Career Renewal has helped close to 1,000 people in their career search!
We all struggle with using email to stay in touch with our business contacts. Here is a nice simple guide from the Wall Street Journal on who to contact and how often.
The Five Emails You Need to Send Before New Year (pdf)
Download Job hunting is hard — really hard. And you may want it to just be over. But it’s important to stay grounded throughout the process so you can make smart decisions along the way. Try these strategies to keep stress at bay:
From Harvard Business review
Helen LaVan is a Professor of Management at DePaul University. In this November, 2020 article, she and a panel of experts share their thoughts on he job market for recent graduates.
Iris Seeley November, 2020
Imagine what it would be like if you could find out what next position you were meant to do!
Being able to get a sense of direction and narrow down the very many options in the world of work can be a strong stimulus to finding a satisfying niche in life.
In this uncertain job market, Career Renewal was honored to offer a two-part program by Dr. Iris Seeley a PhD. in Human Resources and a Career Counselor for the College of Lake County.
In the presentation she presented a questionnaire and corresponding "answer sheet" that helped our participants discover their work personalities based on the six occupational themes used in the Strong Interest Inventory® [Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E), and Conventional (C)].
In addition, she introduced the free career testing and counseling services available to Lake County residents and vocational educational programs offered by the College of Lake County. These services are also available to participants of Career Renewal as we are sponsored in Lake County.
We concluded with an open discussion where Iris fielded many career-search questions.
You may contact Iris using the information on her business card.
Seeley Business card (jpg)
DownloadLori Goldstein March, 2019
Lori is an employment lawyer with extensive experience in working with business owners, employers and employees.
Receiving a job offer is the highlight of a successful job search. But negotiating the offer is an important phase of the search and it requires planning. By being creative and requesting reasonable changes, you’ll show the employer sophistication, professionalism, and confidence by making reasonable requests. Lori covered this important topic and more.
Lori's Slides (pdf)
DownloadSkip Newman January, 2109
Skip has an extensive background as a senior executive who has helped hundreds of in-transition executives in their job search process.
He focused on job search preparedness, both from the 'paperwork' standpoint as well as networking tips, LinkedIn usage, email accounts and etiquette, elevator pitches and other related topics. Many of the tips are opposite of what other 'experts' recommend, but he fully explained his views so participants can choose the best approach for their personal search.
To either learn Skip's techniques for the first time or to review this exciting presentation, please visit the link to see a presentation with his valuable tips.
Jan Victor September, 2018
Jan demonstrated her extensive experience specializing in leadership skills, emotional intelligence, communication behaviors, organizational change, team building, and executive coaching. Her energy, personality and facilitation style engaged our participants and challenged them to think deeply and make applications strategically. Her current work focuses on ethics, expertise, and etiquette as the foundation for a healthy leadership practice.
EQ Presentation for Career Renewal (pdf)
DownloadDerek Deprey May, 2018
Derek's passion in life is to evoke excellence in every person at every level. After a career of working in basketball operations at the collegiate and professional levels, he empowers others both as a general manager at a fitness club and as a leadership professor at a university. Today, he loves to inspire and influence others as a speaker and writer. He is the author of "SHIFT: Move from Frustrated to Fulfilled."
Derek's presentation gave our participants and advisors solid on-the-ground advice on how to connect with others. Through his "Four principles and Four Practices", he outlined ways to help us all connect better.
Derek's Slides (pdf)
DownloadRon Moskal January, 2018
Searching for a job is an exhaustive process, but you don't have to go through it alone. You are likely to work with Executive Recruiters during the process. How do you effectively work with them? In this very popular presentation, Ron "gave participants the answers" to many commonly asked questions and provided ways to work effectively with recruiters.
Ron has been an Executive Recruiter for many years.
Ron's Presentation (pdf)
DownloadCatherine Morgan January, 2017
Losing your job can take a toll on your emotional and physical wellbeing. There is a grieving process that most people go through after a layoff. It is completely normal to experience anger and denial and giddiness--and every other emotion. You will definitely have good days and bad days.
However, this is also a great opportunity to step back and evaluate what you have done in the past, and what you would like to do in the future. It is a time to take inventory of what worked, and what didn't work for you. It is a time to reconnect with your purpose and values. It is a time to consider what the right next step is.
This talk will explore:
Constructive grieving and way to heal
Techniques to uncover the information you need to determine your right next step
How to keep yourself out of the emotional dips that come with unemployment
How to stay focused and on track with your job search or launching a business.
Catherine's Presentation (pdf)
DownloadChristine Suva, M.S. CPC March, 2017
In her powerful presentation, Christine helped us discover core elements to navigate career transition successfully. There are multitudes of articles and books written about the outer process of career transition such as writing effective resumes, interviewing tips and salary negotiation. Christine helped us learn concepts to help master the inner process to improve results AND eliminate negative feelings about transition. She described ways people get in their own way and make career transition far more difficult than necessary and and also provided some tips to turn the tables! Christine gave us thoughts on making the process much less stressful and actually enjoyable! Remember: Neglecting to master the inner process drastically affects results!
Christine's Presentation (pdf)
DownloadBrian LoVetere November, 2016
Brian gave us heartfelt and inspirational story of his background from growing up dirt-poor to becoming an executive in a dynamic, growing Chicago environmental company. His aptly-named presentation "From Sewers to C-Suite: An atypical Success Story" kept us all captivated. Brian also shared some of his favorite words to live by including; "Invest more time in yourself than your job." "Decide who you are going to be and what you need to do to make that happen." "Always be solving a problem." and "Be persistent."
Rick Wescott January, 2015
Rick is a recent graduate of the Career Renewal program. He recently landed after a short search. Rick shared with us his "90 Day Plan -The Key to Getting an Offer"
Rick's Presentation (pdf)
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