Now What?Now What?

Career Progression Career Progression for Muskie Fellowsfor Muskie Fellows

Consider the connection between the Muskie program goals and your own career goals;

Link your personal values into the concept of planning your career progression;

Develop and/or expand your plans for your job search.

What are your personal goals?

What are the goals of the Muskie fellowship?

How do these goals fit together?

Think back…What were your goals before coming on the

Muskie program?– Professional– Personal– Other

How did those goals change over your time in the US?

Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program Goals

Strengthen your leadership and technical skills so that you can contribute to positive change in your communities and countries.

Improve your understanding of America and help strengthen relationships between Americans and people of your home countries.

What connections do you see…

Between your goals and

the goals of the Muskie fellowship?

(It may be helpful to make some written notes.)

Develop your ideas….

Using the ideas that you had in considering the question on the previous slide…

What ideas do you have about your future professional and community service activities?

What are some jobs or activities that you could do?

We hope that this exercise gave you some different ways to think about how to focus and solidify your plans.

We recommend that you discuss your ideas (in person, by email) with other Muskie alumni.

Career ProgressionCareer Progression

What are the steps What are the steps in achieving your in achieving your

vision?vision?

For the next part of the session, we will consider the idea of career progression, andapply this to your career goals.

Before we start working on that, however, I want you to think for a minute about what is important to you at your work…

Job Satisfaction: What’s Most Important to Employees Today?

A survey of employees from 19 companiesfound that the following were most important:

• Enjoyment of the work • Work / life balance• Pay• A clear link between pay and performance• Adequate staffing levelsSource: Bruce Katcher, PhD, Northwest Human Resources Associationhttp://www.nehra.com/articlesresources

As you think about your future career options you might also want to put together a list of what is most important to you at your work. Remember to connect these values with your priorities as a returning Muskie.

What are Your Work-Related Values?Which of the following values are most important to you when it

comes to your work?

• Salary High Degree of Competition• Autonomy Low Level of Pressure• Location / Commuting Time Job Security• Other Fringe Benefits Recognition• Professional Challenge Power• Flexibility Variety• Your Leadership Role Prestige• Making a Contribution Integrity

What are Your Work-Related Values? (continued)

You can use page 1 of the Career Progression Handouts to mark your selections. Click here to open the handouts.

• Professional Development• Predictability• Relationship with Co-Workers• Teamwork• Opportunities for Advancement• Relationship with Supervisor• Work-Life Balance• Opportunity for Travel• Helping Society• Enjoyment of work

Thinking about which values are important to you…

– How are these values in line with your own goals and connected to the goals of Muskie?

– If you have worked for awhile – has your attitude changed as you’ve gotten older?

– How would you have answered this question before coming to the US?

– How would colleagues who haven’t been abroad recently answer this question?

– Keep these values in mind throughout your career, keeping in mind that they may change depending on where you are in your life.

Career Goals Video ClipNow we’ll take a look at what some of your Muskie alumni colleagues have said about their career experiences after participating in the program. The information provided in these clips varies – some alumni provide advice, while others simply recount their career experiences after the program. Please be aware that some alumni mention specific countries or fields of study, because they were asked to speak about their personal experiences.

Click here to open the Career Progression Video Clip.

Career Goals Video

Were you surprised at how many jobs some of the alumni had upon returning home? Or how long it took fellows to find work? Did any of the speakers say anything else that was surprising or unexpected?

What did you come into this world to do?• Pause for a few minutes of reflection. Visualize yourself in the

year 2018. You are in a good place, you are surrounded by people that you enjoy, and you have fulfilling work. What does your life look like? What is your work?

• Take a few minutes to write down your image of yourself in ten years.

• This “vision” can be called the beginning of your long-term goal. It’s crucial for you to have this vision in mind as you think about your career progression.

In the video clip you just watched, the alumni talked about how they had had several jobs as a part of their career progression. As you think about your next steps after you complete your Muskie fellowship, it will help you to have your long-term goal in mind and also to have some tools and strategies to take the first steps towards your long-term goal. These steps are called your “Career Progression”.

Short-term and Long-term Career Goals

For either short- or long-term career goals, you will need to consider the following factors:

• Position• Sector / Field• Public or Private• Organization• Salary• Work Environment• Education Required• Experience Required• Barriers to Entry• Overcoming Barriers• Next Steps

Use pages 2 and 3 of your handouts to map out what your short- and long-term goals might look like. The next two slides will also help with this process. Click here to open the handouts.

