SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 1

Newsletter VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2

The South Bay Professional Association (SBPA) is a network of highly-skilled executive

and technical professionals committed and dedicated to helping its members find their next

career opportunity through networking and direct business contact. A chapter of

Experience Unlimited, sponsored by the California Employment Development Department

(EDD), SBPA supports active job seekers facilitating professional growth, networking and

no-fee placement of workers in positions of interest. Our website is www.sbpa-la.org.

The Interviewer’s Perspective

By Theofeliz Marie Santiago –Training Member

“Finding a job that is a good fit is as much about you selecting the right

company as it is about them selecting the right candidate.” – Miles

Anthony Smith

The hiring process is a two-way street – interviewers prepare as much as

interviewees do. It is about

finding the best fit for both parties.

We have some idea on how to prepare for job

interviews as candidates: A well-crafted resume, a

list of possible questions to be asked during the

interview, prepared answers rehearsed with

someone you trust, appropriate clothing and

pleasant disposition.

But how is it on the interviewer’s end to prepare

for the actual face-to-face interview?

For someone who handles full-cycle recruitment,

these would be the following tasks:

Conversations with the hiring manager regarding

the job description, requirements (responsibilities,

specific skills, work schedule, team culture, etc.),

sourcing/interview timelines, list of questions to be

INSIDE

SBPA’s Next Mixer – Page 3

Recap: June Mixer – Page 4

Mixer Flier – Page 5

Outside The Box – Page 6

Success Stories – Page 8

Job Fairs – Page 10

General Info – Page 12

SBPA Calendar – Page 13

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 2

asked during the interview and sample profiles. These meetings occur before job seekers see the

posting on the company careers page and are done to ensure the hiring manager and recruiter

agree on the profile they are looking for.

Posting the job advertisement on the company careers page. Usually, once the job is advertised,

other sourcing channels that the company partners with – such as LinkedIn – will post it. If you

are part of the company’s talent community or mailing list, you should receive a system-

generated email telling you of a potential job match.

Receiving hundreds of resumes and coming up with a shortlist of about 10 candidates to screen.

It would be very time-consuming to go through each resume that is sent in. It’s a good thing

applicant tracking systems – the website where you complete your profile and submit your

application – are organized in such a way recruiters can set up keywords that would filter and

show only the most qualified candidates.

Screening selected candidates over the phone to further funnel the best fit. This is when

recruiters call candidates for the first time to check on interest level, experience, availability, and

sometimes, salary expectations. This is also when phone interview schedules are arranged.

Setting up of phone interviews. Hiring managers may conduct this interview. Questions are the

same for each candidate and a scoring matrix is used. The objective of the interview is to find the

candidates with the right kind of skills specific to the job. After this, candidates will either get an

appointment for a second and (usually) final interview or a regret notice.

Setting up and conducting face-to-face interviews. This usually takes longer than a phone

interview and can be done by a panel. Here, questions and the scoring matrix for each candidate

will be standard. But questions will not only revolve around job-specific skills; inquiries about

other relevant skills – such as problem-solving, flexibility and interpersonal relationships –

would be drawn out to show how the candidate fits the team. During face-to-face interviews,

interviewers will brief the candidates on the interview agenda (parts of the interview, time

allotted for each, expected structure of answers, etc.) They will also try to establish good rapport

with candidates, keep their possible biases in check, listen attentively, take notes, and ask

questions in a way that will not disrupt the flow of conversation. Towards the end, they will

provide some time for the candidate to ask questions.

Like candidates, interviewers do a lot of preparation for the interview. They need to know and

understand the questions in order to ask them properly. Being able to take down notes, listen

carefully and ask the right questions, all in the moment, is key. It is especially challenging for the

evaluators to heighten their self-awareness with regard to personal biases when scoring and

evaluating interviews.

Like candidates, interviewers need to work hard, prepare and practice, practice and practice to

develop these skills.

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 3

SBPA Mixer Set For September

By Don Perez – IT/Communications Chair

The SBPA will host its third networking mixer of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 28, again at the

Lido di Manhattan Ristorante & Wine Bar in Manhattan Beach.

