Bridging the Gap Interview Workshop

AgendaTechnology & Entrepreneurship Talent Network Employment LandscapeYour Personal BrandIntroduction Statement (The Elevator Pitch)Interview PrepSoft SkillsBreakInterview Practice

TETNThe New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) is a private not-for-profit

trade association for technology organizations. NJTC provides business support, networking opportunities, information, advocacy, and recognition of technology companies and their leaders.

NJTC is the recipient of the Technology and Entrepreneurship Talent Network grant from the State of NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development (LWD). The Talent Network is designed to provide connections between job seekers, employers, NJ state government, and educational institutions.

Other Talent Networks

• Advanced Manufacturing

• Financial Services

• Healthcare

• Life Sciences

• Transportation, Logistics, and Distribution

• Coming soon: Hospitality, Tourism, and Retail

Hurricane Sandy Recovery

Key Objectives of the Talent Networks

• Conduit of information from businesses with opportunities to those that prepare people for those opportunities, i.e. education, LWD, etc.

• Provide opportunities for networking • Shorten the time it takes a NJ employer to get connected with

qualified professionals• Connect professionals and businesses to the right resources • Facilitate training on the most up to date industry needs and job

seeker tools• Guide entrepreneurs to start up resources

Tech Employment Landscape

U.S. businesses across every industry sector employ more than 3.6 million workers in core IT positions. Add in peripheral technology workers and the figure is substantially higher.

In 2011 Technology positions accounted for 312,715 jobs or 10.0% of New Jersey’s private sector employment.

In 2010 The annual average wage for Technology positions in New Jersey was $100,074.

CompTIA's State of the IT Skills Gap study was developed with input from a survey of 502 U.S. IT and business managers, as well as input from more than 500 managers in Canada, Japan, South Africa and the U.K. All data was collected December 2011 - January 2012).

Source: New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Industry Cluster

Job Search Landscape

Finding a new job now is not the same as finding a job before 2008

There are jobs out there, you need to uncover them

The New Rules of Job Search

•Resume scanning software

•Social job search, i.e. Networking

•Stackable credentials

•Life long learning

•Agility

Your Personal Brand• Regardless of your previous job titles, you are now in Sales and Marketing• To get a job in this market you need to determine your Personal Brand• Included in your brand:

– Your resume– Your business card– All communication materials, i.e. Cover Letters, Thank You Notes, Requests for Meetings, etc.– Your LinkedIn Profile; Other Social Networks– The signature on the bottom of your emails– The way you dress and present yourself– What complaints you have and to whom you express them– Your smile– Your handshake– Eye contact

• How to find out…Interview your family and friends

•Keep it short

•Have two•Networking•Job Interview

•Practice

Introduction Statement

Interview Preparation• Have Success Stories; 15-20

• Challenge 1 sentence• Action 1-2 sentences• Result 3 sentences

• Practice your answers to some of the most used questions• Tell me a little bit about yourself• Why did you leave your last role• What have you been doing during your gap in employment

• Practice these answers with other people. • Company Research

• Use your LinkedIn and other network connections to find out about the company, its culture, etc.

Soft Skills• Definition on Wikipedia: Soft skills is a sociological

term relating to a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people.[1] Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities.

Soft SkillsCritical ThinkingProblem SolvingKnowledge Sharing Business AcumenTeamwork Presentation SkillsProject ManagementEffective Communication Listening Ability

Verbal SkillsCollaborationTact and DiplomacyBusiness WritingAnalytical SkillsNegotiating Organizational SkillsCustomer Service

Break

Interview Practice• Imagine these are real interviews

• At the beginning of the interview you will want to hand the interviewer your business card and resume (if available)

• Use this as an opportunity to make a connection in the industry

• You will receive personal feedback at the end of all the interviews

ResourcesDonna Levan, SPHR: dlevan@njtc.org

Technology & Entrepreneurship Talent Network website: www.njtetn.org

LinkedIn Group: Technology & Entrepreneurship Talent Network

Twitter: @NJTETN

Resume Bank: www.jobs4jersey.com

List of One Stop Career Centers: lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/