking appropriate, timely, and targeted questions is the most powerful way to express interest. Not surprisingly, a lack of good questions is one of the most often cited reasons for rejection in the interviewing process. 4. Selectivity Career transition, job hunting, and interviewing is hard work, but do not make it harder that is it already is. Consider the adages Don’t reinvent the wheel and Chase someone who wants to be caught. You would be wise to apply that wisdom to your job search. Here is where to start. First, understand that interviewing for a job is a form of sales—you are selling a product called YOU to a company called YOUR NEXT EMPLOYER. As any successful sales person will tell you, it is easier to fill a customer’s existing and acknowledged need with your product than it is to convince a prospective client that the need even exists. How does that relate to finding a job? As hard as it may be to convince an employer to hire you, what if you had to first convince that same employer to hire a veteran for the first time? Even if you are successful in educating that employer about veterans and convincing that hiring manager of the potential value added by a veteran, you have yet to convince him or her to hire YOU. This is where selectivity comes into play—you would be much better served to target employers that already value veterans as employees. How do you find these predisposed, military-friendly employers? Here are four ways. First, take a look at the companies that advertise or are featured in print and digital media that target military personnel. These include Military Transition News, Military.com, GI Jobs, and TAOnline. Those organizations already have YOU on their radar. Second, take full advantage of government sponsored programs and resources. Check out Transition GPS and VETS. Pay particular attention to the interviewing events and job fairs sponsored by your local TAP office. The companies in attendance are looking for YOU. Third, find organizations that host job fairs and placement firms that specialize in military-to-civilian transition and employment. These companies have already done the pre-sell, stacking the deck in your favor. Their clients contract with them because they want to hire YOU. To find these organizations, visit www.rileyguide.com/vets.html Fourth, take a look at joint private sector initiatives such as the JP Morgan Chase 100K Jobs Mission and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring our Heroes program. The list of companies that support those initiatives is impressive and they signed up because they want to hire YOU. Visit www.out-of-uniform.com for a more in depth discussion of this subject and more about the military-to-civilian career transition process. Thank you for your service and good hunting! © 2015; Tom Wolfe, is an author, columnist, career coach, veteran, and an expert in the field of military-to-civilian career transition. During his career he assisted thousands of service members in their searches for employment, placing more than 3000 in their new jobs. Prior to civilian life, he graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and served as a surface warfare officer. He teaches transition courses, gives seminars on career and job change, writes about the career transition process, and continues to counsel current and former military personnel. His book, Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition, was published by Potomac Books in 2011. Tom lives on the North Carolina coast with his wife, Julie, and their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Maggie. |
Job Interview Question: Describe Your Greatest Accomplishment© Copyright, 2015, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. This question may also be phrased as “What’s your greatest achievement?” and sometimes they may want more than one accomplishment/achievement. So, be prepared for “What are your 2 (or 3 or more) greatest accomplishments?” The Extra Benefit of Preparing Your AnswerPreparing to answer this job interview question should help you improve the effectiveness of your resume and LinkedIn profile, too. These days, your LinkedIn profile and the resumes you submit to employers should be focused on your accomplishments (preferably quantified). So, should your answer to this job interview question. If you haven’t added your accomplishments to your resume, now is the time think of as many of your accomplishments as possible, replacing those lists of “responsible-for” items. [More info: Avoid the Resume Black Hole: Resume Customization Cheat Sheet.] How to Prepare EffectivelySometimes writing down your accomplishments before the interview helps you remember them and can assist you in determining the most effective way to describe them. But, don’t memorize your answers. Just be familiar with your possible answers so you are well-prepared. I was reminded how important this question is when I overheard a job interview in my local Panera Bread while having lunch. The restaurant manager was interviewing a job candidate at a table in the center of the busy dining area, and this question was one that clearly took the job candidate by surprise. I’m sure that having a job interview with strangers listening added to this job seeker’s tension, but I suspect that the answer he gave didn’t help his candidacy. His greatest achievement was associated with winning the silver medal in a regional ski race when he was in high school, and — while the interviewer didn’t specify greatest professional achievement as a baker — they were not hiring him to ski for them. What the Interviewer Wants to HearHaving asked — and been asked — this question many times, I know many of the mistakes that can be made. This is an easy question to fail. The good news is that this question is an invitation to brag about something you have done, maybe several things. They want to hear how great you are, and how hiring you might benefit them. They also want to understand what you view as an accomplishment. Emphasize:
Your experience in this field: handling the important issues, successfully doing the tasks required, making smart decisions, collecting and using data, finding new customers, keeping customers happy, and/or the “transferable skills” you have that will make you a good fit for the job. (Quantified, whenever possible, of course.)
