Meetings

The Career Resource Managers Association meets twice a year to evaluate and discuss career resources, plan future meetings, network, and conduct CRMA business. CRMA has officers elected biannually.

Although the meetings are held in the Boston area, members who cannot attend meetings are mailed/e-mailed copies of the minutes and resource listings.

 

Next Meeting

Friday, December 5, 2008
10:00 a.m.
Tufts University
Medford, MA

Our guest speaker will be Fred Nothnagel, who has been the Director of WIND Networking since 1995. He presents a number of workshops through WIND, and will be adapting one of his workshops entitled "Beating the Age Rap" for our meeting. More information on Fred's presentation, as well as a short bio will be emailed to the listserv.

Last Meeting

Friday, May 2, 2008
10:00 a.m.
Simmons College
Boston, Massachusetts

Attendees: Eleven members from nine colleges attended.

I. Announcements:
  • The next CRMA conference is one year from June. We need a host. Question on having one group session as opposed to two concurrent sessions in the afternoons – do people like having a choice? The general consensus is yes, people like have a choice between two different concurrent sessions because both sessions may not apply to them. Also, they like the small group setting.
  • CRMA is growing – there are more members than last year. We are matching the costs that are going up, such as for the printed directory, etc. A question arose about putting the directory in a PDF file or online. Francis will look into this.
  • We are looking for a new company to host our website.


II. Share a Resource:
Some attendees brought a resource to share with the group.

  • Francis: Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development – Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of careers in the life science industry, with all their ups and downs. Can be purchased at www.cshlpress.com .
  • Martina: Life After School Explained – Published by Cap & Compass. The book can be customized with your school information on the front. More information at www.capandcompass.com.
  • Betsy: Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job – Published by PixyJack Press. Lists schools with programs, salary information, and organizations. More information at http://www.pixyjackpress.com.
  • Dan: Latest SHRM publication, which essentially says that students are not prepared (according to HR managers).


III. Discussion – Social Networking sites
What are students saying? What are employers saying?

Heather mentioned reputationdefender.com, who charges $10 a month to do a search on someone, and will charge per item to remove it from a particular site. They are local.

Francis went to a panel discussion where the question came up whether it was legal for employers to research potential candidates on the web. There are no laws against this, unless the employer is not hiring a candidate based on race, etc.

The best option for students is to have the highest protection possible – even after they are hired. If at the 1 year review, there is something on their site that is questionable, or is not representative of the organization, they may be let go for it.

Betsy said students are becoming more aware of how they are using the social networking sites. Suffolk is making a mention at orientation in terms of safety issues.

Michelle is starting a first year workshop that will discuss branding yourself on Facebook.

IV. Guest speaker

The guest speaker, Carl Harvey, presented to the group regarding his book, What’s Stopping You? Building the Confidence You Need to Succeed in Sales, published by Success & Self Esteem. The book integrates the science of psychology and the art of selling to help those who sell overcome the single greatest obstacle to their success and what prevents them from consistently and effectively cold-calling, qualifying and closing: their self-doubt and fear of failure. Carl discussed what a job seeker needs to do in order to present themselves effectively by developing an expanded capacity to deal with risk, challenge and uncertainty. He defined self-esteem as experiencing self as a psychological fit in the world, and three practices to help job seekers expand their self-esteem:

  1. Relevant risk-taking action.
  2. Practice of small steps to reach a particular goal.
  3. Practice of “mind management” – challenging negative assessments with positive thoughts.

More information on Carl Harvey and his book can be found at www.successandself-esteem.com.

 

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