What Do Job Hunter’s Say The Job Forum Is Really Like?
What Do Job Hunter’s Say The Job Forum is REALLY Like?
We had a chance to talk to several job hunters the other day to find out what was helpful to them in coming to The Job Forum. Naturally job hunters want to know what can one expect: Will it be valuable? Will you learn something new? Can you act on the advice?
Stephanie shared that there were several points that validated what she and other job hunters are doing.
“The validation is really valuable!” she said. One important theme is being flexible. Stephanie says, “Changing your résumé with every job application is a big pain in the neck, but by coming to The Job Forum, I can see why it matters.” She discerned that being flexible is important in other ways too, “[It is] important to be flexible in how you network and important to keep going to more events and try new approaches to build up your professional network.”
Stephanie goes on to say, “The Job Forum event was quite simply the best event I’ve ever seen on Zoom. It was so effective, and everybody put their LinkedIn profiles and their resumes right into the chat. The Job Forum creates a situation where there is real concrete feedback right there in the meeting! The whole atmosphere is so positive and helpful to everyone in the group.”
One new insight and helpful bit of advice Stephanie got was how to walk the fine line between follow up and being overly aggressive. She describes what many job hunters worry about, “How do you follow up and show your enthusiasm for a company without being perceived as a pest or a pain in the neck?” Stephanie says she learned that one way of checking in is to say and acknowledge the rushed state of everybody’s life, such as, “Everybody is so busy and I’m just wanting you to know I’m still interested in your company and in the job.” She says, “This is a lovely way to walk that fine line!”
Stephanie also heard about the benefits of working with a staffing or recruiting company as one way to get access to a job in a technology company. She says the feedback she got from The Job Forum helped her focus in on a few major obstacles: having sufficient confidence and staying focused on her goal, following up, and keeping track of what works and doesn’t work in her job search.
Natalie is a marketing strategist from a large tech company who came to The Job Forum after she’d gone to a lot of other meetings with people looking for work (Geek dinners or other job meet ups.) She says the difference is that “At The Job Forum, it’s clear that the volunteers are skilled enough to really help job hunters. The Job Forum volunteers are from impressive companies, yet they focus first on listening to understand what help is needed.”
Natalie lists three things she learned at The Job Forum:
- How to reframe her goals so she could be much more specific so others will know what job she seeks next.
- How exactly to speak with others during a networking event or via LinkedIn when she wants advice or contacts.
- That she needs more research in order to better connect her existing skills to the job she wants next.
Susan, who is looking for work in biotech, says was so excited to find out about The Job Forum via the co-hosted program with UC Berkeley Extension Career Services.
“There were so many mid-career job hunters there. I felt more normal to hear from others who are experienced and yet looking for a next career step,” she said. She underscored, “I really appreciate that everybody was able to put their resumes and LinkedIn profiles into the zoom chat. It is amazing how effective the volunteers of The Job Forum are at connecting job hunters to one another – an exchange of contacts and referrals actually happens! This was exactly what I was looking for where job hunters and advisors are helping each other. The Job Forum facilitates real referrals and contacts! The Job Forum works. I have already gotten opportunities for interviews, I made it past 2 screening interviews, and now I’m focused on the next round. The Job Forum can really help you meet good people in companies you are targeting!”
The Job Forum welcome job hunters to come and find out what is most helpful to you.