SBPA members, graduates, and job recruiters will be there to network and unwind at Lido,

which hosted SBPA mixer in April and June.

Organized by the SBPA Marketing Committee, the goal of the mixers is to attract recruiters,

while letting job-seeking members communicate with them and discuss their feats and talents.

Contacts attending past mixers have included AlwaysRecruiting.com and American Martyrs

Career Bridge Builders.

The event starts at 5 p.m., coinciding with the restaurant’s happy hour, which offers discounts on

its appetizers, beer, margaritas and

wine. Appetizer items, which range

in price from $5 to $7, include

grilled fish tacos, chicken tenders

and salad. A raffle will also take

place.

The mixer is set to last until 7 p.m.

Above, SBPA members and recruiters fraternize

at Lido in June; at left, SBPA graduate Helen

Itabashi awards SBPA President Kevin O’Brien

with a gift card from Trader Joe’s.

Photos courtesy of Federico Alvarez.

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 4

Recap: June Mixer Brings Recruiters

By Mary Swetka Yu – IT/Communications Co-Chair

Networking is one of the key ways to find contacts which may lead to a

new job.

SBPA held its second mixer of 2016 on the evening of June 9. The cozy

Lido di Manhattan Ristorante & Wine Bar made for a perfect location.

There was a good turnout from both SBPA and Elle’s Friday morning

networking group, where professionals meet for breakfast and discuss job search strategies.

We sipped on delicious beverages and sampled several of the tasty offerings on the happy hour

menu while chatting with all the guests.

SBPA Marketing Chair Dave

Guttman invited recruiters to

attend. Among them were

Roberta “Bobby” Alvarez of

Always Recruiting, Inc., who

brought her sparkling personality

to the networking mixer.

SuperbTech Inc., a staffing

agency, sent Diane Clancey to

check out qualified candidates.

SBPA alumnus Helen Itabashi

did an outstanding job planning,

organizing and running the

event.

Itabashi, a recent graduate from SBPA, secured a number of donations from local merchants and

used the offerings in raffles that evening. Included were a stylish teapot set from DAVIDsTEA

shop, located in the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. In addition, the owner of a specialty

potato chip company personally dropped off several bags of handmade, small-batch chips in a

variety of flavors.

The next mixer is planned for Sept. 28 again at Lido. If you can, please get the word out to other

job seekers and, most importantly, recruiters. Please think of anyone you know who is looking

for a job and invite them. We are hoping each member will bring an extra person or tell someone

the details if they themselves cannot attend. Please pass out the flier on the next page to anyone

who may be interested.

Attendees to the SBPA mixer joke and talk about jobs during the June event at

Lido, a restaurant in Manhattan Beach.

Photo courtesy of Federico Alvarez.

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 5

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 6

Outside the Box

By Ernie Mericle –SBPA Alumnus

Frequently, we hear the phrase “out-of-the-box thinker.”

It’s a catchy phrase. Actually, it’s more than a phrase, as there more to it.

My experience as an information technology director required me to think

on my feet as various projects came and went.

Thinking beyond my limitations was a real challenge for me in the early years at my previous

employer. Once I overcame that mental block – the box – everything started to fall into place.

The single item that turned me around was the nine dots. What do I mean by nine dots? Let me

start with an example.

I have interviewed many programmers in the last 20 years. Somewhere during each interview, I

would start talking about how we look for programmers who are out-of-the-box thinkers.

Someone who could think beyond their own self-imposed boundaries. Every programmer on

staff had certain systems they were responsible for. We wanted individuals who would be

proactive in coming up with ideas for improvements, especially when there were no known

problems.

At this point, I would ask the interviewee if they had heard of the nine dots. It’s an exercise to

hopefully get someone to think beyond their self-imposed limitations.

I would place nine dots on a piece of paper where the dots are evenly spaced vertically and

horizontally. I then asked them to connect all the dots together using only four straight lines.

Once they start to draw, they cannot pick up the pen, and they cannot reverse direction.

Only once did an interviewee know the solution. He had seen it in the past.

