LASD Resource Development

Volunteering as a Career Development Strategy

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Employment Section, August 30, 2007

by Laura Smith Dunaief

Recently, a former colleague notified me that he is taking a new job as an event planner for a major lobbying organization in DC.  I cheered for him, not just because it is a great opportunity, but because I know he worked very hard to get it.

Event planning is not part of a traditional career path for a human resources representative, a role in which he has spent most of his life.  Rather, it’s the career he decided several years ago to pursue.

After doing research into what it takes to get a well-paying job as an event planner – lots of experience doing it – he decided that he needed to find a way to get that, without giving up his good income for a starvation-wage job in an entry-level position.  He came upon a masterful solution: volunteer as an event planner for non-profit organizations in his spare time.

He, and many like him, are discovering that non-profits and other volunteer organizations provide a tremendous training ground for traditional paying jobs. Volunteer organizations are starved for dedicated and motivated workers to take on roles as far-flung as project management, logistics coordination, event planning, and plain old supervision of other volunteers. Thus, they are often willing to allow those with little experience to roll up their sleeves and test their mettle.

This provides an opportunity for people, like my former colleague, who want to try out a new career and earn their stripes, and for those who cannot convince their employers to allow them to take on management responsibility in their current jobs.

And for those of you who already volunteer, I challenge you to look at your volunteer experiences in a new light. What skills are you developing that will help with your career? Is this something you can highlight on your resume? Suddenly, coaching the little league team, organizing the walk-a-thon, or cleaning up the beach can take on new dimensions.

A word of caution for those of you who are considering this approach: make sure you follow through.  The fabulous referrals and networking contacts you muster from volunteer organizations are the same as those from a paying company, if you treat it as a paying job. 

Don’t overcommit, and don’t offer to take on responsibility that you can’t execute. If you’d like to try your hand at something that’s completely new to you, ask if you can assist someone with more experience for a while. And if you find yourself in trouble, time-wise or skill-wise, ask for help. Leaving them high and dry when they’re counting on you will cause your efforts to backfire.

So, now you’re plugging along, developing new skills and wowing your fellow volunteers with your dedication and skill. How do you get this onto your resume?

First, consider it a “real” job. Lift your volunteer work out of the obscurity of the “personal” section of your resume and integrate it with your paying jobs. Then, just like any other job, consider your accomplishments and build them into your resume.

For example, if you coordinated the planning of an annual fundraising event, ask yourself some key questions.

• How many volunteers did you supervise?

• How did you market the event?

• Did you solicit corporate sponsors?

• What about venue or vendor contracts?

• Ultimately, what was the result?

• How much money did you raise?

• How many people attended?

• How did this compare to previous years’ results?

Be honest, just as you would with any job. It’s fairly transparent to prospective employers when people overstate their efforts.

Remember that every volunteer organization and experience is different. Look for those that feed both your passion and your career development needs, and you’ll find a win-win situation. And you will do some good along the way.

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.

Career Networking: Mind Your Manners

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Employment Section, July 26, 2007

by Laura Smith Dunaief

I like to think that I’m fairly well connected, and that I do a reasonable job of keeping in touch with former colleagues and friends.  So, when someone is looking for career networking help, I will often drop everything to put them in touch with the right person from my network or to offer some guidance.

As much as I pride myself on this, I have to admit that I’m not an anomaly.  Most people like to be supportive, especially if it’s to help someone find a new job or explore career opportunities.  In fact, it’s this spirit of helpfulness that keeps career networking alive and well.  We’ve all been there before, looking for that elusive piece of advice or entrée into a company that will make the difference in our job search.

And those of us who facilitate these connections for virtual strangers are fairly undemanding.  All we want is to hear what came of the assistance – hopefully, it was helpful – and, perhaps, receive a “thank you” for our efforts.  Most of those I help are more than happy to comply.

Still, there are a few “users” (I don’t know what else to call them) that seem to have forgotten basic manners.  These are the ones that sour me and many of my colleagues on the process.

Let me give you an example.  I was contacted about a year ago by a participant in one of my seminars.  I’ll call her “Ann.”  Ann was looking for guidance on moving into marketing.  A former boss of mine is in the field, and I offered to make an introduction.  I did the legwork: getting in touch with the former boss, asking her to make time to talk to Ann, and then writing back to Ann to provide her with contact information.

A month later, when I hadn’t heard anything, I emailed Ann.  Nothing.  I checked with my former boss.  Nope.  Ann had never called.

How about another example?  A friend of mine asked me if I would, as a favor, talk to an acquaintance of his, “Sue,” about how to position her resume for a different industry.  I spoke with Sue for over an hour and gave her my advice.  I never heard from her again. 

