members in transition program overview helping sim members move their careers forward

Members in TransitionProgram Overview

Helping SIM members Move their Careers

Forward

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Value Proposition

A Members-in-Transition (MIT) Program Provides:

• Suspension of National SIM membership dues• Additional avenues for participants to pursue new career opportunities• The opportunity to learn about new fields of endeavor• A way for companies to share IT job-openings with SIM members• A way for companies to find highly qualified IT professionals while

also minimizing risk by dealing with trusted connections• A safe environment with valuable networking and IT community

for SIM members who find themselves between jobs

SIM MIT ProgramSIM MIT Program

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• In response to a need: If a large number of your chapter’s members are in transition, you need to address the issue

• To provide relevant and innovative career transition support – customized to the individual’s specific needs

• To guide IT executives in discovering their next career step, whether it be in a corporate position or getting started as an independent consultant

• To counsel within a framework of real-life experience – facilitators should have personally experienced career transition and be willing to share their experience – including feelings, mistakes and successes

Why an MIT Program in Your Chapter?

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SIM Members In Transition Who counts as an MIT ?

The SIM Members in Transition program assists members who become unemployed. Changing a member’s status to MIT allows chapters to suspend national membership dues for a period of up to twelve months at the end of the current membership term. • Members must be unemployed at the time they ask to have MIT status

and be active dues-paying members. • Members may continue to receive all member benefits, including access

to the Career Center, webinars, salary survey and networking opportunities.

• If members are re-employed during the dues suspension, they are expected to renew their paid membership with a SIM Chapter at that time.


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SIM Members In Transition - MIT

Overview of Elements and Best Practices

• Selecting Facilitators or Program Leads• Suggested Topics for Sessions• Formats and Venues• Tools and Reference Materials• What has Worked for Other Chapters


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Selecting Selecting Facilitators or Program Leads

• When possible, Chapters should select MIT program facilitators who have been through transition themselves (i.e. have lost their job due to layoff, buyout package program, merger/acquisition, outsourcing or similar events)

• It is good to have an IT recruiter as one of the facilitators since they can give advice on resume writing and help the person in transition better “brand” themselves

• Vendors and consultants also make good facilitators because of their broad experience and presentation skills

• If the MIT Program uses online tools – Yahoo Groups, webinars, etc.-- then the Program Lead(s) should be familiar with use of the tools

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• What’s Next? – What’s Next? – choosing your career path choosing your career path

• Marketing Yourself and NetworkingMarketing Yourself and Networking

• How to Use Social Media (LinkedIn etc.) for Job SearchHow to Use Social Media (LinkedIn etc.) for Job Search

• Resume Writing and Posting StrategiesResume Writing and Posting Strategies

• Tips for Working with a RecruiterTips for Working with a Recruiter

• Behavioral InterviewingBehavioral Interviewing

• People Skills – People Skills – body language, listening, gender differencesbody language, listening, gender differences

• Changing CareersChanging Careers – is independent consulting right for me? – is independent consulting right for me?

Suggested Topics for Sessions


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Formats• The format selected will depend on the size of the group and

the local geography.

• Small and medium-sized chapters where people are located in close proximity may find that face-to-face meetings are easy and convenient.

• Larger chapters with members spread across a broad geography may find virtual meetings preferable

Venues• The “usual” monthly meeting place• A Chapter Member company’s training or conference room• A Recruiter’s meeting facility• Virtual/Online

Formats and Venues


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Tools• SIM International’s “Your Membership” – the software

powering the SIMI website also has collaborative work tools

• Yahoo or Google Groups

• WebEx

Reference Materials• Articles, websites, search firms and books relevant to MITs

have been gathered by SIM members and are posted on the simnet website

• Send additional articles, URLs or other information you would like to suggest for MITs to the national SIM MIT coordinator

Tools and Reference Materials


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• One face-to-face class per week for six weeks provided structure and deadlines

• Class “continues” via email including exchanging relevant articles, websites, event notices and organizations

• Holding a reunion a few months after the end of sessions ---at a Mexican restaurant over margaritas – to assess progressencouraged everyone because there were successes to share

• Camaraderie of the group helped remove feelings of self-doubt -- each MIT knew the others at SIM as competent IT professionals and was reassured to be among capable people, all in transition

• Facilitators who were not “lecturing” from a theoreticalperspective, but have “been there” themselves

• Participants’ knowing the facilitators were fellow SIM members volunteering their services to ‘pay it forward’

What Worked for SIM in Memphis

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SIM New Jersey, Philadelphia and Fairfield-Westchester

• Implemented two Yahoo Groups:Job Post and General Discussion

• The Job Post group allows group members to post any job opening they have rights to distribute. Members can alsoask for advice, seek contacts or share other job search info.

