Employment Network


IEEE-USA is here to provide career development assistance to members in Regions 1-6. Our latest effort is to help promote the establishment of “Employment Network” consisting of volunteer IEEE members who form special interest groups within the existing IEEE Section/Chapter Structure for the purposes of enhancing delivery of employment assistance services.

For those interested in starting an “Employment Network” or looking for meetings ideas for an existing network please check here to find the latest news and information on starting-up and maintaining a network as well as news on best practices, program reviews and assessments.

Employment Network News


Webinar Alert: Engineering Collaborative Job Search Strategies
On October 12, IEEE-USA will hold a webinar focused on helping IEEE members/Sections build and maintain support groups to put a boost into a person’s job search. In additiona for those considering starting an Employment Network this webinar can be used as a tool to learn:

The value of group support
Defining the group's goals
Developing a structure
Sharing information
Developing relationships
Getting results

Sherri Edwards,  a consultant on career achievement and past IEEE-USA webinar speaker helps both individuals and companies in their needs to find rewarding work and build better workplaces will lead this webinar discussion. Watch today.

Employment Network Module
This enhanced document is written to provide IEEE members with a more detailed understanding of how to start and effectively operate an Employment Network. It is also written to compliment the step-by-step guide provided on this webpage. The Employment Network Module provides more details about how to start an Employment Network, provides more examples of activities the Network can do to enhance members job search and it also suggest a funding source members may be able to access to fund their activities. The “Employment Network Module” is another resource that can help Employment Networks.

Here is a sample PACE Project Funding Request Form as noted in the Employment Network Module document.

How to Start an Employment Network in Your Section
This short step-by-step guide has been prepared by IEEE-USA staff to provide a basic outline for those members considering starting an Employment Network.

STEP 1:  LOCAL SUPPORT
Contact the local Section or PACE Chair and discuss your intent to form an Employment Network. If you don’t know who your Section Chair go to the IEEE Region Website and locate your region then your section based on geographic location. There will be contact information for each section. Make arrangements to attend a Section Executive Committee (EXCOM) meeting. At the EXCOM meeting, request to be appointed Temporary Chair of an Employment Network for that local IEEE Section with authority to determine whether there is an interest in the community.

STEP 2:  CONTACTING SECTION MEMBERS
The IEEE Section may be willing to share email lists with you so that you can contact local section members who are unemployed and invite them to the first Employment Network meeting.  Most Sections also have either online newsletters or print newsletters. Ask if you can run an announcement in their newsletters.

STEP 3:  PLANNING YOUR FIRST MEETING:
Find meeting space. Ask the local Section if they can recommend a meeting space that they normally use for their meetings. It could be a library or local members’ office space.  You can even meet at a local restaurant but that can be harder to talk unless you get a private room.  Also review “Employment Network Module” document located on this webpage. This document will provide more details and insight about creating and developing a successful Employment Network.

STEP 4: SET AGENDA

• Welcome & Introductions (Names only there will be time for more later)
• Discuss Purpose starting the Employment Network  and gauge level of interest
• Discuss needs and expectations
• Seek Volunteers to serve as Vice Chairperson or second in-command
• Set next meeting (A good tactic is to schedule all the subsequent meetings at the same location and at some easily remembered time like the second Monday of every month at 7:00 PM. Announce the next meeting in the Section newsletter and ask attendees to spread the word about the meeting to other unemployed IEEE members.)

Before everyone leaves make sure to pass around a sign up sheet with name, address, phone number, email address so that you can contact these people again.

STEP 5: HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS
Once a regular meeting date, time and location are established invite the following types of speakers:

• HR Executives from local companies
• CEO or heads of local companies
• Representative from local government to discuss employment services they provide
• Consultants to discuss the option of consulting
• Head hunters
• Entrepreneurs

Getting speakers could be a challenge at first. Ask local section members about contacts they have with HR professionals or other employment professionals to see if they can speak to the new network.

STEP 6: NETWORK LIFECYCLE
An Employment Network basic function is to help its members find employment. As members gain employment the Network may shrink in participation.  Embrace this success because the networks ultimate job is to put itself out of existence.

Start Your Own Employment Network in your Local IEEE Section
Employment Networks are beginning to form in Regions and Sections by IEEE members who are looking for work across the IEEE landscape. These Employment Networks are providing support and guidance to these members by helping to review resumes, conduct mock interviews as well as sharing networking tips and news of job opportunities. For those interested in hearing how these groups started you can view our Employment Network webinar held early this year. This webinar will provide you tips on how you can start your own group and assist your fellow IEEE members to find employment.

Employment Networks Can Enhance Your Job Search
Employment networks (also known as job clubs or job networks) are small groups of individuals who come together in face-to-face meetings or electronically to help each other’s employment search. Ideally, an employment network allows participants to talk candidly about job searching and career advancement with the shared goal of supporting the success of all members. Typical activities include networking, information-sharing, coaching, training and cheerleading.

The concept of a job club is usually attributed to Dr. Nathan Azrin, a clinical psychologist, who co-authored a book entitled Job Club Counselor’s Manual: A Behavioral Approach to Vocational Counseling, published in 1981. Azrin studied various groups that existed, assessed how they worked and what made them successful, and then captured the results and his recommendations in the form of a how-to manual for job club counselors.

Read the rest of the article in the December 2010 issue of IEEE-USA Today’s Engineer at: http://www.todaysengineer. org/2011/Feb/employment-networks.asp 

Updated:  10 January 2012
Contact: Daryll Griffin, d.r.griffin@ieee.org