Thank you Colleen Glenn for providing the meeting recap!
On Saturday, April 8th we had the pleasure of learning from Andrea Pollari, Founder of Key Search and Consulting, who shared tips and tricks of successful job searches in a question and answer format. The event was held at the private banquet room at Burger Moe’s in St. Paul. Lunch included burgers and sandwiches and was served during Andrea’s discussion session. Four student guests were in attendance.
Discussion topics included: interviewing, current employment cultures and dynamics, and setting expectations at work. She provided tips on resumes, interview preparation, phone interviews, questions to ask the employer, and how to handle the (often dreaded and/or intimidating) salary conversation. Her suggestion was to start with, “You know, I’m really open to your best offer because I’m really looking for the best fit and a long term position.” If the follow up question to that response is wanting a specific number, Andrea’s advise is to give an explanation along with the number, if you think it is too high or low. One of her most beneficial pieces of advise of the day was her 3 piece formula on how to close an interview. The essential pieces are: appreciation, 2 or 3 key items based on what you heard that are skills you bring (think buzzwords they used), and your interest level.
Another conversation topic surrounded setting expectations at work. She suggested to make sure you have company goals, know what they are expecting of you, and how you can meet and, better yet, exceed those expectations. She also stressed the importance of having personal goals, such as reading a book and learning about Emotional Intelligence (EQ). It is important to be aware of and spend time on EQ because this is something that can change and grow and, Andrea explained, is more important that IQ. Some tips Andrea provided on helping set and meet our goals are to have a daily plan on paper and in writing that is very specific and to check our emails two times a day. The limited number of email checks was almost shocking for many attendees and there was great discussion on the benefits of that and ways to ease into it, for those of us who are prone to having it open all day. One of her other main takeaways was to always be authentic, from the interview to on the job.
This event was designed for students and young professionals, however, everyone walked away with a greater knowledge of navigating the current job market and how to improve in our current role. Attendees of this program had nothing but positive feedback—mostly appreciating Andrea’s honest and enthusiastic persona and her professionalism.