I had the pleasure of meeting Angela Schultz at two different networking events  – both Spark and Hustle events led by Tory Johnson– and each time I loved Angela’s enthusiasm and no-nonsense advice.  Angela also trains with Jack Canfield and he is one of my all time favorite inspirational leaders.  Below is an article that Angela wrote for MGD Services in support of candidates during their job search journey.  Enjoy!

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Are you someone who thinks they are flexible or do you hate getting out of your comfort zone? There are so many people who feel they are flexible until they are faced with the ultimate flexibility challenge – the loss of a job! For most people, whether they love their job or not, it provides a sense of security.  We go to work every day, some of us elated to be there and others, just going through the motions, but since 2008, there has been serious unrest in this country because of the escalating unemployment.

If you have lost your job, I am sorry.  If you are going to work every day, waiting to hear your supervisor say:” Can I see you in my office?”, I am sorry. The fact is the job market is unstable, but you don’t have to be.  Here are some tips to weather this storm, at any time and at any age:

1. Stop Waiting for the phone to ring! This is the one time in your life that your assertiveness really counts. When asked, most people who searched for a job for many months before landing, say that the one thing they would have changed about their job search is how soon they took advantage of the networks they already had.  So many people say that they know lots of people who could help them, but they want to wait to use those resources.  Don’t wait!  People who know you and your work are the most likely to help connect you to the right people in other organizations.  There isn’t anyone in the United States that isn’t aware of the job crisis in this country.  Don’t hold onto the old myth that losing a job is your fault.  It is not true and no one feels that way.

Here is a simple exercise you can do to get you started on the path of using your existing networks.  I challenge you to see how many names you can come up with in 5 minutes!

Take a piece of paper and divide it into six sections. Each section will have its own label: Family & Friends, Colleagues & Supervisors, Professional Organizations, Church & Community, Business connections, Your Significant Other’s Network. Make a list of every name you can think of in each category.  The key is to write down EVERYONE who comes to mind – don’t judge whether or not you think they will help you!

There! In just five minutes you have your network identified. Now start calling them.

1. Spend some time writing down the answer to this question: Why should I hire you? Seriously, this is an exercise that will help you identify all of the accomplishments you have had throughout your career.  Every employer is looking for two key elements: does the person have the qualifications to do the job at hand and does he/she have the motivation.  If you can prove you have both the qualifications and motivation to do a job, you will be a very attractive candidate to that employer.

Be able to list your top five accomplishments of your career. Be sure to include the most recent accomplishments.  Those fabulous things you did twenty years ago, were important for your growth, but focusing on the past too much gives the employer a negative impression about your flexibility and willingness to learn and grow.

1. Contrary to popular belief, name dropping is the key to landing a job sooner rather than later.  What I mean by that is you should research companies in your area where you could appropriately work.  Make a list of those companies.  When you are networking, rather than saying things like: I am in transition, or I am looking for a new position, tell the person the name of a company or several companies you are targeting and ask who they know there.

Here’s why this works so effectively.  I am a Career Coach and everyone I work with is looking for a job.  If you walk through my door and say: “I am looking for a job”, no wheels start turning in my brain.  I don’t know what you do and I don’t know where you want to work.  I can’t effectively help you.  If however, you say: “I am looking for an opportunity at XYZ Company, I will immediately try to think of who I know at XYZ Company and try to connect you. The same holds true of the general public.  Once you have identified your target company, they will try to think of who they know there.

This is one of the best ways to get yourself on the fast track for an effective jobsearch.

1. Your attitude is your calling card. The more positive you are about finding your next position, the more appealing you are to employers.  If you think back to every time you changed positions, there may have been some angst initially, but often the change was just what you needed to grow and develop into the person you are today. Up-level you attitude by spending some quiet time every day reflecting on how grateful you are for all you know because of the jobs you have had, and how exciting it will be to be working for a new company that wants you and will be excited to have someone with your skills on their staff. Developing an attitude of gratitude is a powerful tool for landing that next job in short order.

