Site Visits to Daniel Boone and LKLP

This week the high winds blew us down to Manchester for training and a site visit with Terrina, Shirley, Alesia, Phillip, Jo Ann, and Linda. Thanks for the delicious potluck luncheon and homemade pies. On a tour of the county, we learned more about the documentary Appalachian Dawn and how local ministers collaborated to fight back against drugs in the community. It is being touted as a model in others areas of the country.

Also this week we spent time in Hazard training with Allison, Mona, Lynn, Mary, Donna, Jack, Shirley, Bobbie, Brian, Kathy, and Irene. Another potluck lunch was greatly appreciated. The peanut butter cake and pumpkin rolls were amazing! Community visits in the afternoon took us to Hindman and the Artisan Center, Bobbie and Mary's office (as well as where their new office will be located), and a shopping spree at Yoders. We also took in the Community Sports complex. A special thank you to Brian and Donna for sitting on the reclaimed coal mine ridge for three hours watching for elk. Of the supposed 7000 elk in the area, we did not see a single one. Our motto for the viewing was "any minute now" or "it won't be much longer". Fortunately, we had excellent company and beautiful views of the region from our peak viewing spot.

Site Visits

This week we have put the miles on the Careerspan car visiting our GCDF colleagues across the region. We have had beautiful weather and the fall leaves have been lovely. Yesterday we travelled to Harlan to meet with Celia, Chris and Flora. Chris shared a 1939 copy of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that the libary was about to toss. Lots of "R" jobs. After our GCDF CEU training, we visited the CAA's remodeled building. What a transformation. Then we surprised Karen and dropped in on her at Harlan County High School near the end of her school day. My is her classroom, lab, and kitchens impressive as is the school. It features lots of glass windows with terrific views of the mountains, and an amazing gym and theater. There are so many activitites for students to get involved in, it's not surprising that the drop out rate last year was extremely low! Who wouldn't want to go to this school.

Today we headed to Paintsville. What a crowd Valerie gathered up for our morning training session. So good to see "yall". After lunch, we toured the Carl Perkins Vocational Rehabilitation Center and the local Entrepreneur Resource Center. Thanks for a great day!

LinkedIn Summary Section Tips

Social Media expert Jason Alba is a "go to" person for tips on using LinkedIn (LI). You may be familiar with his book I'm On LinkedIn Now What? or his DVDs on how to use LinkedIn more effectively. He recommends the following four tips for making the most of your LI Summary section.

1) You are allowed up to 2000 characters in this section - use them.
2) Don't cut and paste your resume in this section (it should go in the Profile section).
3) Tell up to six compelling STAR (Situation/Task, Action, Results) stories emphasizing prior work accomplishments. Quantify when possible (i.e. #, $, %)
4) Load up on industry key words and phrases.

Remember to make sure that you stay on brand. Also, communicate what you are passionate about and what you bring to the table. By utilizing these tips, your LI summary section will be much stronger.

KCEOC Site Visit

Mid-October led us to the Barbourville KCEOC site. What a beautiful drive! The fall color is certainly prettier this year as we head outside of Lexington. A highlight of our Resume and Interview CEU training was a discussion on how to help clients who feel as if they do not have anything to put on a resume. Or how to help those clients who when asked what are their qualifications, they say "none" or they can't answer. Ultimately we are striving to help our clients see that they have transferable, marketable skills and then to take ownership of those skills. Our group felt that asking a client to describe their skills was less intimidating than to ask them what are their qualificaitons. For those clients who perhaps lack self-confidence, try to get them to talk about their skills in each of the following categories - 1) tools/machine 2) Ideas 3) People 4) Data. This information can then be translated into roles and various other resume headers. Are you asking your clients the right questions when it comes to helping them build their resumes and see their transferable skills? What questions do you rely upon to get your clients to share their skills? As always, we welcome your comments.

Emotional Intelligence and Work

Several years ago as my UK graduate school days in Educational Psychology were coming to a close, the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) was just beginning to appear on the scene. Peter Salovey at Yale University and Jack Mayer a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire conducted initial research on the concept and are well known for their continued contributions in the EI field. However, reading Daniel Goleman's best seller Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ is what got me interested. So what is EI? In essence, EI is expanding our traditional definition of IQ and cognitive intelligence to a definition that includes an awareness of our emotions and the ability to use them effectively. In Goleman's later research he developed the argument that non-cognitive factors such as self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy determine workplace success, as much if not more than, technical skills and I.Q. In a recent GCDF training, we had a great discussion on the resiliency factor and how so many of our clients overcome great difficulties to go on and ultimately achieve success. See how this also comes into EI? So how does/can EI impact our jobs and those of our clients?