• The General Discussion group is for all non-job-search topics.People can share metrics, discuss how to solve problems, offerideas on vendors to use just as they do at face-to-face meetings.

• Holds Weekly Conference Calls

• Calls are designed for networking about jobs; MITs and SIM members not in transition show up in about equal numbers.

• Recently increased from one call per week to two in order toaccommodate member schedules; volunteers facilitate the calland post minutes. They anticipate 15-20 participants on each call.

What Worked for SIM in the Northeast

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SIM New Jersey, Philadelphia and Fairfield-Westchester

• Monthly MeetingsNortheastern chapters have carved out time after their monthlydinner meetings for anyone who wants to stay to discuss transition activities. The format is round-robin – each MIT gives his/her “elevator speech,” what they are working on and what help they need (connections, strategy advice, recommendations etc.)

• Stand Alone Meetings and WebinarsNew Jersey has scheduled meetings separate from their monthly meeting focused on transition including a how-to session on LinkedIn as well as a panel of executive search professionals who answered questions and gave their view of the job market.

• Reference MaterialsPhiladelphia collected articles on job search strategy and advice as well as URLs for useful websites, relevant books and articles and a list of recruiters and executive search firms for use by any SIM member.

What Worked for SIM in the Northeast

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The MIT Program as a Chapter Recruiting Tool

• The Colorado Chapter partnered with an existing transition group with matching membership traits (found via LinkedIn)

• They allow unemployed CIOs to attend local chapter meetings at member cost with the agreement that the CIO will become a SIM member when (s)he secures a position.

• The transition group size is maintained at 12-20 peopleto provide a sense of trust and belonging.

• Colorado also created a LinkedIn group for exchanging job leads, discussing search efforts and sharing contacts.

What Worked for SIM in Colorado

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Collaborating with local Chamber and others

• The St Louis SIM Chapter partnered with the St Louis Chamber, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and several HR, outplacement, and professional organizations in the “Bounceback St Louis” program to retain valuable IT talent in St Louis.

• They hosted monthly BounceBack Network meetings for IT professionals who had lost their jobs due to business restructuring and downsizing. IT pros from virtually all sectors of the economy joined the Network.

• Attendance grew quickly from 50 people to 100 at each meeting.

What Worked for SIM in St Louis

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• SIM St Louis provided not only $3,500 in seed funding but also speakers, volunteer opportunities, complimentary chapter memberships, and scholarships to regional IT events.

• They also sponsored an all-day BounceBack / SIM leadership development workshop for transitioning IT professionals.

• Access to SIM events and SIM members enabled BounceBack participants to network with IT professionals who were currently employed and who were able to provide peer support and connect job-seekers to new opportunities before they hit the Internet.

• By 2010, more than 1,800 individuals had participated in BounceBack St. Louis including many in scientific, engineering and other technical careers.


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• Also in 2010 SIM and the Chamber announced a second partnership called the “Initiative for Creative Comebacks,” intended to provide unique opportunities for technical professionals who want to get ‘out of the box’ and pursue careers in the innovation economy, where IT and creativity converge.

• Creative Comebacks includes SIM-led leadership development programs, ‘creative conversations’ with professionals who have successfully transformed their careers and workshops that focus on data mining and the expressive arts.


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• Participants suggested adding a session for spouses – to help them understand both how their in-transition spouse is feeling and what practical things the spouse can do to help - search job boards, check LinkedIn etc.

• Facilitators noted the need to pair MITs so each has an “accountability partner” to be sure each person completes specific tasks by deadline (e.g., developing an “elevator speech,” defining personal “brand”)

• Participants indicated the SIM MIT sessions provided more practical, valuable information than those held by the national outplacement firms provided by their companies.

Lessons Learned and Feedback

members in transition program overview helping sim members move their careers forward

Documents

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transition program

mit program facilitators

chapters sim mit program

chapters members

jobssim mit program

members status

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