Job Forum Panel

The Job Forum is a non-profit community service run entirely by volunteers

The volunteers are called the Job Forum panelists. We make ourselves available on Wed evenings, offering a free group meeting to provide job search advice and counsel to help those looking for jobs or changing careers. We provide customized, insightful job search advice to professionals who want to find work in the SF Bay Area. Panelists at the Job Forum are all volunteers who want to help other professionals during a job change or career transition. Each Volunteer makes a commitment for selected Wed. evenings per year (not every week) and panelists sign up to a monthly volunteer schedule when it fits into their work schedules. Many of our volunteers stay loyal and committed to volunteering with the Job Forum throughout the entire course of their own careers.

We offer the Job Forum job search service to the public because:

– Job search has really changed

– You must understand what happens to your resume and be able to use technology to advance your own job hunt

– We believe people who are looking for jobs need to talk to experienced, informed managers who will help them

– Job seekers want to ask questions and get answers tailored to their job search situations

– Job seekers benefit from “give and take” coaching from hiring managers who work at San Francisco Bay Area firms and organizations

– We know our volunteers offer real help to those who are not currently working or who want to make a career change and improve their lives

Dedicated knowledgeable enthusiastic

The Job Forum service would not be possible without the dedicated commitment of these knowledgeable, enthusiastic panel of volunteers. Job Forum panelists are leading career experts, managers, and impressive executives with decades of professional and volunteer experience.

We welcome Bay Area residents and newcomers from other states and other countries to come to the Job Forum and experience the coaching and practical advice we have to offer.

These are some of the companies and organizations in which our volunteers work:

Many volunteers come from the Bay Area tech industry or have worked in firms that were recent start-ups. Many panelists stay with The Job Forum continuing to volunteer all throughout their own career transitions, providing personal knowledge and job search expertise, helping to guide and encourage others looking for jobs.

“I was impressed that The Job Forum is run by volunteers who work at many of the leading companies in the SF Bay Area like UCSF, Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, Autodesk, Intuit, and some great start-ups too.”

The Job Forum volunteers mirror the SF Bay Area economy and workforce

The panelist volunteers represent a cross-section of businesses including large global companies, mid-size firms, sole proprietorships and non-profits. Volunteers come from a wide range of industries and their job titles include technology, e-commerce, finance, marketing, IT, product management, consulting, and many more. Our panel includes full time professional job coaches and human resource, talent managers, and recruitment experts. (Please fill out volunteer form here if you are interested in volunteering with the Job Forum).

Conduct a contemporary job search

Collectively, the Job Forum panel has a wealth of knowledge about the realities of conducting a contemporary job search including insight into:

• Bay Area companies
• Networking for referrals by insiders
• Bay Area job search resources
• Requirements for various kinds of jobs and positions
• Experience inside Bay Area companies and organizations
• Knowledge of “Hiring Manager” perspectives
• An understanding of industry HR practices
• Awareness and perspectives on effective job finding techniques for today’s job search
• LinkedIn and other recruitment technologies
• Resumes tips and suggestions for digital resumes
• Job search online and using job search sites and job boards
• Optimizing your keywords in online profiles for the job you want
• Informational interviewing
• Targeting your job search

“The Job Forum panelists have knowledge from both the hiring manager’s viewpoint and the HR manager’s viewpoint. That combination is one thing that is really valuable for us as we hunt for a job and we are figuring out how to approach a target company.”