Studies show that EQ is a better predictor of performance than employee skill, knowledge, or expertise. In order to reduce costs associated with turnover, absenteeism, and low performance, progressive employers are finding ways to integrate EQ into hiring and training as well as into corporate culture. Fortunately, EQ competencies can be measurable and learned. To learn more about the links between emotional intelligence and performance at work, Google "The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence" and read more books and articles on the topic.

From the Master Career Counselor Blog

Found in a recent article:


For every one posting, there were at least 5 to 6 workers that were applying and needed the job.

In essence, according to grim views of the job market, there are more job seekers than there are jobs at a 1 to 5 or 6 ratio. Most of the research data is based on the number of online job postings.

Here's something to consider:

First and foremost, NOT ALL JOBS ARE POSTED!!!!!!!

When a job seeker learns this imperative rule, he or she is on the road to job recovery. I would estimate that at least 70% of all job openings (if not more) are never posted online or in some type of print advertisement.

Job titles are constantly evolving and altering nearly daily due to technology, the global economy and the shifting labor force with diverse and broad needs. Thus, a company may have an opening with a certain job title but within weeks or months, such a title has become obsolete.

Employers are not posting openings online because they are looking for a worker that goes beyond a static job posting or description. They want TALENT, VISION, COMPETENCE and ENERGY. What they are looking for is not found online or posted in bright lights at multiple search engine job boards. Yes, people do find jobs online. It is a tool but not the ONLY tool. It doesn't have the best rate of success.

What does? It is called "getting out and connecting to the world around you more than searching online".

I want to know who is counting the number of people that find jobs that were never posted online? What about the job seekers who got of their behinds and got out of the house and met people? What about the ones who were very intentional in going for a company they wanted to work for even when no opening was officially posted? After all, that is the majority of the authentic pool of employers and those who seek employment.

Yes it may be true that there is one job online for every five to six job seekers. But that is not the full picture.

The more important story is that there are employers who never post such openings and are hiring that never get accounted for in data that makes the job market seem abysmal.

That is a very sad illusion that has disconnected and depressed people from even trying to find a job. Never forget...when one part of the market contracts, there is another part expanding.

The key is whether or not the job seeker knows how to navigate the course to locating that expansion.

Complete GCDF Training Schedule Through April 2011

Here is the complete list of GCDF CEU training times available through next spring. If you missed any previous training, please know you can make it up at a training time with a different class. Every training has been developed to build on one another. All you need to do is send an RSVP to me to attend.

Each training weekend has the same schedule. Friday from 3:00pm until 9:00pm. Saturday from 8:00am until 11:00am.


October 22-23, 2010 the class of 2008 comes together for training #4, "Expanding GCDF Knowledge and Resources".

November 19-20, 2010 the class of 2009 comes together for training #3, "Increasing the Effectiveness of Your GCDF Competencies".

January 14-15, 2011 the class of 2006 comes together for training #7, "Helping Our Clients Stay Motivated".

February 11-12, 2011 the class of 2007 comes together for training #6, "Career Resiliency".

March 11-12, 2011 the class of 2008 comes together for training #5, "GCDF Forecast Tools for Client Success".

April 8-9, 2011 the class of 2009 comes together for training #4, "Expanding GCDF Knowledge and Resources".

Feel free to email me and let me know you are attending. Reservations are open at all times.

Gateway Site Visit

It is that time of year again when we get to travel to your work places and enjoy the beautiful fall Kentucky weather. The last week of September took us to the Gateway Center in West Liberty. After a morning of resume and interview training, Sydney and Karen took us on a tour of Morgan and Menefee counties. Highlights of the trip included a tour of the Frenchburg Job Corp site (http://frenchburg.jobcorps.gov/home.aspx) run by the US Department of Forestry. Karen and Sydney have had a long-term collaboration with Job Corp. Two of their students led us through the campus and shared with us what it was like to be a Job Corp student. We learned a lot about his government program for youth 16 - 24 years old. Then we headed to Red River George and experienced the extremely narrow Nada Tunnel. Thanks for a wonderful day!