Welcome to Worksearch 2.0.
We are a self-help network for those in Worksearch and Career Transition.
Our philosophy is thinking freshly and acting positively to make things happen. The key is to be
INFORMED AND CONNECTED
Come and meet us in person every Friday morning at 10:30 - click on the "Meeting Place" link for more information.
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 3:16PM On May 18th, there will be no Worksearch session in Exchange Dublin. A group of Worksearchers has been invited to visit a company on the other side of the city.
We will be back in style the following week, on Friday 25th at 10:30, to hear a talk from Newstalk 106's resident Career Expert, Caroline Matthews of Careersource.ie.
Friday, April 6, 2012 at 8:17AM Aaron visited us at Exchange Dublin and briefed us about LinkedIn and its uses in Worksearch. Great session, we all learned new respect for LI, and some new tricks too.
A healthy mix of over 20 long-timers and newbies met and (re)introduced ourselves to each other and the network. Hope we see you again soon in Exchange Dublin.
Special thanks to Alf Trebble for joining us, and being so helpful.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 9:43AM
Our high expectations for the "Social Media for Jobseeking Professionals" session with Krishna De on Friday 30th were met, and exceeded by a long way.
She shared insights about her career transition from senior management in a global firm, to self-employment in an entirely new field, in a way that inspired us. She gave us introductions to new Digital Marketing tools and master classes in the old favourites - and flavoured it well with reminders about personal brand integrity. And all that in 90 minutes - which made it a lesson in presentation skills as well.
As somebody suggested at the meeting, she is a real guru - as Wikipedia puts it, a guru (Sanskrit: गुरु) is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher). Not bad for a Liverpool girl.
She also proposed that we get ourselves a Twitter hashtag - #WS20 has been launched as a result.
On behalf of all the people who told me to be sure to do this, I am delighted to thank Krishna very warmly and wish her continuing success in this exciting field.
We got two cool networking sessions in before Krishna's talk, and I hope we see more of the great people we met in Exchange Dublin on Fridays into the future.
Thanks are also due to Jim Nolan of IE Network who sponsored our tea and biccies.
- John Lysaght
Krishna De is a leading authority on Digital Marketing and Personal Branding.
Friday, January 13, 2012 at 4:25PM Thanks to all 22 who turned up today - see you again soon. We are settling into Exchange Dublin very well, the people are really friendly and helpful.
Feel free to offer feedback about the venue and any suggestions you may have for meetings - all the better if this is an offer to give us a talk yourself !!!
Kate Collins told us that WorkLink has its website up and is planning to recruit volunteer mentors suitable to help jobseeker groups - contact Kate via the Worklink website if you think you could contribute.
Exchange Dublin, WorkLink, meetings Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 4:08PM Worksearch 2.0 kicks off 2012 in a new venue and now it is 3rd year. Margaret Mead an American Anthropologist once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has". This is the spirit of this wonderful group of people that are involved in Worksearch 2.0 and contribute to positive outcomes for all who get involved.
Get your New Year's resolutions off to a good start on Friday 6th of January in Exchange Dublin
Meeting Venue Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 10:38AM Courtesy of Alltop (Annie Colbert)
CV Writing Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 1:28PM 
A great book for anyone who believes hard work delivers results. Syed discusses the 10,000 hour principle, purposeful practice and feedback loops. Highly recommended.
books Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 8:59PM Your LinkedIn profile is your chance to showcase your skills and talents and help the right people and opportunities find their way to you. As your professional representation online, you can set it to be discoverable through the millions of searches on leading search engines and on LinkedIn.
Be sure that your profile is up-to-date with your latest work information and you have a well-written summary that touches on your experience, interests, and where you’d like to go. Start updating your profile now.
LinkedIn Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 12:07PM Greg Satel presents 6 popular ideas that fail.
I might add one to the list "publicity stunts to get a job"... Fail! Joshua Persky the sandwich board guy from Wallstreet is still out of work. This so called creative approach to job hunting - eg our own recent example "jobless paddy" - is flawed. As with all one hit wonders there is no persistence and followup. Spraying and praying on Wall Street or the Merrion Road does not show a focused and targetted approach.
Greg's article puts some perspective on contemporary ideas and will help us stick to the knitting when it comes to our projects.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 11:50AM "And, Ireland, as trying as these times are, I know our future is still as big and as bright as our children expect it to be. I know that because I know it is precisely in times like these –- in times of great challenge, in times of great change -– when we remember who we truly are. We’re people, the Irish and Americans, who never stop imagining a brighter future, even in bitter times. We’re people who make that future happen through hard work, and through sacrifice, through investing in those things that matter most, like family and community."