Maybe you were employee or salesperson of the week (month or year), were top student in some relevant training, or won some award, preferably one that is relevant to the job.
How you improved a process, a product, or a situation that showcases how hiring you might improve something. Maybe you figured out how to improve a report so that the information was more useful, or you discovered how to recycle something that resulted in reduced expenses. (Quantified, of course.)
Describe an event or other situation where you did something that demonstrates your understanding of either (or both) the “big picture” and/or the details that knowledgeable people understand about process or a product. (Again, quantified as much as possible!)
Explain how you provided excellent support to your manager or other employees in a stressful situation.
Is winning a skiing race relevant — perhaps fitness is a major requirement so the answer could be yes. But, do you have an accomplishment that would be more impressive (more relevant) to the employer? [More info: Job Interview Question: Why Should We Hire You?] What the Interviewer Doesn’t Want to HearThe bad news (maybe) is that what you brag about must be relevant — in some way — to the job they are trying to fill. Unless the question specifically asks for your greatest accomplishment outside of work or your greatest personal accomplishment, focus on something that demonstrates you can do this job.
It’s a bad idea to try making yourself look good at the expense of someone else.
Unless the job requires a very good sense of humor, don’t try to be funny.
Unless specifically asked to describe something unrelated to your job, stick to accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are seeking.
Put yourself in the interviewer’s or employer’s shoes, which of your accomplishments would be the most meaningful for someone filling the job you are interviewing for. Connect Your Job Interview Answer with Your Job Search DocumentsTake this question as an opportunity to draw attention to your resume and LinkedIn profile. You may be asked to explain more about them by the interviewer. But, even if you are not asked, provide a more complete (and flattering) description of those accomplishments in your job interview. Connect those dots for the employer, and emphasize your qualifications for the job. About the Author… Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 2011, NETability purchased WorkCoachCafe.com, and Susan has been editor and publisher of WorkCoach since then. Susan also edits and publishes Job-Hunt.org, is a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a columnist on HuffingtonPost. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ |
Obama Calls for Effort to Boost High-Tech Training, Hiring©2015 Associated Press, By Jim Kuhnhenn, Reprinted with permission WASHINGTON (AP) -- Targeting stagnant wages in an otherwise improving economy, President Barack Obama on Monday called on employers, educational institutions and local governments to develop a home grown high technology workforce that could help drive up higher-income employment. The effort aims to attack a stubborn downside of the current economic recovery and fill what the White House says is a gaping demand for high-tech workers in the United States. "We've got to keep positioning ourselves for a constantly changing global economy," Obama said in announcing his "TechHire" initiative at a gathering of the National League of Cities. "If we're not producing enough tech workers, over time that's going to threaten our leadership in global innovation, which is the bread and butter of the 21st century economy." Obama has obtained commitments from more than 300 employers as well as local governments in 21 regions of the country to train and hire low-skilled workers for jobs in software development, network administration and cybersecurity. Under the program, the Obama administration will provide $100 million in competitive grants to joint initiatives by employers, training institutions and local governments that target workers who don't have easy access to training. The money comes from fees companies pay to the government to hire higher-skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa program. "Too many Americans think these jobs are out of their reach, that these jobs are only in places like Silicon Valley or that they all require an advance degree in computer science. That's just not the case," said Jeff Zients, director of the White House National Economic Council. Among the communities that have pledged to participate are New York City, Louisville, Detroit, Nashville, San Francisco, and Kansas City, Missouri. The initiative is designed to prepare U.S. workers for a growing number of technology jobs. According to the White House, of the 5 million jobs available today, more than half a million are in those fields. Critics say U.S.workers are being hurt by immigration policies designed to let companies hire high-skilled foreign workers. "The problem is not that Americans aren't qualified to fill tech jobs, as the White House suggests, but that the H-1B and similar visas are being used in place of hiring qualified Americans," said Stephen Miller, a spokesman for Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the chairman of a Senate subcommittee n immigration. "America is home to the world's most talented IT workers, but these highly-trained and extremely talented individuals have seen their careers dashed by unfair guest-worker policies." Obama's attention to technology comes as the unemployment rate is dropping but wages remain flat. The unemployment rate in February dropped to 5.5 percent but average hourly earnings rose just 3 cents from January to $24.78. Raising wages has become one of the biggest challenges of the current economic recovery. "These tech jobs pay 50 percent more than the average private sector wage, which means they are a ticket to the middle class," Obama said. The administration's plan is for universities and community colleges to provide training. It is also relying on high-tech educational academies, some of which have entered arrangements with cities to train workers in a matter of months and help place them in jobs. The training academies undergo independent studies to confirm the rate of job placements. "The world's technology needs are just moving a lot faster than traditional education solutions. That's the fundamental problem here," said Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer, whose city has pledged to expand an existing program with high tech. "So that's why these non-conventional methods are needed right now." |