In another instance, a colleague asked me to speak with “Joe,” a friend of hers looking for some networking advice.  I arranged to talk with Joe that evening, since I was traveling.  I turned down a client’s last minute dinner offer because of this commitment.  At the appointed time, I was in my hotel room, dutifully waiting for the phone to ring.  Do you want to guess what happened – or didn’t?  I emailed Joe to follow up, thinking he’d been detained or lost my number.  No response.

Here’s one last example.  I was called by an acquaintance, “Jane,” who wanted an introduction to a friend of mine. When I asked for more information, I found Jane was trying to get to my friend’s boss to pitch her company’s services.  Knowing this would put my friend on the spot, I politely declined.  And then Jane pushed. And pushed.  I stopped returning her calls.

Are all networkers this inconsiderate?  Absolutely not.  Some fall over backward to tell you what came of a conversation or how what you did for them helped them achieve their goal.  Or they send a thoughtful email or handwritten note to thank you sincerely.  These are the people I will tie myself into pretzels to help again and again.

There’s nothing wrong with networking, even if it feels sometimes like shameless job searching.  Don’t be shy about asking everyone around you for networking help; it’s important to cast your net wide when you’re job searching.  You might be surprised at the connections you’ll make.  People want to help.  Just don’t be a “user.” 

So, what is the lesson here?  It’s fairly basic: use your manners. 

If someone is uncomfortable making an introduction, don’t push; they’ll only resent you. 

Follow through.  Either by contacting the people you were introduced to, or by keeping appointments with those trying to help you.

And be thankful for the help people offer. Spend a few minutes to write a note or send an email to thank them.  Tell them what came of the introduction and, ultimately, where you ended up.   

It’s not a lot to ask.

 

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.

Keeping a Work Journal

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers,  Employment Section, June 21, 2007.

Laura Smith Dunaief

If you’re looking for a new job, or even new challenges in your current job, you may be in for some stiff competition. 

According to a CNNMoney.com poll issued in conjunction with Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” coverage, only 42% of the 11,000 respondents are happy where they are.  The rest expect to get a new job in the next year, at either a new company, or due to a promotion. 

The Society for Human Resources Management puts the number of job hunters even higher, reporting in December that 75% of employees are looking.

So, if you’re on the hunt, yourself, what can you do to stand out amid this Times Square on New Year’s Eve crowd? 

I will let you in on a secret: the single best way to shine is to have a strong grasp on what you’ve achieved and what that has meant for your company – the more specific you can be, the better.  It’s always surprising to me how few people can succinctly describe their current positions and accomplishments, articulating them in a compelling way that shows their value.  It’s a skill so rare that, in twenty years of hiring, I only found a handful that could do it – and I did somersaults to make sure they came to work for me.

Think of this as the decoder ring for the career management puzzle.  If you can master this, all of the pieces, including writing a resume, interviewing, networking, and negotiating salary, become that much easier to nudge into place.  And it’s equally worthwhile if you’re one of the few with no plans to move; you can use it to show how valuable you are when raises and bonuses are doled out.

So, how do you sift through the daily tasks you juggle each work day and really get your head around the value in what you do?  Keep a “work journal.”  It doesn’t matter if it’s electronic or longhand.  It only matters that you update it consistently – before details fade and while key business impacts, like sales results or client feedback, are at your fingertips.  A work journal is the raw material from which you will build your resume, your interview stories, or your case for a big raise or promotion.

What should you write in there?  It’s not a minute-by-minute record of how you spent your day.  Think of it as a series of stories that show what you’re worth. 

To get started, I suggest that you write down your three biggest achievements for a week.  Then reread each and ask the question, “So what?”  Your journal’s value will come from being able to answer this.

Let’s look at an example:  This week, I facilitated a meeting between a potential client and a technology vendor that I found and introduced to the client.  So what? By itself, this doesn’t tell how successful I was at facilitating, or about its value to the organization. 

What if I wrote that, as a result of that meeting, the vendor agreed to partner with me on the client’s project and that it was worth $250,000 in revenue to my company?  Or that the vendor later approached me about partnering with clients of theirs?  Does this sound more compelling?  For an extra “bang,” I should also indicate what I did to make it so successful.

Make the journal work harder for you by categorizing your entries.  If you want to prove your sales prowess, client relationship capabilities, and communication skills, you should label each of your entries accordingly.  This makes it easier when someone asks you to talk about your sales abilities.  It also allows you to see where you need to expand your experiences to get to the next big thing.

Ideally, you should update your work journal at least once a week.  Of course, some weeks you’ll have more to say than others.  Still, the habit is critical. 

And unlike a teenager’s diary, you don’t need to stuff this between the mattress and box spring.  In fact, it’s most valuable if you air it out and review it regularly.  Who cares if the boss stumbles across it?  It will remind her how lucky she is to have you.

 

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.