Keeping Your Career on Track in a Down Economy… and Beyond Webinar #3 Presenting Yourself: Be the Choreographer of Your Own Career The Alumnae Association Of Smith College Career Webinar Series Copyright Barbara Reinhold, Ed.D.

Do the dance your own way… No matter what you were “taught” by others—this gets more and more important as we age! Because you and the world are both changing And because only you really know what you want and need right now

What’s probably different now? There are no secrets—you have to make peace with transparency You are entirely responsible for your own employability, and for translating yourself positively to the world More than ever, selling yourself will require “high tech/high touch” strategies

Here’s where INSIDE and OUTSIDE come together: really knowing what you do and don’t want next, even if you don’t know what to call it… helps you sort out what employment will work for you now… so that you can TAILOR and CUSTOMIZE everything you say about yourself to fit what you’re looking for

Go back to your FILLERS and DRAINERS for guidance List 3 fillers you know you want, no matter what ___________________ List 3 drainers you know you want to avoid ____________________

Job search campaign advice to forget immediately: “Just send a resume of what you’ve done, and let the employer figure it out.” “Include everything you’ve ever done, just in case.” “Only look for one kind of job at a time, or you’ll look fickle.”

And don’t forget to forget this one either: “ Don’t over- prepare. If it’s meant to be, it will be”

But where do you find work opportunities? High tech—choose online listings carefully High touch—let people know you’re looking Imagination—how could your skills or knowledge help an organization that’s attractive to you?

And maybe you’re not looking for a job at all, but rather a way to do the work you really enjoy?

Particularly in this economy… You might get further in the long run by being a contractor now rather than an employee Consider it as an option anyway Also committing to several months as an apprentice

Taking control of the campaign from the very beginning… (1)SKILLS/ EXAMPLES (2) WHY ME NOW? (3) STAR ANALYSIS

(1) Major RELEVANT skills for each position List 5 major skills, in descending order of importance, for the situation you’re pursuing And then write 3 examples of how you’ve used that skill for each one

(2) “Why me now?” statement Write 1-2 succinct, targeted paragraphs in response to that question Practice saying them out loud until you really believe them

(3) STAR analysis: write out 3 examples for the following template Situation or Task you needed to handle Action(s) you took Results you achieved

According to resume consultant Yana Parker “ A resume is a marketing document, not a career obituary”

Kinds of resumes Chronological/employer-driven Functional/skills-driven Targeted bio Artistic/performance resume Curriculum vitae Portfolio

Getting your skills/ interests/passions aligned: Have a copy of the job description or work requirements as you understand them… Number them, in descending order of importance for the employer For each one, make a notation of how your experiences and/or credentials are (or are not) in alignment with that particular requirement

High or low estimator— which are you? The job description tale… Ask someone who knows you well to rate you on a scale of 1-10 for your self-estimating abilities

Practicing for interviews Create 5 questions you DO want to answer, and answer them Create 5 questions you DON’T want to answer, and answer them Answer them all with a peer coach—and get immediate feedback Incorporate the feedback, and practice some more…

Advice for specialized situations: Introverts Extroverts Re-entry women Women over 50 People with disabilities or cultural/lifestyle differences

The Power Pack finale Remember a time (the earlier the better) when you did something really well and felt great about it!

Go back into your memory and “revisit” that time in more detail: What happened to make you so pleased with yourself? Who was there? What feelings do you remember?

Let those positive feelings take over your entire mind and body.. NOW you’re ready to PRESENT YOURSELF! And you can return to this energized state whenever you want to

Now, Q & A I’ll be responding to questions that have already come in from the group Add any more as we go Send individual ones on the Smith career blog or to me via my own website

Thanks for being here! Stay in the loop, with the Alumnae Association and with each other Webinar #4, “Managing Your Own Career Across the Lifespan,” will happen next week, May 13 from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time No matter how old or young you are, we’ll have something to say to you