Celebrate Women's Leadership Day in Akron

Celebrate Women's Leadership Day in Akron on Tuesday, November 10, 2009. Mark your calendar for lunch right now!

The Women’s Network of Northeast Ohio will be hosting a new program of ATHENA International to celebrate Women's Leadership Day. You'll want to attend this event where an established woman leader will invite an emerging woman leader to join her for lunch.

Who are you mentoring right now that would benefit by networking with other emerging women leaders and established leaders in the Akron area? Or if you are an emerging woman leader what established woman leader in the community have you always wanted to have lunch with to get to know?

Author's note: Notice how I omit the words "old" and "young"? You get the idea!! Everyone loves the phrase established and experienced, but old is not the right adjective!

This unique new lunch will be chaired by Angelina Milo, Cohen & Company, Ltd.; Diane Johnson, Attorney at Law;Angela Fremon, Cole Industries; and Norma Rist, Norma J. Rist CEO Consulting, Inc.

The proceeds for the event will benefit Women’s Network’s Judith Resnik Scholarship Fund.

If you are mentoring an emerging woman leader, this is a wonderful opportunity to develop your relationship with her as well as encourage new relationships.

This Women’s Leadership Day Lunch will be offered the same day in many other cities. Watch the http://womensnetworkneohio.com and the November newsletter for the details. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend.

Finding an Alternative to a Job

It seems like getting a job is the main focus of everyone's idea to making a living. Jobs come and go.

Sometimes while looking for a job, it's very handy to generate some additional income. Have you considered something online? Because of some fairly recent changes in technology, you can earn some money by other means too.

What about have an on line business? Selling via eBay, Craigslist or other distribution websites might be one way.

Tapping into one of the largest advertisers in the world that didn't even exist before 1998 could be another. What am I talking about? I know you've heard of it. Just like Craig's List has knocked the stuffin's out of newspaper classified advertising by making it free to all but about 11 cities for jobs and one for apartments, there is a giant information company that offers most of its products for free and still makes tons of revenue. Google.

Google adwords is something many people are familar with. Adwords are those ads on the right hand of the Google search. They also show up inside many websites with related content. Paying for ads isn't what I'm talking about, but rather the other side of the program where Google pays you to display ads on your blog.

You can see a sample on the right hand side here.
What are the steps?
1) Figure out a popular subject area or topic
2) Set up a website (if you use blogspot or wordpress, it's free!)
3) Set up an adsense account in Goggle. You have to put your credit card in so that they can add money to your credit card. (There's a novel idea!! ha ha!)
4) Set your website up to include your adsense ads. This means a click adds some money into your credit card
5) Get traffic to your site by posting good content.

Sounds simple, doesn't it. Well it's more time consuming than that, but probably easier than any one or two more classes towards a masters. The only commitment is the time it takes to figure it out.

Leave me a comment if you're considering this and I'll send you some more links with good information.

What Are The 50 Most Important Interview Questions and How Should You Answer Them?

Not only does this blog post have the questions, it discusses the answers as well.

If you're in transition and interviewing for jobs, you'll want to check out these 50 Important Job Interview Questions, Why they are Asked and How You Should Answer.

A few years ago I remember asking a question, "Everyone encounters difficult people when working in a job. Can you tell me about a situation where you had to deal with a difficult person and how you handled it?" to a potential employee. The candidate really blasted her co-worker for about 5 minutes. She just ranted about the person. And without realizing it, she blew the interview.

My question wasn't to find out about wrong the coworker was, but how well the candidate handled the situation and could get work done while getting along with people in a work environment. Believe me, dealing with abrasive personalities is not how the supervisor wants to or needs to be spending their day.

Question 23: Give us an example of a situation where you faced conflict or difficult communication problems.

This is not the time to tell the interviewer how much you hate your current boss or colleagues!

It’s also not the point to launch into a tirade about how difficult people in your office are to work with and how many arguments you have.

So what are they looking for? They’re looking for someone who can rise above conflict and diffuse the emotions, finding a win-win solution.

Basically, recruiters want to employ people who will get on well with others, whilst still delivering the company’s objectives.

This type of question is your chance to demonstrate your interpersonal and team-working skills.

The interviewer will be looking for maturity and the ability to be able to keep your calm, whilst others around you are losing theirs. Don’t feel you have to provide an answer that gives you full credit for the solution – it can often be more powerful (if it’s true) to demonstrate how you worked with others to find a fix.

Practice your answer to this question. It can have many guises, but is almost guaranteed to be asked in some form.

Check out the other 49 questions, discussions and sample answers here.

Need to Change Careers? Attend this 12-Week, No Fee Job Seeker Workshop

Greg Watkins, President of the Capstone Search Group alerted me to a "no fee" Job Seeker Workshop in Columbus, Ohio on September 10, 2009 at 6 pm.

This Job Seeker Workshop runs for 12 weeks beginning on Thursday September 10th and running through December 3 in Columbus, Ohio. Feel free to forward this information to friends, colleagues or neighbors. The only cost to this workshop is $40 for the workbook materials; the course lasts 12 weeks. No need to pre-register, walk-ins are welcome.

Greg Watkins will lead this workshop and is donating his expertise to lead attendees through a detailed process of seeking a new career. Greg is a small business owner for 12 years in the Central Ohio area focused in the recruitment, coaching and outplacement discipline. The typical cost of this type of coaching would normally be in the thousands.

No other services are “sold” at this workshop; it is strictly a servant mentality and is being offered through Greg’s church. The workshop has graduated over 4,000 unemployed / under employed people over the last eight years. There are “scholarships” offered for those who cannot afford the $40 cost of materials.

The workshop promptly begins at 6:00 PM Thursday September 10th. Click here for a link to Google Maps to directions to the Upper Arlington Lutheran Church at 2300 Lytham Road,Columbus OH, 43220.

From what I understand from Greg, it is okay if someone misses the first class or a week or two during the session; however, it is best to make to as many weeks as possible as the material builds week to week. The church website linked here has week by week topics.

There is no pre-registration needed (just show up) and purchase of the materials is not required, but suggested. People are welcome to “audit” the class before purchasing the materials.

Click here for a printable job seeker workshop flyer with information. For more information contact Greg at: gwatkins@mriohio.com or call 614-486-1388 extension 102.