Employment Task Force Responds to Member Needs with Programs and Training

Seth J. Bookey | SLA-NY Webmaster | sbookey@gmail.com

In response to the economic crisis, the SLA New York Chapter created the Employment Task Force (ETF) in 2009. The mission of the ETF is to assess what help the chapter could provide to members seeking new jobs, anticipating the loss of a job, or wanting to change jobs.

In reply to this challenge, the ETF conducted two surveys during the past year. While most of the respondents were employed, many were looking for new full-time jobs, and looking for ways to learn new skills for a changing marketplace. The main takeaways from both surveys was this: Members wanted access to training, so they could take their careers in new directions. They also want access to information about alternative careers that would allow them to utilize their skills from more traditional jobs, and transition into other fields.

To look at the results of our most recent survey, go to http://bit.ly/2010ETFsurvey.

Training and Upcoming Programs

The ETF also provided two seminars entitled "Job Search Techniques: Best Practices for Today's Market," one of which included tips on resume writing, lead by a professional career consultant. Also presented was “LinkedIn: Why You Need to Be LinkedIn and How to Develop Powerful Profile.” The ETF and the chapter's Professional Development committee have offered members, at no cost, training from vendors that included Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and Capital IQ--most of which were fully subscribed, and free to chapter members. Upcoming training sessions include FactSet (March 23) and Dialog (April 8).

To help members coping with job loss and job seeking, the ETF set up a  discussion group, mixing employed and unemployed information professionals as a way of offering support and mentoring. The groups are composed of six participants and three leaders--currently the ETF's Jackie Kilberg, Helen Tannenbaum, and Ellen Mehling. For more information about the discussion groups, send email to slanyjobhunters@hotmail.com. 

Upcoming programs are also addressing alternative career paths and collaborating with other related professional organizations. On May 4, the SLA New York Chapter is presenting, "Successful SLA-NY Job/Career Changers," moderated by Laura Hill and featuring four chapter members who reinvented themselves in a tough job market. On April 19 the Chapter is holding a joint program on negotiation skills with ARMA, the professional association for records managers.

For members who like more informal networking events, the Chapter continues to have its Happy Hour events at  the Midtown Executive Club at 40 West 45th St. (btw. 5th and 6th Aves). The next one is on Thursday, April 1, at 5:30 pm.

For a full calendar of SLA New York Chapter events, see the link in the margin of the newsletter.