Angela I. Schutz is Managing Director/Founder of Driven To Succeed Consulting LLC, a career development/executive coaching and public speaking service aimed at empowering people to find their ultimate career potential.

Kathy Banks, Donna Herman and Jan Stewart

Remember the final scene from Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts replies to Richard Gere, “She saved him right back”.  A similar situation recently played out for me, but instead of two movie stars and a fire escape- my venue was the back corner of Panera Bread in Flemington New Jersey, and an amazing network on individuals  that comprise Wired4Hire.  For those who might not know, Wired4Hire is a program designed by MGD Services to support individuals in job transition.  The concept of Wired4Hire is a forum to channel years of placement experience to job seekers.  To this end the program has dramatically succeeded.  In the first seven weeks of the program over 75% of the original group has found employment.  We’ve covered traditional job search strategies.  We are almost militant in our approach to the necessity of promoting and protecting our personal brand and yes, we preach networking, networking, and networking.

So it was a pleasant change of pace yesterday, when we took a moment to step back from all that training and hard work to focus on an unfamiliar topic in a group of individuals seeking employment. 

Joy. 

We started with the easy places to find joy:  The joy of an inspirational song, elation after exercise, the delight in a child’s proffered first flower, and the bliss of a supportive spouse.  No we weren’t hugging and crying or dancing in circles, we were simply, and subtly, changing our mental perceptions.  And then an interesting and unexpected thing happened.  Oh, how I wish I could say that this was my plan – it wasn’t.  Members started applying concept of joy to their job search progression.   

One person described how after three months of engaging with a company he was invited in for an interview.  However, he had absolutely no idea of what the job entailed.  He started the conversation with his frustration in being sent into a situation where he could easily fail.  I mean really fail he was meeting with a senior VP and this position ultimately reported to the CIO.  He had no concrete information from which to prepare.  However, he was not without skills.  While he didn’t have a job description, he knew the names of those with whom he was interviewing.  He researched them, using some of the techniques we discussed in earlier sessions.  He had one advantage.  He had previously worked at the company in a different location.  Therefore he knew the technologies being used and he made some educated guesses.  Guesses that proved to be very close to the mark.  He still isn’t sure he “nailed” the interview.  But we, as a group, knew that he nailed what part of the process he could control.  By the time we were done discussing this – he was feeling pleased with his preparation and determination to succeed…. Perhaps even a little Joyful of how genuinely impressed we were with him. 

So how does Julie Roberts play into this?  Well – I’m no Julia Roberts.  The closest I may ever come to that ray of brilliance is a big smile that I usually can’t resist sharing.  I was smiling ear to ear by the time the group was done pumping each other up.  The group realized that each and every one of them – have taken ownership of their job search and are working so hard that they are becoming fearful that they are not getting enough results from their efforts.  This session gave each person a chance to air their fears and frustrations and to realize that maybe – just maybe they are being a little too hard on themselves. 

Now that’s something I can relate to.  As they were sharing, I confess my mind started wandering.  I have two significant proposals in the works and I’m short staffed at the moment.  Suddenly I had an ah-ha moment.  Who better to support me on these projects than this group? 

So I asked for help.  Incidentally this is advice I give every session.  Long story short:  One member has provided me with two case studies I need for one of the reports.  One marketing expert is going to take my data and help me format it into a glossy special report.  Another marketing phenomenon will be updating another presentation for next Wednesday, and finally the gentleman who prepared so beautifully for his interview and who is also a web wizard be setting up special sign-in section for our website for an upcoming assessment program we are going to be offering clients.  And that’s how this Wired4Hire moderator was saved right back. 

 And while I leave you to think about that wonderful story, please enjoy some pictures from last week’s Wired4Hire on location adventure at Gunn Creek Farm were the group participated in mock interviews and had professional head shots taken.  Have a great weekend and may you find some joy in your daily activities!

Beverly Nyberg and Photo Assistant

Manny Rechani

Bruce Hascup

Mickie Marshall-Jacoby and photographer Terree Yaegle

There’s that big grin:  Gretchen Gunn and Sundance Kid taking advantage of the photographer after everyone else left.

Wish you knew what to do and how to manage it all with limited resources?