College training veterans as welders, electricians, drivers
By Mihir Zaveri
- Houston Chronicle HOUSTON (Tribune News Service) -- Every day for six weeks, Kurtis Cox, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, practiced welding at Lone Star College's North Harris campus. While he'd never tried his hand at it before enrolling at Lone Star, the 27-year-old Tomball resident can now rattle off which metals suit various temperatures, the pros and cons of different types of welding machines and the challenges of welding at different angles. "I didn't even know about it and now look at me," Cox said on a recent Wednesday, clad in a light khaki jacket and holding a Monster energy drink. He is among dozens of veterans enrolled in a Lone Star College program that helps veterans translate their military skills into high-paying workforce jobs created by the state and regional economy. It's part of a bigger push to beef up programs that get veterans, many of them returning from overseas, quick and effective job training in careers such as oil and gas drilling, truck driving and electrical technology. "We want you to work in Texas," said Kenya Crawford, director of continuing education at the North Harris campus who is overseeing the programs. "We want you to be able to get a good job that will continue to help you provide for your family in the real world." An approximately $175,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission that runs through August is expected to help train 90 veterans as welders and electricians. Another $74,000 or so from the Texas Department of Transportation is helping train some 30 truck drivers. And a $150,000 grant awarded in December that's part of a program called College Credit for Heroes will help 40 veterans graduate and get jobs, in part by awarding them college credit for their military training. "Our veterans graciously serve the country for us, they made the ultimate sacrifice that we did not do," said Sabrina Lewis, the director of veterans affairs at Houston Community College, which is sharing the grant from the workforce commission. "These programs are in correlation with getting them the training that they need to get into the workforce." HCC has also used a donation from the Houston Texans to give veterans scholarships for tuition, books and other fees. The college opened a veterans resource center last August where veterans can study, use computers and get tutoring. Cox's classes took place in a large industrial room in the North Harris campus, where sparks and flashes of light periodically illuminated the space that includes rows of large, cubicle-like compartments with red walls. In this area, five veterans practiced their skills for five hours a day, five days a week for six weeks. The program is short and fast, with an emphasis on building the base-level of practical skills necessary for a job, Cox's instructor Randy Wilkins said. There are two instructors for the group of five veterans, meaning students get significant attention, Cox said. "I picked it up pretty quick," said Cox, who was stationed at Camp Pendleton, where he taught other Marines about different firearms, from pistols to M16 rifles to machine guns, stripping them down to their individual pieces and putting them back together again. The welding machine he uses -- a big blue box, called a Mig -- and its components are not unlike what he worked with in the Marines, Cox said. "It's similar in the way they explain it," Cox said. "There's not as many moving parts." Veterans, in general, have qualities that are desirable to employers, Crawford said. "They're used to being on time. They are disciplined. They understand structure. They follow rules. They're loyal," she said. "There's some qualities that a veteran has that employers value and they say, 'Well if we can get that type of person, and give them these types of skills, this is what's going to make our company great.'" Chuck Bagnato, executive director of the Lone Star Veterans Association, a non-profit group that helps veterans transition back to the civilian world, said translating military skills into marketable job skills is one of the biggest challenges veterans face, often times because they're not trained to speak the same lingo as businesses and are conditioned to not brag about their strengths. "It's twofold: one, employers really don't understand the veteran community," Bagnato said. "Two, veterans have a hard time translating their success and translating their abilites both on their resumes and verbally to the employers." Cox's six-week training ended on a Friday after he passed a welding test. The Monday afterward, Cox went to collect his certificate and was told that a company called Empire Steel was already interested in hiring him, paying him between 22 to 30 dollars an hour to weld beams together on high-rise buildings, He just has to pass a test on Monday. "I'm pretty excited about it," he said. "If I can get in with these guys that would be pretty good." © 2015 the Houston Chronicle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC |
|
TAO Privacy Statement | View Previous Issues | Military Job Fairs ©TAOnline.com 1996-2014, All rights reserved. |
