We received a great account of Wednesday night’s Gainful Employment Seminar held by our friends at Savvy Workshop.  Special thanks to Print Savvy President Lisa Landry for sending along this release as well as for offering such an excellent resource for citizens looking for work.

STATE OF NH AND LOCAL BUSINESSES GET CREATIVE TO HELP JOB SEEKERS

By all accounts, last night’s Gainful Employment Seminar at Savvy Workshop was a huge success. Initiated by Lisa Landry, President and CEO of Print Savvy, Inc. and the Savvy Workshop, the meeting was well attended and facilitated by Fran Allain, Employee Retention Project Manager for the State of New Hampshire’s Division of Economic Development.

NH Division of Economic Development Employee Retention Project Manager Fran Allains shares her experiences with local job seekers.

Fran shared her heart-wrenching story about her own difficult layoff and her personal journey to finding meaningful employment again, after reinventing herself and her career. Having had the experience herself, she understands and empathizes with those affected by economic downturn. She gave us an overview of the programs, job boards and support systems available through the available through the State of New Hampshire, the NH Works offices and the Office of Workforce Opportunity to those currently looking for work.

Also on hand were Greg Fall, Vice President at Career Management Associates of Bedford, NH and Pam Oliwa, the Rapid Response Coordinator for the NH Office of Workforce Opportunity. Both Greg and Pam shared ideas and strategies for getting hired. Greg also gave an extensive class on resume development and met one on one with each candidate to discuss specific strategies that will help them to stand out and differentiate themselves from the crowded field of applicants that might be also seeking the same position.

Rapid Response Coordinator Pam Oliwa talks about resources available to help citizens pursue new career paths.

Together, they explored the best ways to increase a job seeker’s value in the marketplace. Most attendees were unemployed an average of 18 months – but some as few as three or four weeks. Also in attendance were currently employed individuals, looking to make a change, recent college grads and underemployed professionals looking for more gainful employment.

“I’ve been in the job market for over 25 years, and this is definitely the most difficult job market I’ve ever seen,” said Lisa Landry. “My inbox has been flooded with resumes for the past two years. Most of these folks are talented, hard working, experienced professionals that I know and have worked with in the past. I wanted to do something to help them and to let them know their value is still there – and that there is light at the end of the tunnel!”

The Savvy Workshop will be hosting a second session to further support our friends and colleagues who are seeking gainful employment on Sept 8, 2010 from 6 – 9 PM. Dawn Cerrato of Synergy Management Associates will be presenting. Registrations are now being taken at http://www.gainfulemployment2.eventbrite.com.

Savvy Workshop is a multi-channel marketing organization, leveraging print, web, social media, email and event marketing to help our clients succeed. They can help you do it, too!

Savvy Workshop
55 So. Commercial Street
Manchester, NH 03101
http://www.savvyworkshop.com/