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 3:51PM OUr guest speaker this week is Emma Ledden of Presenting to Sell
Friday, April 15, 2011 at 11:16PM It does not happen very often for most of us, but I have been blessed to meet and interact with so many great people over the past two years. Miriam Ahern nominated Worksearch 2.0 and I got to meet President Mary Mc Aleese, what an honour to be nominated and to be recognised on a national stage. Then Chris Maher from the Dublin Soul Festival calls and announces I am an "Outstanding Dublin Soul" wow! or should I say Outstanding (Bill and Ted would be proud). Such accolades do not come single handedly, this project has always been about people and every day issues. I am fortunate to have worked with such inspiring individuals who despite the odds claim to be set free and go and imagine/create new beginnings.
Worksearch 2.0 Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 9:51PM Join us Friday 22nd Good Friday in the Digital Exchange for a viewing of Lemonade and debrief from Greg Fry the Careers Coach
Worksearch Method Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 1:11PM Having been set free in July 2010, I first came into contact with Aaron Downes at the Boot Camp which was held in August at The National College of Ireland, IFSC. Dublin 1. In the course of his presentation, Aaron referred to the existence of the Dublin Jobs Club and explained the format of how the club operated. This idea I found interesting and decided to attend the next meeting on the following Friday morning.
I was greatly impressed to have been instantly accepted into this group in a spirit of friendship, support and mutual cooperation. All that is asked of any participant is that they share with the group Who they are, What is their super power, and ideally what contacts they are looking for to help them achieve their goals. All of this takes place in a non invasive atmosphere of mutual trust and information exchange.
I have attended most meetings from August last to Christmas. At each meeting, I have been amazed at the wealth of knowledge and experience that is represented in the group across such a diverse range of career opportunities. Each individual brings with them their own unique talents, experiences and lists of personal contacts. When all of this information is multiplied by the group number, it equates to an invaluable and unique bank of relevant information across a variety of professional and commercial trade sectors.
In my experience, participants in the Jobs Club can best be described as competent, resourceful, professional, intelligent and busy people. Some may have been set free from their most recent careers, but this does not mean that they are at home resting in front of the television. They are all busily engaged in the serious task of preparing themselves for the next step in their pursuit to achieve the employment objectives that they have set for themselves. The jobs club helps people to come out of their comfort zone by providing a platform in a safe environment to practice standing up in front of their colleagues and speaking about who they are and what they are looking for. It also introduces an opportunity for everyone to practice their networking skills in a relaxed and risk free environment.
I have huge respect and admiration for the vision displayed by Aaron Downes in setting up this incredible resource. I do not understand why more people are not actively availing of this unique and worthwhile support opportunity.
Finally, may I wish everyone involved in the Club every success in the pursuit of the goals you wish to achieve.
Kind regards,
Larry O Brien.
20th January 2011.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 10:11AM Bad writers look at a pile of facts, figures, opinions, and assorted information and say, 'what order shall I put these in?'
Good writers say 'whats the story here?'
Thanks Lindsay Camp for the advice...
CV Writing Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 2:07PM A regular question at worksearch, I thought this was interesting and food for thought!
Money is only a quantitative assessment and agreement between supply and demand, consumer and producer. Value is determined by the scarcity of the merchandise; the more you have something to offer that no one else can provide, the more you’ll get paid.
Negotiation, Salary, Worksearch Method Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 4:57PM Courtesy of the Heath Brothers
An elevator pitch is a mixture of an explanation and a sales pitch. It's intended to get people excited about your organization, your new product, or even you personally (in an interview situation). Here's how to give a good one:
1. Think short - no shorter than 30 seconds and no longer than 3 minutes. Time it.
2. If your topic is complex, use the "anchor & twist" format to orient your audience.
3. Don't wing it, script it. Once you've figured out how to explain something well, there is NO value in novelty. Tell it the same (effective) way every time.
4. 'Why' comes before 'What.' People will understand better what you're doing if they first know why you're doing it. Here's an example: "Most people invest some of their savings and give some of it away to charity. Wouldn't it be nice if you could do both at once -- get interest AND impact? That's why we invented the Calvert Community Investment Notes."
5. Mandatory: Include a story. For a product pitch, tell a customer's story. For a nonprofit pitch, talk about the people you help. For self-promotion, highlight a time when you nailed it.
6. Check out other pitches for inspiration. Here's one that we worked on for Peter Singer's great book, The Life You Can Save. And here's a great article about elevator pitches, starring Dave Yewman and Andy Craig, the masters of the craft.
Elevator Pitch, Introduction, Presenting 
