Career Management Trainings

Assertiveness Training for the Job Hunt:
A job search is the time to “blow your own horn” and to make those tough phone calls and employer contacts. Yet many people confuse these assertive behaviors with aggression or believe their passive behavior cannot change. Assertive behaviors can be learned and they can make the difference between getting a job or getting rejected. This workshop teaches the basics of assertive communication emphasizing their use in networking, job interviews and in other typical job hunting scenarios. The facilitator uses presentations and interactive role-plays to help participants understand and practice their new assertiveness skills.

Overcoming Age Barriers In Your Job Hunt:
Yes there is age discrimination and it can be overcome! The secret is attitude, knowledge and preparation. In this workshop you will learn what employers can and cannot ask, the warning signs of age discrimination, and some exciting new discoveries that lay to rest myths that older workers are “over the hill.” You’ll also learn how to neutralize ten crucial age related “knock-out” factors to increase your chances of landing a job. Don’t sit home and moan, join us as we explore through individual work, group discussion and practice interviews why “Age Is An Advantage!”

Goal Setting For Job Seekers – Part One:
“Nothing happens without first a dream.” This is a take charge workshop where you’ll learn what goals are, why they’re important, how to best use them and how to avoid the twin evils of procrastination and loss of motivation. You’ll leave with new knowledge and practical tools showing you how to achieve your goals by developing a Goal Action Plan that gets you where you want to go. This workshop is excellent for those confused about their career direction or who are changing careers.

Goal Setting – Part Two:
This workshop builds upon Part One by connecting participants with their past successes to build confidence and motivation. You’ll talk about your current progress and take a deeper look at the causes and cures to procrastination. The workshop also reviews the “Seven Keys to Goal Achievement”, a tested and proven method of getting the job done. This workshop is a must for every person who has ever said, “I want to take charge of my life!”

Identifying the Work You Love:
People reach the highest levels of career satisfaction, achievement and income when they’re doing what they love to do. Ah, but that’s the challenge. Often we don’t know what we would really love to do. In this workshop you’ll be guided through an easy yet profound exercise that takes you up and through the “Passion Pyramid” to emerge with a newfound sense of your own life purpose. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of direction and a strategy to make your dreams come true.

Marketing Your Benefits to Employers:
Marketing yourself to employers is the toughest part of a job search – until you know how. In this workshop you’ll learn the power of “Benefit Selling” or how to translate your skills into benefits employers can understand. Some of the marketing tools you’ll master are “Professional Infomercials”, Accomplishment Statements, and targeted approach letters. You’ll leave with an understanding of how to market your talents putting them into words that demonstrate to an employer that you can add value and solve problems.

Networking: Why To; How To; Where To.
Networking is called the most powerful but underutilized tool of the job search. The Grandvetter study at Harvard showed that 63 % of all hires (and 73 % of professional hires) happen through networking. In this workshop you’ll learn why networking works as well as its rules and “how to” tools. You’ll overcome shyness while boosting confidence through preparation, practice and in class performance. By the time its over you’ll know how to “work a room,” and build a network of relationships that can carry you to success.

Seven Steps To Job Search Success:
There are seven steps to reemployment. Those who master them gain focus, confidence, and the skills they need to get hired today and in the future. In this workshop you will:

• gain an overview of the job search process
• learn vital information about career resources
• acquire knowledge to help you master each step along the way

Stress Management for Job Seekers:
Stress is called the “silent killer” and for good reason. It leads to a weakening of your body’s immune system and upsets your emotional equilibrium. Unemployment heightens stress by the slow accumulation of personal, emotional and family pressures, added to the daily stress of isolation, loss of structure and employer rejection. This workshop explains what stress is, how it affects the body and mind and how to protect yourself against a stress overload. You’ll leave with several practical tools for stress management and a Stress Management Plan to keep you functioning at your best.

