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November 2009  
 

Greetings From the Board

  
 

 
By Kathy H. Blanton, CMF-Chair, Board of Governors

  
 

Do We Believe What We Teach?

Don’t say it out loud, but how many webinars and meetings have you attended in the last year on professional branding? Optimizing social media? Creating tag lines that sizzle? If you are like me, you have spent a lot of time and perhaps some money learning how to help your coaching clients and job candidates learn how to set themselves apart from the masses in order to be as competitive as they can be. And while we are all quickly becoming knowledge experts in leveraging technology to build professional brands, I’m finding that many of us are guilty of acting like the cobbler’s children----we teach but we don’t do. How many of our resumes and bios are even current? Do they really portray our brand? Do we even have one?

Have I got a deal for you! Coming very soon to a brand near you is an ICC initiative to encourage and assist you in utilizing a powerful marketing tool, the ICC website, where you can showcase your professional bio! Jean Walker, our past Chair, has graciously volunteered to “update” the bio section of our website so that it is consistent in form, quick and easy to use for your potential clients and most importantly, one that clearly defines your expertise----Your Brand!

You will be receiving communication from Jean shortly with instructions for creating or updating your profile on the ICC website. Our goal is to help you market yourself by providing a resource for your potential clients to turn to with full confidence because ICCI Certificants are the best in the business! With Jean’s guidance and the support from our new association management experts XMi, our goal is for every career management professional certified through the Institute to have a searchable, branded profile. But we will need your help so please be prepared to participate in the profile/branding upgrade.

And speaking of brands, congratulations to Valerie Frederickson & Co. for being among the first career management firms to achieve ICC International Certification for 100% of their consulting/coaching staff! Please see the article below which highlights this impressive accomplishment!

If you are a member of a career management firm and would like to find out how your organization can achieve this same goal, please contact me or one of the Governors at info@careercertification.org.

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In This Issue

  
   

 

  

Valerie Frederickson & Company is now among the first corporate outplacement firms to be 100% ICC International certified

Menlo Park, Calif. — Valerie Frederickson & Company, a Silicon Valley-based executive search, HR consulting, and corporate outplacement firm, announces the successful accreditation of its entire headquarters outplacement consulting staff by the prestigious Institute of Career Certification International (ICCI), the only global, not-for-profit, independent certifying body for career services professionals.

The beginning of 2009 was, obviously, among the darkest times in the history of Silicon Valley. In an effort to brighten the outlook of both her company and its staff, VF&Co Founder and CEO Valerie Frederickson decided to invest in her people by creating a professional development initiative that would both give VF&Co a key strategic differentiator in a crowded marketplace and rejuvenate and revitalize her consultants. The complete certification of VF&Co’s outplacement staff would attest to the quality of her expert, high-touch outplacement practice.

Ms. Frederickson asserts that it’s important for people to continue their education and take on new career challenges in mid-life. “Certification allowed our outplacement consultants to be challenged by their old skills and to learn new ones.” she says. “Our consultants range in age from 45 to 74, and this initiative gave them a chance to push themselves, hone their competencies, stand and be judged by their peers, and freshen their careers.”

The staffers themselves second that notion heartily. “I didn’t realize how intimidating it would be to have to prove my worth and pass muster,” says senior outplacement consultant John Motroni, “but it was an exhilarating and affirming process. The certification process acted as a forum for best practices.”

Professional development has always played a key role in VF&Co’s strategic development plan. VF&Co’s emphasis on continuing education keeps the firm on the cutting edge and allows it to offer highly customized career coaching to each outplacement candidate it advises—a level of attention that doesn’t go unnoticed by its clients.

For additional information about Valerie’s company, contact the Manager of Client Services, Michele Li, at 650.614.0220 or michele@vfandco.com, or visit the corporate website at http://www.vfandco.com.

Valerie Frederickson & Company (VF&Co) is a Silicon Valley-based executive search, HR consulting, and corporate outplacement firm known for helping clients build and sustain winning teams that thrive in today’s aggressive marketplace. VF&Co specializes in customized solutions to meet a company’s complete HR needs at every stage from startup to Global 500. Founded in 1995, the firm was built upon a commitment to partner with clients to offer the highest quality work that produces bottom-line results, delivered with warmth and humanity.

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Ten Innovative Job Search Strategies

By Marilyn Stika, CMP and Editor, ICC Newsletter

  

Marilyn Stika 
Conventional job search strategies such as submitting a resume to a job posting on the internet are rendering themselves ineffective in the current challenging economy with its oversupply of qualified people to fill job vacancies. This has caused us as Career Management professionals to think in more creative ways about how our clients can successfully negotiate the job market to achieve desired results.

What suggestions can we offer our clients to create the competitive edge that they will need to increase their chances for being the candidate of choice? Below are ten strategies for clients to use in their job search.

