Doug Persson, Chairman of OSWCU, opened the fourth meeting of 2002 at 5:30 P.M. on October 16, 2002. The meeting was held in the conference room of Kittelson and Assoc.) Doug introduced himself (Chairperson), Tina Chee (Treasurer) and Lesli Merhaut. (Secretary). John Volk (Vice Chairperson) was unable to make the meeting.

Doug invited the meeting attendees to introduce themselves.

Doug gave a synopsis of the Sept. 23rd Board meeting, containing the goals for 2003.

• Have 6 meetings for 2003, spaced every other month and beginning with January. The tentative meeting dates for 2003 are: Jan 15, Mar. 19, May 21, Jul. 16, Sept. 17, and Nov. 19. All dates are on a Wednesday.
• OSWCU should start collecting dues, which will be $35 per person (possibly less for students). Only members up to date with their dues will be allowed to vote. Dues will be used for the following: refreshments at meetings, possible fees for presenter, maybe used toward a future Bentley Forum, training materials for membership use such as books, tape, DVDs etc.
• The Bylaws, which are presently a template supplied by Bentley, will be reviewed. The review and changes will be done at a future Board meeting and then brought up at a future OSWCU meeting for membership examination and approval.
• Add job information to the web site. We can add links to resume collecting sites to simplify member's job searches. Member resumes will not be posted because of the additional maintenance for the webmaster. Job openings (classifieds) can be posted with a specific expiration date.
• The web site will undergo a facelift during the first half of 2003.

Doug introduced the guest speaker, Nicholas Martin of Staffing Solutions, LLC, whose topic was "Looking for a Job".

Synopsis of presentation:

Nick introduced himself and his company.
     Staffing Solutions
     610 SW Broadway
     Suite 500
     Portland, OR 97205-3406
     503-295-9948
     nicholas@staffingsolutionsllc.com
     (Currently, no web site is available)

He covered four main topics concerning job searching:

1. The view of the job market.
2. The view of the employer.
3. How to prepare for job searching and resumes.
4. Interviewing tips.

1. The Portland area job market:  the market is very weak, with Oregon, in general, having the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Employers are looking for a broader range of skills. That is, someone who is more versatile. A generalist as opposed to a specialist. Companies are looking for not only good technical skills but non-technical skills (ability to communicate and convey thoughts plus writing skills) as well. However, stay current with technology.

2. The View of the Employer:  Employers are looking for versatile people. They are scaling back, putting out less classified ads and having present employees do more.

3. Job Searching:  There are many resources for job searching. On the Internet there are job search web sites (www.Monster.com, www.Brassring.com, www.Hotjobs.com and www.Flipdog.com), listserves and newsgroups. Reading what is posted on newsgroups will give an indication of what is hot in the industry. Industry journals and industry related web sites also give a good indication of what the industry is looking for. Focus groups (seeing what information companies are trying to get from customers determines new markets), users groups and investment communities (seeing where the money is going) are good for networking. Universities and colleges have job placement facilities. Have plenty of patience and follow through. Be an informed job seeker. Follow trends. Check websites such as www.bizjournal.com and pay attention to the investment community. This is important to see where future growth (and jobs) will be. www.Microsoft.com is another good site to check to see where technology is going. Try to meet people in a company you'd like to work for who can give you a referral to a manager; some of these are marketing and administrative people.

4. Resumes:  Know what pay and benefits you want. Do research on what companies want and current salary levels. A website to check is www.salarysurvey.com. Resumes should create a "story board" of who you are and what your accomplishments have been. Resumes should be results driven and accomplishment based. Multiple versions of resumes are sometimes needed. Have references, which include the executive level, management, and peers.

5. Interviewing:  Be prepared. Practice and rehearse. Learn everything you can about the company interviewing you and the position available. Decide whether you'd like to be there in 5 years. Your number one objective is to know if you got the job or not. At the end of the interview, ask the interviewer, "If it was up to you today, would you hire me?" Communicate effectively and leave a lasting, positive impression during your interview. Employers will remember the best and worst impressions. Address your references and make it easy on the prospective employer by matching a reference with what they can recommend about you. After the interview, send an email thank you.

Just remember, you are not alone. There is help, such as Staffing Solutions, available if you need it.

The meeting ended at 7:00pm.
Meeting Pictures