Wondering how to navigate through social media in a regulated industry?

Diane Wasilisian has a social media success strategy for you.  I can say this about Diane and her team, because they are who MGD Services turns to when we need expert advice.  They have supported MGD Services’ Social Media Strategy as well as worked with us to lead our clients into an enlighted Social Media Age.

~ Gretchen Gunn

Social Media can be difficult for any business with minimal resources and/or federal regulations.  But if planned out properly there are ways to succeed through these issues.  We have pulled together some answers in hopes to help you be successful in creating your social media strategy.  

How to get started:

• Understand stakeholders insights
  • Do a companywide media audit
  • Start monitoring & benchmarking for corporate/brand conversations
• Take your time establishing a digital presence
  • RSS feeds
  • Patient Videos
  • Indentify influential bloggers & key contacts
  • Vet out concerns with legal, regulatory, commercial & other key internal functions
• Build up trusted relationships; create friendships
  • Engage on social media platforms of companies that align with your initiatives & goals
  • Participate in social media conference & events
  • Be sure to be honest, transparent, share & talk about all things that people might be interested in, then offer resources, guidance & education where appropriate

Get started:

• Organize internally to execute externally
• Acknowledge the need for quick turnarounds
• Establish the “VOICE” of your hospital/healthcare organization
• Adapt your Communications
• Transparency is critical
• Create & update policies regularly

Start building your social media internally:

• Start at the top — “If the CEO can blog, why can’t you?” Creating clear, uniform policies for employees outlining what is & is not acceptable
• Advocate that employees create internal social networks by providing tools & creating a safe environment for them to use those tools
• Create the behavior inside that you want to project outside

Navigating the regulatory concerns in social media:

• Use current regulatory guidelines as a baseline for how you interact in the space & seek guidance from the subject matter experts in your organization
• Be clear about what information you do and do not monitor, & what you are and are not responsible for (leverage the use of: disclaimers, privacy policy and terms of use)
• Know the platform on which you are engaging, the technical limitations & be aware of planned changes to layout that could affect compliance
• Know your current company policies & be clear how to apply them to your social media endeavors

So why do you want to engage?

The majority of American adults are turning to online resources to answer questions about many topics, for example:  their health and treatment options.

• 38 % of American Adults turn to the internet for information about fitness & weight loss
• 61% of American Adults look online for health information
• 41% of e-patients have read someone else’s comment about health/medical issues on an online news group, community, website or blog
• More than 62% of health inquires are conducted by someone other than the patient
• 60% of e-patients said that information found online affected their decision about how to treat an illness or condition

With the information above we know you can start building a foundation. In planning your strategy it is a good idea to decide what your audience would be interested in, by pulling a committee together from each of your centers of excellence and PR/Communications department(s). This group will become your subject matter experts who will start helping you build your topics content list for a couple months out.  

If you have questions about any of the information or need help executing on any or your social media email us at info@mgdservices.com

Do you feel like you’ve been on the Job Hunt forever?  If so read one woman’s inspiring story.

Mary Glynn and I met about a year ago when she was interviewing through us for a Director of Marketing position.  Competition was tough and Mary didn’t get the job, but we stayed in touch, meeting for lunch and then touching base via email and LinkedIn.  Last month she attended our Wired for Hire Career Alliance and has the distinction of being the first Wired for Hire attendee to get a job!  I hope you enjoy her story as much as I have.

~Gretchen

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: Optimism is Key in a Prolonged Job Search

The job search is an arduous and often frustrating process. Couple that with the record high levels of unemployment and the challenging economy, and an organized and optimistic approach is even more essential in ensuring success in the process.  As a middle-aged executive who has weathered this storm a few times during her career, I’m happy to share some of my best practices in a job search.

First and foremost, you have to be optimistic in your approach. While getting laid off can be traumatic, it does not have the negative social stigma that it did many years ago. Reductions in force are a common circumstance and a harsh reality of the business environment today, not a reflection of your performance or personal value. While it’s often easier said than done, you have to project yourself in a positive manner as you conduct your search. This is your opportunity to stand out and be confident, especially in this current economic climate where naysayers abound. Optimism is contagious, so be positive. It sends a strong message to your family, friends, network and most importantly, the hiring manager.

