Finding Your Professional Happily Ever After

GUEST BLOGGER

Leslie Simpson, CFE
ACFE Director of Events

When I graduated from the University of North Texas I believed I would search for and find the job of my dreams. I thought I would go to work every day, be the model employee, and my perfect career path would be laid out for me. It would just happen, right? Fast-forward to present times. I have learned that it doesn’t just happen and in order to stay fulfilled in my career there is a lot of effort, personal and professional improvements to constantly make, and strategy involved in finding that happily ever after.

Professional development means different things to different people at different stages of their lives, and luckily the ACFE’s Career Connection at this year’s 24^th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference will address many of those scenarios. Whether you’re seeking a job, embarking on a career change or simply looking to advance and improve, the Career Connection has something for you:

Featured Employers

The hardest part of finding a new job is getting your foot in the door and gaining the face-to-face time that allows you to show the remarkable personality a cover letter and résumé can’t convey. Conference attendees will have the chance to connect in person with staff and recruiters from the anti-fraud industry’s top companies and government organizations. They will be on-hand to talk about their organization’s work culture, share any job opportunities available and even informally interview on the spot.

Career Coaching

One of the most valuable benefits of the Career Connection is the coaching. Find answers to your professional questions or obtain useful advice during a private counseling session with a leading career strategist. These experts specialize in addressing your questions and concerns no matter what professional scenario you face.

Résumé Review

Making a lasting impression in less than seven seconds is a challenge, but it has to be done in order to grab a hiring manager’s attention for a possible interview. Attendees are encouraged to bring their résumé and sign up for one-on-one résumé reviews where coaches will cover proper formatting and highlight the accomplishments that will help convince hiring managers that you are the problem solver they have been looking for.

Mock Job Interviews

For the first time, attendees will be able to participate in mock job interviews. Our career strategists are prepared to ask the tough, open-ended questions typical in professional interviews. They will provide instant feedback that will help you to develop better interview strategies, improve your communication skills and manage the stress of the interview. 

Special Presentations

The Presentation Stage, located in the Exhibit Hall, will offer brief career development presentations that are full of tips and suggestions on how to get ahead and stay ahead in your career, all presented by a veteran hiring manager.

Jim Albright, my college copywriting professor gave me great advice when he said, “Do what you love, and the money will come,” but he should have followed that statement with a head’s up that the path to excellence is always a work in progress. The professional development to be obtained at this year’s Career Connection is priceless. I hope you will take advantage of it.

How to Use Existing Experience to Change Fields

PART TWO INTERVIEW WITH KATHY LAVINDER

Executive Search Specialist and Career Coach at the 23rd Annual ACFE Fraud Conference & Exhibition, June 17-22, in Orlando, Fla.

For people looking to make a career change, how can you use existing experience to transition into a different field?

This continues to be a tough environment for those wanting to use their skills in a different field or setting. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either. Create a skills-based résumé that details all relevant and transferable skills. Make sure the résumé has an opening paragraph that delivers your “value proposition.” This section should connect everything you’ve done that’s relevant into a cogent argument for your suitability for the role. Don’t ever expect the reader to do that - the reader isn’t equipped to do that and won’t have or take the time.  

Once you have a résumé that articulates your suitability for the new role, network with people who can open doors, make introductions, or provide guidance and direction. Let your professional contacts know what you’re trying to do and why you think you’d be good in the new role. Don’t ask anyone to find you a job; ask them for their suggestions and have them relate some of their relevant personal experiences. All the while, gather information so that your efforts will be more targeted, efficient and effective. Learn everything you can about the new field so that you can demonstrate in conversations your appreciation for not only the industry or business sector, but also the issues and concerns in that field. Informational interviews are great, if you can get them.  

When you get a job interview, don’t just sell yourself; sell the benefits of your fresh perspective, your motivation, and the passion that you’ll bring to the new role and environment. Be honest about experience gaps, while you stress your openness to learn and a strong desire for professional growth. If you truly know yourself and know that you’ll be a valued contributor in the new role, there’s likely to be a hiring manager who will be convinced. 

What do you most hope attendees will take away from the Career Connection at this year’s Conference?

I hope attendees will feel empowered after they leave the Career Connection. I expect they will have made important new connections, gathered practical information and learned things they didn’t know. Make no mistake about it, there are great opportunities out there in the marketplace in the area of fraud prevention and detection. This field has a bright future ahead with an ever-expanding need for talent. Demographics alone are creating new opportunities and advantages for early and mid-career professionals.

I hope that sense of empowerment comes with a commitment to avoid passivity, resting on one’s laurels and the rejection of a “good enough for now” attitude. At the end of the day, it is up to each individual to chart his/her career course. I know they’ll leave the Career Connection with new ideas, tactics and strategies for charting that course.

Speak with Lavinder and other career coaches at this year’s ACFE Annual Fraud Conference, June 17-22, 2012, in Orlando, FL.

3 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd to a Hiring Manager

PART ONE INTERVIEW WITH KATHY LAVINDER

Executive Search Specialist and Career Coach at the 23rd Annual ACFE Fraud Conference & Exhibition, June 17-22, in Orlando, Fla.

What is the biggest hurdle you see facing those attempting to find a job in today’s market?

Without a doubt the biggest hurdle to finding a new job in today’s market is that there is so much competition for every opening. Millions of people lost jobs in the recession, and many people are still trying to re-enter the work force. Millions more are trying to make a job change. A recent survey of 250,000 people by The Ladders found that more than 60 percent of the respondents want to change jobs now that the economy is improving. Other surveys indicate that job seekers would be willing to make a lateral move just to get into a new company. And many have the attitude that it does not have to be a promotion to bring a new challenge. 

All of this pent-up demand means that the candidate pool for every job will be full to overflowing. Job seekers need to think about how they can stand out from their competition and receive serious consideration by HR gatekeepers and, ultimately, by hiring managers.

There is no one way to stand out; there are many approaches to try:

1. Make a business case: I encourage candidates to put together a résumé that makes a business case for the particular job they’re seeking. I’ve seen candidates create spreadsheets with metrics that measure how they align with particular job specifications. Clearly, it is more work to tailor a résumé to an opening or create a spreadsheet that details how you match the role, but these tactics can help. 
2. Connect with an insider: Find “a real live person” within your target organization and send a résumé directly to that person by politely requesting your résumé be forwarded to them. Simply submitting a résumé to a job board or through a company website is a low-effort, low-return tactic these days.     
3. Show YOU want the job: Recently I’ve been bombarded by email blasts of résumés sent by offshore services that circulate résumés to companies and recruiters for a fee. Save your money. I immediately delete those and most other recruiters do as well. If you want the job, make the effort yourself and, by all means, take the time to craft a compelling and persuasive cover letter. Anything less than that looks lazy.

Tune in tomorrow for more career advice from Kathy. Also, speak with her and other career coaches at this year’s ACFE Annual Fraud Conference, June 17-22, 2012, in Orlando, FL.