  1. Beginning with good marketing tools such as resumes, Value Propositions and web portfolios. They need to be designed to generate the interest of the reader immediately or contain the appropriate key words to provide a solid marketing foundation.
     
  2. Uncovering an organizational issue in the targeted company and writing the President or appropriate key person a letter outlining a solution and requesting a meeting to speak about it further in person.
     
  3. Scouring public records such as 10Ks to gather information and compare that information to the company’s competitors to produce a report or brief White Paper that demonstrates suggestions for narrowing the operational gap to more successfully compete in the market place.
     
  4. Touching base with past colleagues on LinkedIn or other social media venues to request a meeting. This can generate warm referrals.
     
  5. Sending a targeted mailing containing a cover letter and resume or Value Proposition to selected companies that would have a high interest in your experience and following it up with a telephone call to set an appointment. The key here is to have a script that communicates a compelling message to heighten the interest of the recipient.
     
  6. Creating a personal branding statement to use in networking and on job interviews. If you can effectively communicate what makes you the best fit for the position, it may make the difference between being overlooked or selected.
     
  7. Requesting three professional acquaintances at companies where you have an interest to act as references and send them your resume so that they will be familiar with your experience.
     
  8. Following a company of choice on Twitter. Becoming a fan of the company where you wish to achieve employment can only help.
     
  9. Attending alumni functions and reconnecting with former classmates or attending any function where you can network and ask each person with whom you speak what is challenging them in today’s economy. This is an effective way to uncover needs and perhaps create a situation where you would be of value.
     
  10. Utilizing social network tools such as LinkedIn and Jigsaw to identify key people to connect with in organizations.
     

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A Message of Thanks from the ICC International Board of Governors:

Thank you all for responding to the September 2009 ICC International survey. We very much appreciate your responses and are currently working on a full report to share with all of you.

Many of you indicated that you would be interested in volunteering with ICC International. Please reach out to the ICC International Governor who spearheads your area of interest:

Application and Review – Don Smith, CMF and Beth Ann Wilson, CMF

Communications and Engagement – Maribeth D. Renne, CMF

Marketing and Relationship – Kristina Vohma, CMF

Finance – Mike Tate, CMF

Technology – Webmaster Steven Blanton

And for those of you who suggested other ways of volunteering, please contact Maribeth Renne.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

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Check This Out:

 

BethaAnnWilson By Beth Ann Wilson, CMF, Governor ICCI

 

  

National Career Development Conference - CannexusTM 2010

January 25 – 27 in Ottawa, Ontario

CERIC, the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counseling presents a National, bi-lingual conference promoting the exchange of information and innovative approaches in the areas of career counseling and career development. Keynote speakers include Mark Savickas, Ph.D., Linda Duxbury and Denise Bissonnette.

Attend innovative and informative workshops, along with excellent networking opportunities. Meet career development professionals from across Canada and around the world. Visit www.cannexus.ca for more information.

Careers Conference 2010

January 25 - 27 in Madison, Wisconsin

The Center on Education and Work (CEW) hosts this national event, one of the
leading conferences of its kind, focusing on all aspects of career development and education for work. Educators, counselors and school-to-work professionals come together to explore the latest programs, strategies and best practices pertaining to career development from kindergarten through retirement. www.cew.wisc.edu/careersConf/default.aspx

National Career Development Association 2010 Conference

June 29 – July 2 in San Francisco, California

A Bridge to a Brighter Future is the theme for NCDA’s global conference. NCDA is expecting 1,000+ attendees at this professional development event for career development professionals across all areas of career development and in all settings.

For more information and registration visit:
www.associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/conference_info

 

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ICC International Announces New Association Management Company

Your Board of Governors and I are very pleased to announce that the Institute now has a new management organization, XMi Association Management Company in Nashville, Tennessee. Certificants and those interested in ICC certification can still email the institute at: info@careercertification.org. Additional contact information includes: (615) 250-7789 (telephone); and (615) 254-7047 (fax).

ICC International is extremely excited about growing the institute in partnership with XMi. XMi Association Management Company, led by President Terry Applegate, has extensive experience in building and supporting certifying bodies such as ICC International. Their proven expertise in leveraging technology and streamlining processes will provide you, our certificants with enhanced services in the very near future.

We are very grateful for the partnership we have enjoyed with Giuffrida Associates for the past 6+ years. Annette Summers has been a critical part of ICC International's leadership as Executive Director and we wish her well as she moves Giuffrida into new directions of association management.

If you need further information about XMi, we encourage you to contact a Board member or our Account Executive, Sharon Smith at info@careercertification.org. We also encourage you to visit their website at www.xmi-amc.com.

Kathy H. Blanton, CMF
Chair, Board of Governors
ICC International
www.careercertification.org

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Note Our New Address

ICC International
World Headquarters
618 Church Street, Suite 220
Nashville, TN 37219
tel: (615) 250-7789
fax: (615) 254-7047
info@careercertification.org
careercertification.org

  

 

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