I look at these transitions as a gift of time and a journey of discovery. In each of my journeys, I have appreciated the opportunity to help my family and explore things that I would not usually have had the time for. My first transition allowed me to watch my new-born nephew when my sister-in-law was unexpectedly hospitalized. I was also able to spend the summer with my daughter before she started high school. She was so happy to not have to go to summer camp and that was probably the last summer that it would be cool to hang out with Mom. I enjoyed my time off so much, that I didn’t take another position for almost 18 months. I knew it was time to get back in the workforce when my daughter asked me to stop volunteering for every school outing and, “Please go back to work!”

My next transition was a few years later and was an opportunity to explore a new career path. While my career in financial services has been extremely rewarding, job eliminations were happening so frequently, that I thought it was time to pursue another venue outside of corporate America. Since I have a lifelong passion for fitness and well being, I explored the possibilities of opening a small gym in town, for women and teens. After much research and financial analysis, it was apparent that the timing was not right, with college on the horizon and the retirement nest egg not where it needed to be. However, I obtained a number of fitness certifications and started a small fitness company in town, teaching cardio-kickboxing and boot camp classes several times a week. What a great way to help people achieve their fitness goals and balance out the daily stresses, while having some fun in the process! I’ve continued to expand this part-time venture over the years, with the hope of making it my “sunset career” when I really do retire from corporate America.

(Special Note: If you have lost your job and need some motivation to get going with your fitness plan, come see me for some free cardio-kickboxing. Classes are Tues and Thurs at 8:15-9:15 PM and Sat mornings at 8:15-9:15AM at Kang’s Martial Arts: 435 Amwell Road in Hillsborough. We can network and brainstorm the job search plans while kicking it up for your health! Email kickitupfitness@aol.com for more info.)

My current job search coincided with a major life transition and has been yet another gift of time. These past months have been spent getting my Mom situated into an assisted living facility. Mom has always been an inspiration and mentor and has spent her life giving to others. This was my chance to help her make a difficult and critical transition in her life. The time off allowed me to conduct extensive research, meet with elder care attorneys, geriatric specialists, social workers and financial advisors. I came across an army of angels and have become well educated about elder issues and resources in the process. This project has also helped me expand my career explorations and greatly diversify my job search network. The search for a place for Mom also fed my job search, a best practice in leveraging your contacts for multiple venues.

All of these transitions have rendered valuable lessons of experience. I hope that others can benefit from these learnings as well. When faced with the ongoing challenges of staying focused in my search, I’ve learned the following lessons:

 THE CHALLENGE:  Not knowing where to start, the job search process is overwhelming you.

 THE RESPONSE: Create a marketing plan that includes your preferred work functions, target industries, companies, market, recruiters, key networking contacts and resources. Detail key action steps and reasonable timeframes to help stay on track. Revisit this plan regularly and distribute it to your network. You will be surprised at how many contacts and leads this will generate.  

Also create a networking log to help keep track of your contacts and follow-ups. If you are fortunate enough to have outplacement services in your severance package, be sure to take advantage of them. Seminars, job search tools and networking groups offered by these programs are extremely helpful in brushing up on your skills and staying organized.

 THE CHALLENGE: Feeling like you have too many plates spinning in the air and you’re having difficulty staying motivated.

THE RESPONSE: Revisit your marketing plan and goals. Ensure they are realistic and getting the results you expected. Ask a friend or networking contact to review your plans and brainstorm new approaches with you.

 THE CHALLENGE: Spending too much time on the job boards, not connecting with people in person.

 THE RESPONSE: Keep track of your hours and set productivity goals. Do not spend more than 15-20% of your time with on-line postings. The likelihood of getting a response is minimal with the vast number of people posting for these jobs.  If you find a job that you are interested in on the boards, find an internal contact at the company to help network your way into the hiring manager.  Use LinkedIn or one of the professional networking sites to find someone at that company. Chances are that someone in your second or third level in your network may be willing to help you make a connection at the company.

