Our venue of choice this time was The Empire Grill, the room was setup in a single, and very long table.  Turns out this was the perfect setup for the exercise our speaker, Maureen McCann, had in mind.  This exercise is a personal favourite of mind, the driving force behind it is that sometimes we get so caught up in our disappointments that we forget how many great things we have to offer.  It’s a game of first impressions. You are given a colored index card and asked to write your name and a word that you feel describes you.   We were then asked to pass our card to our left, take a look at the person to our right and write on their card the car that would best describe them.  This is the first impression part.  We passed the cards to the left again and are asked to write a beverage that best describes the person a couple chairs to the right.  And so we went for a couple more descriptions.  You then receive your card back and get to read how other people perceive you (at least for that night).  Most of us found our descriptions were pretty bang on!  I guess this is good news, since HR people and recruiters are forced to make decisions based on first impressions.

But enough games.  Did you know that a US survey showed 50-60% of respondents were unhappy with their current jobs?  How about that just in the same way you perform maintenance on your car, you should be performing maintenance on your career?

Maureen self describes herself as the Simon Cowell of career coaches and says the biggest challenge people face in their careers is themselves.  Best way to save ourselves from ourselves?   3 steps:

1. Know who you are and what you have to offer.
2. Understand the local labor market.
3. Have the ability to sell yourself.  Take a look at yourself from the employer’s perspective and articulate the value you bring to the table.

Some more practical advice:

1. Don’t use Time New Roman font for cover letters and resumes.
2. Don’t use Word or Office templates…stand out.
3. Are you a designer? Why don’t you flaunt your stuff on your resume?
4. If you have 60% of the job requirements, go for it!  Don’t screen yourself out of the competition.
5. If you are looking for a senior level position and have 7 LinkedIn connection, step it up.
6. What goes online, stays online.  You’re on 24 hours, don’t leave half filled profiles.
7. Go beyond Googling yourself, setup a Google alert for your name.
8. Check out your Google Quotient (there’s a small cost for the tool, you’ll have to enter your email)

Whether you are searching for a job or looking to move up within your current company.  Don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the way.  An interview, a follow-up are all things to be proud of.  This builds up your confidence and you can tie that back to those first impressions.

Great night. Great speaker. Great company, so we are happy to call this event another huge success.  Thanks for attending, we hope we see you again before the holidays.

—————–

Registration for the next Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa (#ggdOttawa) event with career coach Maureen McCann is now open!

Please join us by registering here.

When:

Monday, October 26 at 6 p.m.

Where:

Empire Grill, in the Market
47 Clarence St
Ottawa, ON K1N 9K1
(613) 241-1343

Don’t forget to participate in the event poll so we can find out which career topic you’re most interested in discussing with Maureen.

Then join the discussion on why you selected that response by leaving a comment on our original post for the event. We hope to see you next Monday night!

And what if you want to shift your career goals entirely? Where do you start?

Maureen McCann, career coach and founder of ProMotion Career Solutions, will be our guest speaker on Monday, October 26th, and she wants to know which scenario the GGD Ottawa community is most interested in discussing that evening.

When we started planning this event with Maureen she said,

What I hear from most people these days – is that they struggle to communicate their value to their employer. It is a frustrating exercise for them because they struggle to find the words and the stories that match the ideas employers are looking to find.

To find out which career scenario our GGD Ottawa community identifies with the most, we’ve created a quick poll we hope you’ll participate in. We will then use the results to orient an interactive discussion with Maureen! Please take a moment to answer:

Which of the following topics are you most interested in hearing about at the next Girl Geek Dinner Ottawa?(poll)

After you’ve responded to the poll, why not leave a comment to let us know the response you chose and any specific questions you may have for Maureen. You can also send Maureen a message on Twitter with @mypromotion.

Event details tbd so Save the Date!

When: Monday, October 26 at 6 p.m.

Where: *** We are still working on a location for this event and will share those details within a day or two so please save the date!  ***

———————

***Oct 20th – update*** register for the event here.

———————

A bit about Maureen (updated Oct 21)

An inspiring, resourceful, and well-organized Master Certified Resume Strategist and Career Consultant, Maureen McCann is passionate about communicating the value of business leaders. As a consummate career teacher, coach, and mentor, Maureen works with clients to develop the documents and interview skills required for success.

Maureen has been delivering one-on-one career counselling, resume writing and interview coaching to a diverse clientele for years. She helps clients break the cycle of career mediocrity by improving their confidence and marketability. As a testament to her leadership, in both 2007 and 2008, Maureen was honoured by the Career Professionals of Canada (CPC) with the Award of Excellence.

As a respected leader in the Canadian career industry, Maureen has been a central speaker at Opportunities 2008 “Workforce 2010,” the Ontario-wide conference for the employment community; Women 2.0 in Ottawa; Ottawa Citizen Job Fair 2009; and National Career Event for IT Professionals 2007.

A few years ago, Veronica and I have both had the opportunity to participate in a workshop Maureen conducted with the former Women 2.0 Ottawa chapter. She is a great speaker and I guarantee will offer some valuable insights on how to reach your career goals.

Read Maureen’s job interview advice in this Oct 21, 2009 Globe & Mail article Simplify the search: Be organized.