Keeping Your Career on
Track in a Down
Economy… and Beyond
Webinar #3
Presenting Yourself:
Be the Choreographer of Your
Own Career
The Alumnae Association
Of Smith College
Career Webinar Series
Copyright Barbara Reinhold, Ed.D.
www.barbara-reinhold.com
Do the dance your own
way…
• No matter what you
were “taught” by
others—this gets more
and more important
as we age!
• Because you and the
world are both
changing
• And because only
you really know what
you want and need
right now
What’s probably different
now?
• There are no secrets—you
have to make peace with
transparency
• You are entirely responsible
for your own employability,
and for translating yourself
positively to the world
• More than ever, selling
yourself will require “high
tech/high touch” strategies
Here’s where INSIDE and
OUTSIDE come together:
• really knowing what you do and
don’t want next, even if you don’t
know what to call it…
• helps you sort out what employment
will work for you now…
• so that you can TAILOR and
CUSTOMIZE everything you say
about yourself to fit what you’re
looking for
Go back to your FILLERS and
DRAINERS for guidance
• List 3 fillers you know you want, no matter what
___________________
___________________
___________________
• List 3 drainers you know you want to avoid
____________________
____________________
____________________
Job search campaign advice
to forget immediately:
• “Just send a resume of what you’ve
done, and let the employer figure it
out.”
• “Include everything you’ve ever
done, just in case.”
• “Only look for one kind of job at a
time, or you’ll look fickle.”
And don’t forget to forget
this one either:
• “Don’t
overprepare. If it’s
meant to be, it
will be”
But where do you find work
opportunities?
• High tech—choose
online listings
carefully
• High touch—let
people know you’re
looking
• Imagination—how
could your skills or
knowledge help an
organization that’s
attractive to you?
And maybe you’re not looking
for a job at all, but rather a
way to do the work you
really enjoy?
Particularly in this
economy…
• You might get further in
the long run by being a
contractor now rather
than an employee
• Consider it as an option
anyway
• Also committing to
several months as an
apprentice
Taking control of the campaign
from the very beginning…
(1)SKILLS/
EXAMPLES
(2) WHY ME NOW?
(3) STAR ANALYSIS
(1) Major RELEVANT skills
for each position
• List 5 major skills, in descending
order of importance, for the situation
you’re pursuing
• And then write 3 examples of how
you’ve used that skill for each one
(2) “Why me now?”
statement
• Write 1-2 succinct,
targeted
paragraphs in
response to that
question
• Practice saying
them out loud until
you really believe
them
(3) STAR analysis: write out
3 examples for the following
template
•
•
•
•
Situation or
Task you needed to handle
Action(s) you took
Results you achieved
According to resume consultant Yana Parker
• “A
resume is a
marketing
document, not a
career obituary”
Kinds of resumes
• Chronological/employer-driven
• Functional/skills-driven
• Targeted bio
• Artistic/performance resume
• Curriculum vitae
• Portfolio
Getting your skills/
interests/passions aligned:
• Have a copy of the job description or work
requirements as you understand them…
• Number them, in descending order of
importance for the employer
• For each one, make a notation of how
your experiences and/or credentials are
(or are not) in alignment with that
particular requirement
High or low estimator—
which are you?
• The job description
tale…
• Ask someone who
knows you well to
rate you on a scale
of 1-10 for your
self-estimating
abilities
Practicing for interviews
• Create 5 questions you DO
want to answer, and answer
them
• Create 5 questions you
DON’T want to answer, and
answer them
• Answer them all with a peer
coach—and get immediate
feedback
• Incorporate the feedback,
and practice some more…
Advice for specialized
situations:
• Introverts
• Extroverts
• Re-entry women
• Women over 50
• People with disabilities or
cultural/lifestyle differences
The Power Pack finale
• Remember a time (the
earlier the better)
when you did
something really
well and felt great
about it!
Go back into your memory and
“revisit” that time in more
detail:
• What happened to
make you so
pleased with
yourself?
• Who was there?
• What feelings do
you remember?
Let those positive feelings
take over your entire mind
and body..
• NOW you’re ready
to PRESENT
YOURSELF!
• And you can return
to this energized
state whenever
you want to
Now, Q & A
• I’ll be responding to
questions that have
already come in from
the group
• Add any more as we
go
• Send individual ones
on the Smith career
blog or to me via my
own website e-mail
Thanks for being here!
• Stay in the loop, with the Alumnae
Association and with each other
• Webinar #4, “Managing Your Own
Career Across the Lifespan,” will
happen next week, May 13 from noon to 1
p.m. Eastern time
• No matter how old or young you are, we’ll
have something to say to you
• www.alumnae.smith.edu/career/blog.php