Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 7, 2016 | Worcester Business Journal 21 10 T H I NG S I know about... Looking for a job By Ed Londergan Ed Londergan is the West Brookfield-based author of "Job Search Tips & Techniques: A Practical Guide to Finding a Job." 10) Understand the search process. Self- assessment, determination of work desires, development of the appropriate resumes and cover letters, networking, interviewing and negotiation/acceptance of an offer. 9) Assess your situation. How long a commute are you willing to have? How much stress are you willing to accept? How much money do you need? What are you willing to sacrifice for the perfect job? 8) Plan your search. Keep it simple. Follow the sales process of prospecting, getting in the door and closing the sale. 7) Manage your time. Your job is finding a job, and you should approach it like that. Try to keep a regular schedule. 6) Hiring an employee is a business decision. Employers need the most qualified candidate generally for the least amount of compensation possible. 5) Set up job alerts and have emails sent daily so you know what jobs are out there. Be specific when setting criteria. 4) Network. Most jobs are found, not advertised. Estimates are 70-80 percent of all jobs are filled through networking. Tell your contacts what you are looking for and how they can assist you. 3) Customize cover letters and resumes. The cover letter should be simple, direct and persuasive. A resume should not exceed two pages – a recruiter may scan it for 30 seconds. Both should be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font since it is easy to read, have lots of white space and one inch margins. 2) Dress appropriately. The way you look and act counts, so dress and act professionally. For men, a dark suit with a white or blue shirt and colorful but conservative tie will make a good impression. For women, a suit or jacket or blouse, skirt or slacks, or dress is fine. Do not use cologne or perfume, wear lots of jewelry or heavy makeup. 1) The interview. Know your resume thoroughly. Bring a list of questions to help you determine if the employer is the right fit for you. Smile, be friendly and look the interviewer in the eye. Keep your answers short and to the point, no more than two minutes each. Send a thank you letter/email within 24 hours of the interview. Do not check your phone during the interview; turn it off and put it in a pocket or purse. K N O W H O W Understand the strengths you bring to community needs A good community rela- tions strategy should seek to understand the needs of one's community and the strength of one's organization and find the areas of overlap. The objective is to be seen as a good neighbor that cares about the community in which it does business and is committed to being an active participant in its betterment. Need: Organizations must have a strong understanding of the needs of their communities. Too often, their philanthropic activities and communi- ty relations strategies are undefined and haphazard and as a result ineffec- tive due to a lack of understanding of the needs of their community. For an organization to truly make a difference it must "apply the medicine where it hurts." In other words, its programs and activities should respond to a legitimate community need. It should have a keen under- standing of what the issues are in its community, what voids need to be filled, where gaps exist, and where an influx of resources could make signifi- cant improvements. The best way to obtain this is for it to come directly from the community. In the area of community health, we at the UMass Medical School (UMMS) typically rely on the community health improvement plan, a list of health pri- orities that is developed by conducting research on existing health data and consulting with community members. This process ensures that the real needs of the community are being addressed by any project or activity. Strength: To be successful in any collaboration or program to better the community, organizations must know what they bring to the table. The most effective and impactful use of an orga- nization's time is applying what they already do well. As an academic health sciences cen- ter and a major employer, UMMS has sought to match resource to need through our public health partner- ships and educational and workforce initiatives. For example, UMMS has led the Worcester Pipeline Collaborative, through which we help educate and train students in the north quadrant of the Worcester Public Schools for careers in biotech- nology, life sciences and health care. We recently entered into a memoran- dum of understanding with the city of Worcester to create a formal Academic Health Collaborative. Through this new collaboration, leading medical school faculty members and highly qualified students will work hand-in-hand with the Worcester Division of Public Health to harness their knowledge and skills toward long-term projects designed to achieve the city's key public health goals. If done as recommended, one's programs and activities will truly provide a community benefit. Ultimately, it should also align with one's business interest. First, being perceived as an engaged participant in local affairs allows organizations to build goodwill in the community which can be incredibly useful when one needs outside champi- ons to make their case. Secondly, it could help attract and retain employees. Studies have shown companies that invest in their community-relations strategies have better employee engagement. Lastly – this is especially true for anchor institutions – your future and that of your community are inextrica- bly tied. The vibrancy of one's com- munity and the strength of its educa- tional system will determine whether one can attract top talent and their families to an organization and wheth- er there is a workforce ready and able to take on available jobs respectively. Hence a thriving community means a thriving organization. Kola A. Akindele is senior director for community and government relations at UMass Medical School in Worcester. C ompanies competing in global markets is nothing new, and it seems more and more is possi- ble with each new technological advance. Without geography as a limit- ing factor, there are good points to hav- ing the world be your oyster, as it were, in hiring employees: You can access the best knowledge in a market, for exam- ple. Cultural barriers can be more easily broken down if someone from that area is a member of your team. But long-distance management can be tricky, too. Here are three things to keep in mind when managing team members overseas. Keep the common purpose front and center. You may be heading up collaborations from team members from different cultures, backgrounds and perspectives. It's easy for team members, especially one-person glob- al offices, to feel all alone, working in a microcosm. They need to know how they fit in, and to be reminded often, says Tsedal Neeley at HBR.org. "The leader should periodically high- light how everyone's work fits into the company's overall strategy … during a weekly conference call, a global team leader might review the group's performance relative to com- pany objectives," she writes. Use more than just email. Email is quick and convenient, and it saves on your corporate budget to not hop on a plane regularly. But use phones and video conferencing, too. "Nothing beats in-person communication, but we've got the tools to get pretty darn close, so we might as well use them," writes Adam Fridman at Inc.com. Build bonds and empathy. More empathy equals better collaborations, says Obie Fernandez at TheMuse. com. "You might need to invest in travel at the start of the relationship to really get to know your new team member face-to-face and build rap- port," he writes. "Then, keep those personal connections alive and mean- ingful over time by encouraging the team to discuss topics other than work." BY KOLA A. AKINDELE Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: L e a d i n g a g l o b a l t e a m W W W Kola A. Akindele, senior director for community and government relations, UMass Medical School P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y

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