Use the job boards to help feed your network. The more people you feed good leads to, the more likely that you will get some in return. Also, set a weekly goal for networking in person. If this is intimidating, start with a few people you are comfortable with, a good friend, neighbor or former co-worker. Set dates to meet in person for coffee or a quick lunch, at the gym or for a walk, attend a networking group, sports events, concerts, etc.

THE CHALLENGE: Concerned that your skills are getting rusty or that you need to learn new skills to compete in this job market.

THE RESPONSE:  You can pursue consulting opportunities to keep your skills current and maintain some cash flow in a prolonged search. Volunteer and community programs also offer a great venue to make new contacts and update your skills. Giving back to the community is rewarding and involvement in charitable programs uncovers new networking contacts and can lead to new job opportunities. If there isn’t a group that is of interest, you can start one of your own!

THE CHALLENGE: Getting depressed or negative about the prospects of ever finding a job. Sleeping in late, not wanting to get out of bed.

THE RESPONSE:  Be self aware. Recognize when you are getting depressed and do something about it. Surround yourself with positive people. Call a friend that you know will help pick up your spirits. Take some time off from the search and do something fun!  It is often difficult to accomplish something when it becomes an all consuming quest, kind of like trying too hard to get pregnant or looking for the right person in a relationship. The job search can present similar challenges.

Also be sure to take care of your health. Another important factor is the state of your health and well being. If you are not exercising regularly, use this time to get started. If you do not want to spend money on a gym membership, find a workout buddy, get a home work out video from the library or go on line to a fitness site and start a plan that works for you. A little exercise, self reflection and a break from the frustrations of the search will help you come back feeling energetic and motivated.

 THE CHALLENGE: Making the most of this time off.

THE RESPONSE:  Learn to connect your activities and leverage your networks for business and enjoyment. This way you engage more people and make the networking events more fun!  I’ve leveraged my business network, family and friends across all of my activities.  Whether it involves my fitness classes, job search, networking events, fundraising,community programs or neighborhood block parties, they are all opportunities to engage my network and make new contacts.

In closing, be realistic, focus on continuous learning, learn to deal with self doubt and rejection and find ways to have fun!!  I am getting ready to launch a new nonprofit club in town, Optimist International- dedicated to helping kids and the community. Do you see the pattern here?  Optimism in your search brings optimism to those around you and right back to you. Be a positive influence and learn to catch yourself when negativity creeps in. Look for that silver lining in every cloud and know that brighter days are ahead……  

Consider a favorite quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine”. So get out of your way and on with your journey!

 Optimistically Yours,

 Mary Glynn

 Information Security – “One if by WAN and Two if by USB”

An emerging threat directed at automated process control systems

During the last week, news has broken concerning a new computer virus.  It is not the same type of virus we have heard about over the previous several years.  It isn’t spread by spam or infected websites and it won’t even attack your smart phone.  This virus has been specifically designed to attack an industrial process control system.  ( http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/658770/  )It doesn’t arrive by LAN or e-mail – it is designed to be spread by a USB-key (or drive) inserted into the control system. 

Even an infected USB drive isn’t all that novel, so what is the concern?  And, most probably, what is an industrial process control system, anyway?

Process controls systems are the automation of basic electronic and mechanical functions on the plant floor or involved in facility control.  They are not the PC-based programs or packages that most business automation or programing personnel are familiar with.  They have been around for decades and are usually very large, proprietary systems that are dedicated to repetitive tasks (chemical production, refineries, tablet finishing, packaging and water treatment plants) over a long period of time.  They also predate Windows and weren’t even designed to interface with that operating system.

These systems have names that most users are not familiar with:  PLCs, SCADA and DCS.  The PLC’s directly control a task, step or a single line that may have a reactor, a mill or a transfer belt.  PLC stands for “Programmable Logic Controller” and runs programs called “Ladder Logic.”   The SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a higher level system that may have oversight control of multiple PLCs as well as receiving and storing their data.  (PLCs have extremely limited memory and may show data on their panels but don’t store it for any length of time.)  The largest systems are called  Distributed Control Systems or “DCS.”  These will have large programs and oversee a facility with multiple PLCS or pieces of equipment.  Information will come to the DCS from thousands of points and will have libraries of recipes or sequences, as well as data archiving or ‘historian’ functions for the act ivies they control. 

