This looks like an interesting program that might shed some light on the job hunt. It's sponsored by the Society for Technical Communication Washington DC chapter. Registration fees run from $5 to $20 based on a variety of factors. And, it's on a Saturday, so you don't have to worry about participating at work!
NOTE: the
Society for Technical Communication is heavily IT focused, and describes its membership as "Its 14,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it." So, expect the program to focus on the needs of ALL of those groups!
From the program description:
Quote:Ever leave a job interview, certain that you “nailed it,” only to receive a “reject” letter a few days later? There are many possible reasons why you weren’t the candidate selected. Make sure the problem isn’t YOU!
Intended audience:
* Anyone who will be creating and submitting a résumé in hopes of being granted an interview.
* Anyone who submitted a résumé that did not lead to an interview.
* Anyone who was interviewed for a position that did not lead to an offer.
Objective of presentation:
This presentation focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on the résumé portion of the hiring process. This presentation is designed to help you understand the hiring process from the hiring manager’s perspective, and to leverage that insight to improve your odds of being hired the next time.
Synopsis:
Having received hundreds of résumés and interviewed countless candidates for positions during his various leadership roles over the last 25 years, Dalton Hooper has come to realize there is no magic formula which will guarantee you get that job. There are, however, things you may unwittingly be doing that can stack the deck against you! This presentation seeks to identify characteristics of your résumé that may actually be eliminating or greatly reducing your chances of being successful. In this presentation, Dalton refers to those characteristics as “showstoppers”. In addition, this presentation addresses and gives examples of “showstoppers” which you may unwittingly be committing.