Resources for Personal and Family Survival When Unemployed:
Having a hard time making ends meet? Finding medical care for your family? Locating training money? There’s help in all of these areas and many more. This workshop reviews what help exists and how to get it. We cover such topic areas as health care, food and fuel assistance, credit and financial problems, disability and welfare issues as well dealing with landlords and banks, emergency housing assistance, special veterans programs and free or low cost career, mental health and dental services. If you have a need you’ll find information about it in this workshop by the author of the Handbook of Community Resources for Massachusetts Unemployed.

Understanding Yourself and Others – Using the Myers-Briggs to Advance Your Job Search and Work Performance
(Includes the Myers-Briggs Test) Ever wonder why you like the kind of work you do? Or why you get along well with some while others make you cringe? The Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory answers these questions and more. It measures your preferences in eight crucial life areas and gives you a profile of yourself to guide you in making career, personal and relationship decisions. You’ll learn new insights into yourself and gain a deeper understanding of your strengths and weaknesses especially as they apply to the job hunt. You also learn some special ways, based on your type, to help you succeed in job interviews and on the job. Participants must complete the Myers-Briggs questionnaire for this four-hour workshop.

Positive Thinking For A Powerful Job Search:
Staying positive while job hunting can be a real challenge. Negative thoughts arise from layoffs, job rejections and missed opportunities. These thoughts lead to discouragement and self-limitations. In this workshop you’ll learn how to identify negative thought patterns and use such tools as affirmations, visualizations, and physiological alterations to help you stay positive. These secrets of cognitive and bodily reprogramming will build your confidence, motivation and ability to market yourself to employers.

Understanding Job Loss and Staying Positive:
Job-hunting can be an emotional roller coaster – highs one day, lows the next, leaving you feeling confused, angry, and scared. These feelings affect your ability to job-hunt. This workshop explores these emotions along with the more practical losses that occur when you lose your job (income, benefits, friends, self-esteem). You’ll learn ways to recognize and manage these emotions as well as practical ways to maintain your personal well being. You will leave with an Action Plan that will help you stay positive, balanced and in control of your job search.

Recharge Your Job Hunt:
Many people become discouraged after two months of job hunting. Some stop looking altogether. If this is happening to you it’s time to recharge your job search. In this workshop you’ll explore with others ways to boost motivation through goal setting and persistent action on small achievable goals. You’ll also learn the four secrets of stress hardiness, how to avoid motivation drainers, and seven attitudes and behaviors that keep your job hunt moving forward. You’ll leave with a renewed spirit and a customized Job Search Action Plan.

Identify Your Career Interests Using the Self-Directed Search:
John Holland’s Self-Directed Search is a 35 minute self-scoring Career Interest Inventory that can help you identify those occupational areas that “turn you on”. You’ll learn the secrets of picking the right career areas for your personality and discover what jobs match the “real you” and what types don’t. You’ll leave with more insight into yourself, why some jobs worked for you in the past and others didn’t, and leave with a list of occupations that correspond to your career interests.

Welfare-to-Work Workshops

Success Associates has prepared two introductory workshops to be used when participants are beginning a relationship with a career center. The length of the workshop varies with the requirements of the program but normally run between two and three hours.

Managing the Changes in Our Lives:
This workshop examines the ambivalent reactions welfare recipients have to the legislated changes in their lives. It raises awareness about the emotional effects of change while addressing its practical challenges and newly created opportunities. Participants leave with knowledge that helps them navigate the stages of change while learning practical tools to manage its stresses. In small groups participants brainstorm ways to resolve their problems and discuss ways to develop personal and community supports. The workshop’s goal is to maximize each person’s ability to take advantage of the possibilities before them. This is accomplished using exercises which normalize feelings and elicit solutions from those most affected.

Taking Charge of My Job Hunt:
This workshop focuses on the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that are necessary to become an effective job seeker. It looks at some of the typical negative thoughts and emotions that are experienced in the job hunt and at such practical problems as handling child-care and family responsibilities which, when not addressed, often lead to dropping out. Participants are shown how to concentrate upon their strengths and skills rather than their weaknesses. Each person leaves with an understanding of the kind of attitudes, behaviors and support systems needed to find employment. Small group interactive exercises reinforce this understanding by making these points in a positive and affirming fashion.