The key point is that the DCS ( and to some extent SCADA, as well) are relatively few in number, compared to the number of workstations or PCs in an enterprise.  (The DCS will usually be a minimum of $1 Million USD or more.)  Their proprietary nature has until recently kept them safe from PC viruses and other issues because they were islands of automation, unconnected to the windows world, and they were written in programs that had no connection with the tools hackers use or had even heard of.  All of that changed last week.  The first incident of a virus being written to specifically attack that type of proprietary system has been located.  The specific vendor system was Siemens.  (If that doesn’t give you a chill, consider that Siemens is a major vendor for building temperature monitoring and control of  the HVAC or ‘heat and air-conditioning’ systems.)  It was designed to be delivered through a USB connection, not through a website or e-mail. 

Siemens has informed it’s customers of this exploit and is passing out code to remediate the problems.      (  http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20011159-245.html ) They have also given the warning that since very customers system is different, the act of removing  the code may have unintended consequences.  Since physical security over the USB ports can block this, it might seem that this would be an easy threat to handle.  The larger risk to be considered is that if  the hacking community has started to pay attention to systems that can turn off the air, the water or the lights, what will they do with those system once they are breached.  Time will tell.           

Provided by John English: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johntenglish

**Pediatric clinical nursing experience in Bone Marrow Transplant preferred

Graduation from an NLN accredited school of nursing
- State of Pennsylvania RN License
-ACRP certification (or must be obtained within 24 months of hire)
-Bachelor’s Degree with minimum 2 -5 years (full time) clinical nursing experience.
-Pediatric clinical nursing experience in Bone Marrow Transplant preferred.

In attendance were two individuals with resumes that included international, Vice President titles,  a gentleman with international FDA audit chops, an Engineer turned large scale IT Development Director and a recently minted PHD and former RN whose work has revolutionized Operating Room productivity and patient care at institutions such as NYU Medical Center and Beth Israel North. 

Impressed yet?  I am.  Luckily, I had a pretty clear idea of what would happen when I invited them to sit down together and share their backgrounds and where they are in their current career search strategies.  Just in case, I came prepared to share a wealth of skilled based training but as I expected, we didn’t spend much time on any of it, as the information they were sharing was paramount and priceless.  I will be sharing some of these exercises to anyone interested and they can be found under our Career Concierge section at www.mgdservices.com  soon.  I will send an update when it is available.

Our next session will be Thursday, July 15^th at 8:30am.  We have one seat still available if anyone is interested in applying can go to http://mgdservices.com/career-center/candidate-services/ to apply.  This next session will include updates of what happened over the week with each member, possibly some skill based training from me, as well as a guest speaker who I am excited will be joining us but want to keep as a surprise!  

I will leave you all with one last thought.  Life is best lived in balance.  No big secret here, but it is still worth discussing as we often neglect this as our daily responsibilities increase.  Keeping yourself mentally and physically engaged is essential to overall wellbeing.  Again, this in no big AH-HA  but easy to ignore.  So, please take a moment to think of one wonderful thing that happened to you recently. It might be as simple as feeling cool raindrops on your arms after weeks without rain (I stood outside this morning with arms outstretched, face upturned and goofy happy smile  even when someone drove by who I imagine thought I was crazy).  Don’t forget to move your body!  Get up and stretch or go for a walk.  And finally subject yourself to something that makes you laugh!   As I mentioned in our Wired for Hire gathering, Mel Brooks always works for me.  I plan on snuggling up with a cat or two and watching an old favorite while my husband does what he loves best, and that’s watch Mets Baseball.  Have a wonderful weekend!

~ Gretchen Gunn

B³ stands for Build Better Business.  It comes out of lessons I have taken away from conversations I have either had with or heard from Tory Johnson on her many calls supporting her Spark and Hustle conferences (which I highly recommend to anyone who could use direction in their business or with a business idea that keeps them awake at night.  Check out http://sparkandhustle.com/ to learn more.) 

