Changing Jobs is Part of Life

By:  Marci L. Murphy 10:44 a.m. EDT August 14, 2016

Assisting Brevard’s workforce in transition is something the professionals at CareerSource Brevard (CSB) face every day, precisely because transition is a fact of life for our business customers and our career seekers.

Moving out of the military and from one career to another career is a reality for our active duty members and their families, as just one example. The customers we meet daily are in transition for many reasons; some are laid off workers due to business realignments and restructuring, others are reentering the workforce after a lapse of employment due to various reasons. Helping these groups of individuals move into new careers and opportunities, along with assisting businesses in their workforce needs, is the core of our day-to-day work.

As workforce grants and programs come and go, CSB remains constant in its service to the Brevard Community. CSB has a solution-finding mindset of always revising processes and programs to address the workforce needs of career seekers and employers.

Our Career Centers are active with, not only career seekers, but also employers. In the program year that ended June 30th, CSB held 179 recruiting events and job fairs in our centers and supported additional hiring events around the community. Since our transition to a business-focused service delivery model, our services to businesses at the 2014-15 year end were up by 140 percent and the number of employers served was up by 40 percent.

Transitioning as a community to meet the demands of key growth sectors and responding to a demand-driven economy based on local employer knowledge and need, ensures our career seekers will, in turn, get the best assistance, training and opportunities the community has to offer.

Three great ways career seekers prepare for transition:

  • Anticipate and adapt to new technologies, new “best practices” and new industry trends – in order to become more competitive.
  • Develop and enhance networking skills by attending new events and meetings,
  • and networking with different groups of people to increase your odds of attracting new opportunities.
  • Envision your future and clearly communicate that vision to others.

Three ways career seekers often fail at transition:

  • Searching for jobs instead of “campaigning and self-marketing” for a career opportunity
  • Not improving your “market value” – not engaging in professional development, advanced education, and/or valuable certifications, and thereby
  • not becoming an SME (subject matter expert) in their occupational field.
  • Not identifying your USPs (Unique Selling Points) and not communicating what differentiates you from your competition.

Continuous improvement and transition is a necessity in thriving economies like ours. If you feel our staff can be of help to you in your current life/career transitions, please feel free to reach out anytime.

 

 

Marci Murphy looks into the camera

Marci L. Murphy currently serves as interim president at CareerSource Brevard where she has been since 2002. Murphy’s responsibilities have included planning and management; monitoring of programs, grants and initiatives; and implementing long-range goals and strategies set by the board of directors for the organization.

Columnist series sponsored by weVENTURE, powered by the Florida Institute of Technology. weVENTURE has locations in Melbourne, Rockledge and Orlando. The Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information, visit weventure.org or call 321-674-7007.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/08/14/changing-jobs-part-live/88715486/