by Cindy Fassler
John is a learning and development professional and software trainer within healthcare, technology, and banking. He first heard about The Job Forum from Experience Unlimited (part of the CA State, Employment Development Department.) John has returned to The Job Forum each time he has been looking for a job since he relocated to the SF Bay Area in 2003.
One reason John continues to return to The Job Forum is because he receives a variety of advice from the knowledgeable career panelists who volunteer from local companies and conduct the weekly meetings and interact with job hunters and generously extend a helping hand to job hunters.
John has asked the volunteers at The Job Forum for advice pertaining to his resume prior to submitting his resume for current jobs. He says he has found The Job Forum advice invaluable.
John says he particularly values the new suggestions he hears for ideas like the benefit of changing your resume for each job for which you are applying , learning how to work within the Applicant Tracking system, making sure to stand out from the 100’s of resumes submitted for that same job by closely emphasizing what you have to offer that the job description says they really want.
During his current job search this year, he was feeling disconnected because of COVID and The Job Forum panelists were able to help him stay much more confident while looking for his job this time.
In addition, he was feeling especially unorganized and wanted direction on the best way to handle all of the jobs he had applied to and the companies he was targeting.
He started out with a notebook and then changed to recording all his jobs in an excel spread sheet. This worked better for him to identify and keep track of who he has applied with and the outcome of submitting his resume for each job.
John participated in the recent Job Forum virtual job fair and found that event most informative because the job fair had a diverse group of companies for him to interview and he added people to his network of contacts.
In addition to the job Fair, he met one on one with several panelists.
The Job Forum now offers 1 on 1 advising for job hunters on Tuesdays ( 1-on-1 Advising )
We all know how important it is to obtain personal referrals. John says he was fortunate to have The Job Forum, Chairman and Ex. Director, Janet Beach refer John to several recruiters. She focused him on seriously considering a variety of jobs at UCSF. Janet has been a longtime consultant at UCSF and John was able to receive her endorsement.
Other panelists at The Job Forum helped John with his interviews.
His first 2 interviews were telephone screens and finally he was able to receive an in-person interview for the perfect job as a Call Center Trainer.
John’s “take away advice” for future Job seekers coming to The Job Forum is to attend as many Job Forum meetings as you can. He says you will learn different tips from each Job Forum panelist volunteering that night . Also He urges others attend any of the special Job Forum meetings that focus on your area or industry of your job search and he says “these will be an additional way to meet more company managers and be able to have access to their good advice.
Congratulations to John!
He started his job at UCSF on November 20th.