Tory talks about how she asks herself the following questions every day:  What can she do today to make her business better?  And what can she do today that will build on what she was doing to drive her business yesterday.  In subsequent conversations, she and I have also talked about spending time each day focusing on proactive activities as opposed to only attending to reactive activities.  Therefore, B³ is my shorthand way to stay focused on these three pivotal activities that are vital to the success of MGD Services.   This little symbol helps keep me focused when I feel my energies ebbing and need to refocus on whatever business is at hand.

I speak of Tory because she and her amazing team are the coaching experts with whom I’ve recently been working.  I attended the Spark and Hustle Retreat in Dallas which is why I recommend this to others.  Many great lessons came out of the experience and a fantastic new MGD Services Initiative that I’ll discuss shortly.   I have learned valuable business and life lessons from other inspirational individuals:   Zig Ziglar, Jack Canfield, Sandler Trainers, Deepak Chopra, Ministers, and Rabbis.  If there’s someone out there with a lesson that resonates with me, I enjoy listening and usually find some way to incorporate that lesson to better my business or myself.  Is this all I do with my time?  Of course not, but I have found that seeking out the support and ideas of reputable leaders in areas of importance to me helps spark my creative and entrepreneurial juices and keeps me inspired in my life and my work.  Hold on to this thought – it will all tie together shortly but first, back to B³.

So what do we do for that last ‘B’?  That proactive piece is the hardest to fit in when so much always needs to be done.  We will always be working on this one but at the moment we are focusing on Wired for Hire, which is our way of giving something back for free to both employers and those seeking employment.  Wired for Hired is one of the many great outcomes of the Spark and Hustle Retreat for MGD Services.  It is our local program which is part of a national initiative – you guessed it, driven by Tory Johnson. 

I have been talking about Wired for Hire for weeks now and we are finally ready to kick off our first Wired for Hire Career Alliance program in Flemington New Jersey.  This is a 10 week program in which I will be working closely with a small group of individuals with diverse business experience and who are either out of work or looking for a new career opportunity.   We are still accepting applications for 10 more individuals with diverse business backgrounds that are hungry for support with their job search.  (Interested? Go to http://mgdservices.com/career-center/candidate-services/ to apply online.)  Just as I find benefit from coaching sessions with various inspirational individuals, I believe that Wired for Hire will provide benefit to the members both from the lessons we will provide but from the support of other Wired for Hire members. 

Clearly this caters to the employee side of our client business.  But it also caters to our employer clients as well.  And here’s how:  any of the employers that we work with AND any that we have never worked with before are encouraged to contact me at ggunn@mgdservices.com to learn if any of the Wired for Hire Career seekers fit any of their current open positions.  I hope you will join me on this wonderful new initiative to get America back to work!

I am grateful to Gretchen for suggesting that I enter a contest Tory Johnson, founder and CEO of Womenforhire.com, was running. Tory was looking for women in the NYC area who was laid off or trying to get back into the workforce after time out. The winners would participate in a major magazine career makeover. Well…. I won! The major magazine is O Magazine. The article will be out in the September 2010. Thank you, Gretchen, for giving me this opportunity.

~Norma Ferro

Some of you know that when I am not growing and nurturing MGD Services, I spend my time with my husband on a farm in Hunterdon County New Jersey.  Our farm is well known for produce and fruit.  http://gunncreek.wordpress.com/  Saturday morning my husband Mark and I were up early making strawberry jam before we changed out of farm garb and headed into NYC for a day of art and entertainment.  (MOMA has a great black and white photo exhibit on the top floor by the way, and if you haven’t already, go see South Pacific.)  If you are like Mark, you will be humming along with the Rogers and Hammerstein tunes your folks listened to you when you were a kid.