But others? One person said “mathematically, it was possible,” but he didn’t know the algorithm.

He was trying to BS me.

Everyone else tried several times, then gave up saying it was impossible.

When the solution was shown to them, they said I cheated – that I went outside the box.

My response was a question: “What box? I never said there was a box.”

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 7

The nine dots problem was not used to pass or fail

anyone; it was used to get an insight in how the

person responds to a specific problem.

The puzzle is an intellectual challenge which is easily

solved, but only by drawing the lines outside the

confines of the square area defined by the nine dots

themselves.

Basically, “thinking outside the box.” People get

stuck because they limit themselves to a perceived

barrier that actually doesn’t exist.

Ironically, telling people to "think outside the box" does not help them think outside the box, at

least not with this puzzle.

This is due to the distinction between procedural

knowledge (implicit or tacit knowledge) and

declarative knowledge (book knowledge).

For example, a non-verbal cue, such as drawing a

square outside the nine dots, does allow people to

solve the problem better than average.

However, a very particular kind of verbalization did

allow people to solve the problem better than

average.

This is to speak in a non-judgmental, free association

style. These were the instructions in a study that showed facilitation in solving the problem.

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 8

SBPA Success Story: Tony Anthony

What is your new job?

When I first came to the SBPA in 2012, I had been working for SAIC

on something called the Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I)

contract for the GPS program. Essentially, we were helping the U.S. Air

Force GP Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base run the GPS

program and acquire new systems and equipment.

My new job is title is GPS systems engineer for a small business called

PreTalen that is a subcontractor to TASC who now has the SE&I

contract for GPS. This is more-or-less the job I had in 2012.

How did you find your new job?

My relationship with PreTalen started with an email sent by Carole Barklow (a former SBPA

member) on June 18, about a job at PreTalen. Over the course of the next month, I applied for

several positions at PreTalen and TASC on the GPS SE&I program. My persistence with

PreTalen prodded them into action to get me an interview even though TASC has rebuffed them

once. After the first rejection, the PreTalen contract representative solicited recommendations

from GPS staff who remembered me from previous work at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

There are two lessons here:

First, the people you know from the SBPA may be able to help you find a job.

Second, persistence can pay off. I didn’t take the first no for a final answer and prodded someone

into trying again.

What assistance did SBPA provide?

If I rejoined the SBPA, I wanted to come into the Training Committee because it is SBPA’s core

function. I ended up presenting most of the training sessions in July. This was good for me

because my interview required me to develop and deliver a half-hour presentation on “what

would a lieutenant entering GPS – the program – need to know?” I developed the presentation

and delivered it in a day. I was told it was the best presentation they had ever been given.

I took the training session survey results sessions seriously and worked on improving my

presentation skills. The lesson here is that you can improve yourself with your service to the

SBPA. I was able to use that improvement on my job interview to help solidify the job offer I got

the day after the interview.

The other important takeaway from this experience is that the three post-2012 jobs I got were all

with small companies that don’t have a job application machine based on Taleo or another

program. My hypothesis is companies that have big job application machines get so many job

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 9

applications, yours is not likely to be seen no matter how well you match on keywords or

experience. If your target company doesn’t have a job application machine, it doesn’t get so

many applications and it is likely someone will actually look at your resume.

SBPA Success Story: Tom King

What is your new job?

Manager of performance improvement strategies at Pacific HealthWorks.

I’m responsible for data analytics and performance improvement for the

emergency departments (aka emergency rooms) Pacific HealthWorks staffs

and manages.

We look at data collected at our emergency departments and provide

insight and improvement recommendations to the medical directors. Their website is

pacifichealthworks.com:

How did you find your new job?

I found the job posting on Indeed and Health eCareers. I submitted my resume and a

personalized cover letter.

What assistance did SBPA provide?