Short-Term Career Goals

Short-term Career Goals: 0-3 yearsThis could be the job you will look for immediately upon your return home or shortly thereafter.

Long-Term Career Goals

Long-term Career Goals: 3-10 yearsThis is less about time, but more about the degree of stability or permanency you would associate with this job.

Job SearchJob Search

How will you find the job that matches your vision and goals?

Key Concepts in Job SearchingThis section will cover three key components of

a job search:• Networking

• Resume writing

• Interviewing

Studies have shown that up to 70% of people in new positions found them

through networking.*What next: the Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life. Barbara Moses, PhD. New York: DK Publishing, 2003

Networking is NOT:• Passing out business cards and disappearing;

• Starting every conversation with “I’m looking for a job”.

• Only connecting with your contacts when you are looking for a job.

• *What next: the Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life. Barbara Moses, PhD. New York: DK Publishing, 2003

Networking IS:“Building professionally and/or personally rewarding relationships where the goal is not to get immediate payback but to reap long-term benefits.”

• *What next: the Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working LifeWhat next: the Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life. Barbara Moses, PhD. New York: DK Publishing, 2003; p. 178.. Barbara Moses, PhD. New York: DK Publishing, 2003; p. 178.

Networking Tips:• Be interesting, engaging, and humble.• Have your “marketing sound byte” prepared (20 seconds) –

know what you will say to different types of people.• Use personalized emails. (Don’t email 20 people with the

same message about looking for work; tailor each email individually.)

• Ask people to refer you to other people.• Say thank you, and stay in touch periodically.

Online Social Networking

• Facebook or MySpace

• Twitter

• Linkedin

• YouTube

• State Alumni

• Exchanges Connect

Online and social networking are new ways of doing the same thing that employees have been doing for years– connecting with others in the same or similar fields, sharing ideas, getting job leads, and finding employees to fit specific positions. Here are a few key social networking sites that may be of benefit to Muskie fellows:

Networking Video Clip

Now we’ll take a look at what some of your Muskie alumni colleagues have said about their career experiences after participating in the program.

Click here to open the Networking Video Clip.

What are employers looking for?What are employers looking for?• Emotionally intelligent• Resilient• Independent/self-reliant• Self-managing• Innovative/creative• Continuous learner• Interpersonal skills• Dedicated/focused• Time management• Leader• Professional• Flexible/adaptable

• Seeks challenges• Results-oriented• Customer/client service skills• Team player• Problem solver• Resourceful• Top producer• Proven accomplishments• Business acumen• Compelling communicator• Visionary• Opportunity-seeker

From: What Next: the complete guide to taking control of your working life. Barbara Moses. New York: DL, 2003.

Resume WritingResume Writing• Pages 4 and 5 of your handouts have some

good tips for how to (and how not to) write a resume. Take a few minutes to read these over.

• Pages 6 -8 of the handouts have many action verbs listed. Action verbs are a more effective form of communicating your skills and accomplishments on your resume or CV.

Using Action Verbs and Statistics on a Using Action Verbs and Statistics on a ResumeResume

• Instead of “Interned at educational organization that provides tutoring for underprivileged ESL kids.”

Try…

• “Designed and implemented innovative interactive English-as-a-Second language tutoring program for 50 children aged 6-9; test scores after program improved by 15%.”

Interesting, powerful action verbs and quantitative information deliver a very strong message.

InterviewingInterviewing• Pages 9 and 10 of your handouts have do’s and

don’ts for interviewing. Take a few minutes to read these over.

• Page 11 of the handouts has some sample interview questions. While this list is by no means exhaustive, preparing for a variety of questions can make the interview itself go much more smoothly!

Job-seeking tips• Use good recruitment firms to help you find a

job. Be very clear in your cover letter what type of a job you are seeking

• Read very useful job hunting advice on the internet, for example sites like TheWell.ru. These articles will give great advice to you.

Teri Lindeberg, CEO, Staffwell (Moscow)

Job-seeking Tips• Don't narrow your options, contact as many recruitment

agencies as you can and be specific with them. To say you would like a job in management will mean your CV will remain at the bottom of the pile.

• If you are not being contacted by an agency ask the consultant what it is you need to do to get to the top of the pile.

• Martyn Wickens, Business Development Manager, Central and Eastern Europe, Pederson & Partners

Job-seeking Tips

Research thoroughly every company and organization before applying for jobs with them (review their websites)

Martyn Wickens, Business Development Manager, Central and Eastern Europe, Pederson & Partners

Congratulations!You have completed the Career Progression

section!

Click here to continue to section 3, Leadership Styles.

Click here to return to the Introduction.