But before we could go play, we had to finish our chores and strawberry jam was the task at hand.  Mark took charge because he knows that on weekends my sense of urgency tends to well… be somewhat nonexistent.   So there we were: him over the stove and me taking orders.  Typically when I am canning or freezing food he is off on another project.  So you may imagine that I was struggling a little with the need for two people to do a project that I knew could be accomplished by one.  However, as we got into the work, I realized something.  Under his direction the project was zipping right along and we canned three batches of berries in the time it typically takes me to make one and  I was enjoying the process as well as his company much more than when I work alone over the hot stove. 

I also realized that this was a classic example of different management styles.  Mark is a master at managing people and process and I’m more of an independent worker.  Neither style is wrong and this experience reminded me of how a well run team can accomplish so much more than an individual contributor.  (Hold this thought for future conversations of how a group of individuals seeking employment can support each other.) It also made me think about how important it is to evaluate the strength of your staff and use it effectively.  Okay, so when it’s time to make apricot jam you can bet Mark will be in charge, but it also made me think about key team players on our staff and how I can help them shine and enjoy what they do for MGD Services specifically in their daily roles and in support of Wired for Hire. 

As we continue to work on the launch of Wired for Hire, MGD Services’ New Jersey based WaggleForce career club, I thought it would be good to share another family lesson learned by Laurie Baggett, who among her many accomplishments, is the leader of the “IT Factor” a hugely successful WaggleForce Virginia based career club.

Traumatized = Fun Stuff

~Laurie Baggett

The other day, my 3 year old went to the dentist for a broken tooth. Seemed easy enough, but BOY was I wrong.  When he was called to go into the back, he totally flipped out!  For the first time, I witnessed my child fearful and scared out of his mind.  All I could think of was, “what the heck could have happened to make him this freaked out?”  I mean, they gave him the good “sleepy juice” the last time, right?  No way that could be traumatizing, right?   I mean, he’s three.  Could he have already figured out that the dentist office is not only not fun – but potentially scary?  

So what to do with this picture?  Screaming kid, freaked out mom (that’s me) and teeth in desperate need of attention!   Fortunately, our dentist is smarter than me.  Before I could sit down and ask for the laughing gas for myself, the dental assistants had my son laughing, the dentist had him in his chair and was counting his teeth and brushing them with a fun bright blue toothbrush.  They even gave him an Ipod Touch to play with (note to self: temper tantrum = fun stuff.  Two questions:  Does this work for adults too?  Do you think my son figured this out and will begin using it against me?). 

When I finally picked my jaw up off the ground, I asked “what just happened?”  He told me that Vann is afraid of the dentist (my initial thought, duh.)  Then he continued with, “Instead of recreating the same experience that caused his fears, I am recreating his experience as a good one.”  We now have 3 additional appointments on the books, they call these: “happy visits”… this is where they do nothing but retrain the child’s mind…  Hmm.. could this be a marketing ploy? 

So, you may be saying to yourself….yeah, thanks for sharing.  But wait!, there’s a lesson here.  I’m sure there are many of us who have job club members that have been traumatized by a bad recruiter experience or a negative interview.   As leaders we don’t want to allow that one bad encounter to define their job seeking experience for them.   We must continue to expose our members to these experiences/situations but redesign them to be good/happy experiences.  

I often meet job club members who are afraid of the interview experience and most of the time it is because they had a bad past one.  Rather than allow them to dwell in that bad memory, prepare them with the tools to create a good one.  In place of the cool, big blue toothbrush and iPod touch; give your members “mock”/”trial” interviews with industry leaders, develop questions to ask in the interview, build their confidence so they are prepared.  They walk away with something new, something good and this time when they go in for an interview and walk out, it’s positive. If the dentist had not tried to change my son’s experience, Lord knows how messed up his teeth would be 5 years down the road  

Laurie Baggett is a perfect and passionate hybrid between a Change Catalyst and a People Promoter.  Whether transforming an underperforming sales territory in record time, empowering individuals to work with purpose, or promoting small businesses making a difference, her tireless efforts on behalf of her clients transform dreams into reality. With a natural curiosity about people, a flair for creative design, and a penchant for building authentic and productive relationships, Laurie has developed national recognition as one who is quick to turn dreaming into DOING. Twitter:  @LaurieBaggett