First and foremost, SBPA provided me with access to a group of people discussing strategies for

job searches, elevator speeches, resumes and cover letters. It also helped me expand my

networking by introducing me to other groups in the South Bay and people who know people via

events such as mixers organized by the SBPA Marketing Committee. From SBPA’s training

sessions, I came to better understand the importance of how I presented myself in person, in my

resume and in my cover letter. It was the discussions at SBPA that underlined the value of the

cover letter to talk directly to the hiring manager that a resume can’t do alone. I believe it was the

personalized cover letter that got me the first phone interview. While my background generally

fit the position, it was in my personalized cover letter that I told them about a new technology I

thought could help their company and even if my experience did not align perfectly with the

posted requirements, I’d still like to talk with them about the technology.

At SBPA, I realized there were others in the same boat, with long careers that were looking for

work. They offered personal advice from their own experiences. We discussed the “gig

economy” and other non-traditional ways of doing work, which opened my mind to different

approaches to my next career step. SBPA also helped me to always be prepared – I put together a

“go kit” with copies of my resume, cover letters, guidance and reference material as well as

business cards. Wherever I was, with my kit, I was prepared to discuss a job opportunity and

interview or pass along a contact for someone looking for work.

Edited by Don Perez, IT/Communications Chair

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 10

Job Fairs

Compiled by Robert Hayes – IT/Communications Member

Thursday and Friday,

Sept. 8-9

Esterline Job Fair

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Marriott Fullerton

2701 Nutwood Ave.,

Fullerton

http://esterline.com/Default.aspx?alias=ester

line.com/careers

Thursday, Sept. 8

Upland Job Fair, Career Fair and

Veteran Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Upland Brethren in Christ Church

845 W. Arrow Highway, Upland

www.churchjobfairs.org/events

Thursday, Sept. 8

Anaheim Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Clarion Hotel Anaheim Resort

616 W. Convention Way, Anaheim

http://www.nationalcareerfairs.com/career-

fairs/anaheim-career-fairs/20160908/

Saturday, Sept. 10

Career MD Los Angeles Career Fair

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Covel Commons

200 De Neve Drive, Los Angeles

http://www.careermd.com/physicians/career

fairs/details.aspx?fairid=768

Tuesday, Sept. 13

Long Beach Job Fair

9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Holiday Inn Long Beach Airport Hotel

2640 N. Lakewood Blvd., Long Beach

https://www.hirelive.com/fair/805/CA/long-

beach/September/13/2016

Wednesday, Sept. 14

Verdugo Jobs Center Tech Job Fair

9 a.m. – noon

1255 S. Central Ave., Glendale

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/job-fair-

verdugo-jobs-center-tickets-26433135219

Wednesday, Sept. 14

San Bernardino Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

DoubleTree by Hilton San Bernardino

285 E. Hospitality Lane, San Bernardino

http://www.nationalcareerfairs.com/career-

fairs/san-bernardino-career-fairs/

Wednesday, Sept. 14

City Career Fair

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles –

Westside

6161 W. Centinela Ave., Culver City

http://citycareerfair.com/?id=545

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Pasadena Job Fair

9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Hilton Pasadena

168 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena

https://www.hirelive.com/fair/825/CA/pasad

ena/September/15/2016

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 11

Thursday, Sept. 15

San Bernardino County Job Fair, College

Fair and Veteran Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Love Peace & Happiness Church

214 N. Palm Ave., Rialto

http://www.churchjobfairs.org/events/

Thursday, Sept. 15

Los Angeles Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Holiday Inn Los Angeles – LAX

9901 La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles

https://choicecareerfairs.com/e/los-angeles-

career-fair-september-15-2016

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Los Angeles Tech & Engineering Career

Fair

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Four Points by Sheraton LAX

9750 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles

http://www.targetedjobfairs.com/September-

20-2016-los-angeles-ca-tech-engineering-

career-fair/

Editor’s Note: This event is also listed on Google search as taking place on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the same location; the organization's website only lists this one.

