The start of a new year is the perfect time to make a change or set new goals in your professional life. If your goal for 2020 is to find a new job, now is the time to start your job search! January is one of the best months of the year to job search, and is even known as “Job Search January.” This month, most companies receive updated budgets and sales forecasts, and executives have a better idea of what they need and whether they can afford to hire new team members. As you start dusting off your resume this month, consider joining Metro EDGE or utilizing your membership more to help with your search. Here are a few ways being an EDGEr can help you accomplish your professional goals for the year:
Grow Your Skill Set
Is the “Skills” section on your resume looking a little… bare? Metro EDGE offers many ways for you to sharpen your current job skills and add new ones to your resume. Consider joining a Metro EDGE Committee where you can learn skills like event planning, email marketing, or fundraising. EDGEucational Forums are also a great way to learn new professional development skills, like networking or building your personal brand.
Grow Your Knowledge
Metro EDGE hosts four main events throughout the year where you can grow your knowledge on a variety of topics. Attend Storm the Boardroom to meet with non-profit board members and learn about the many benefits of joining a non-profit board (One benefit: this will look really good on your resume!). Attend Executive Insight where some of the top executives in the region are your mentors for a night. Attend Immersion Day and learn about one of the major issues affecting the Sacramento region. Or attend Emerge Summit where you can attend breakout sessions on a wide variety of professional development topics.
Grow Your Network
Metro EDGE hosts In the Mix networking mixers throughout the year where you can meet fellow career-driven professionals who may be able to help you land your next job. Here’s a testimonial from an EDGE member on how attending an EDGE event helped her land her current position:
“The first networking event I ever attended was the 2019 Metro EDGE Emerge Summit. I had just graduated from UC Davis and networking was intimidating, but I made decisions throughout the day to try and get the most out of the opportunity. I attended breakout sessions that fit my current situation and chose to sit next to strangers and introduce myself.
In the Job Searching 101 seminar, I introduced myself to the woman next to me, telling her about my current experience and my interest in finding an administrative position. She introduced herself as the Chief of Staff of AGC of California. She told me that her organization was hiring two administrative positions, and expressed an interest in seeing my resume. So, the following morning I fine-tuned my resume and sent it to her. After a phone interview and two in-person interviews, I was hired as a full-time administrative assistant at AGC of California. Thank you, Metro EDGE!” - Caity Anderson, Metro EDGE Member
New skills, knowledge, and networking: all great reasons to be an EDGEr! Whether you’re desperately seeking a new job or simply trying to climb the ladder at your current job, consider joining Metro EDGE or utilizing your membership more. The benefits are invaluable and endless!
This is a guest post by Gina McLaughlin, Communications Committee Co-Chair. Gina currently works at VSP Global as a Content Specialist. When she’s not at work, she’s probably taking a fitness class at the gym, planning her next home improvement project, or chasing her toddler around the aisles of Target.