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Orange County Career Fair

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Courtyard by Marriott – Santa Ana

8 MacArthur Place, Santa Ana

http://unitedcareerfairs.com/eventDetail.php

?Orange-County-Career-Fair-1184

Wednesday, Sept. 21

Orange County Job Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Anaheim

2085 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim

http://www.coasttocoastcareerfairs.com/care

er_fairs/details/CA/Orange_County/Septem

ber/21/2016/

Wednesday, Sept. 21

Woodland Hills Job Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Warner Center Marriott – Woodland Hills

21850 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills

http://www.coasttocoastcareerfairs.com/care

er_fairs/details/CA/Woodland_Hills/Septem

ber/21/2016/

Thursday, Sept. 22

Orange County Job Fair, College Fair

and Veteran Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Main Place Church

1310 E. Lincoln Ave., Orange

http://www.churchjobfairs.org/events/

Thursday, Sept. 29

Pomona Job Fair, Career Fair, and

Veteran Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Purpose Church

586 N. Main St., Pomona

http://www.churchjobfairs.org/events/

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 12

The newsletter is published by the IT/Communications Committee: Don Perez (chair), Mary

Swetka Yu (co-chair), Robert Hayes and Elizabeth Murry.

Design & Layout: Don Perez. Photography: Federico Alvarez, Redentor Gonzales.

Write For The SBPA Newsletter!

We accept articles for the Newsletter that tell a personal job search story, explain an area of job-

related expertise, provide useful job hunting tips, or review past or future SBPA and other

seminars, workshops, classes, and events.

Becoming a genuine published writer is not only fun, but will also bring you great personal

satisfaction. You’ll improve your language and grammar skills; enhance your ability to organize

thoughts and ideas; communicate them clearly, concisely, and persuasively; and develop other

cognitive abilities. Plus, having a portfolio of published work can impress potential employers,

lead to expanded career opportunities, and take your life in completely new directions.

Please send submissions to sbpa.communications@gmail.com by the 22nd of the month.

SBPA Newsletter

Submission Guidelines

· All submissions must be original material created by the submitter. However, it is acceptable

to include website links, email addresses, and other information in articles.

· Submissions should be sent either as text within the body of an email or as an editable

document file attached to an email.

· Please include a title for the article, your name as you want it to appear, and a sentence that

highlights your experience, expertise, or a job title that reflects either previous positions or

what you are currently seeking.

· An optional, professional-quality headshot photo of the writer may also be included as a

separate photo attached to the email.

· Other photos must be submitted separately from written articles, as discrete attachments, in

an editable image format (JP[E]G, PNG, TIFF), with the identities of the photographer and

the photographed, the context the picture was taken, and an optional caption.

· Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, clarity, and length. Submission does not

guarantee publication.

SBPA Newsletter September 2016 Page 13

Monthly Calendar

September 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3

4 5

HOLIDAY

6

SBPA Meeting

Listening Skills

9 a.m. – noon

7

STAR Statements

Interview &

Questions

10 a.m. – noon

8

Esterline Job

Fair

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Upland Job Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Anaheim Career

Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

9

Esterline Job

Fair

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

10

Career MD Los

Angeles Job Fair

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

11 12

SBPA Meeting

Resume & Cover

Letters

9 a.m. – noon

13

Long Beach

Job Fair

9 a.m. –

12:30 p.m.

14

Mock Interviews

10 a.m. – noon

Verdugo Tech

Job Fair

9 a.m. – noon

San Bernardino

Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Culver City

Career Fair

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

15

Pasadena Job

Fair

9 a.m. –

12:30 p.m.

San Bernardino

County Job Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Los Angeles

Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

16 17

18 19

SBPA Meeting

Interview Errors

9 a.m. – noon

20

Los Angeles

Tech &

Engineering

Career Fair

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

OC Career Fair

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

21

New Member

Orientation

9 a.m. – noon

OC Career Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Woodland Hills Job

Fair

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

22

OC Job Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

23 24

25 26

SBPA Meeting

PVP/Verbal

Business Cards

9 a.m. – noon

27 28

How to Show Your

Strength

10 a.m. – noon

29

Pomona Job Fair

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

30

Mock Interviews are held once a month. Please contact the Training Committee in advance and

submit a resume and job description. New classes and meetings may be added. Check SBPA

emails for more information. All classes are for SBPA members only, with the exception of

Orientation & Resume classes. All sessions are subject to change.

For more information on job fairs, see Pages 10-11.