HIRED LEARNING: Melanie Rhodes – Determined and Unstoppable

By Melanie Rhodes, Corporate Sales Analyst, Panasonic Electric Works of America
Having been through three layoffs over the course of my career, I was introduced to the principles of various outplacement firms. Each firm provided unique enlightenment in their own right. When I first heard about PSGCNJ, its training, support, and services, I honestly thought “Been there; done that. What can they possibly teach me that I don’t already know?”  In retrospect, having recently landed, my knowledge base has grown exponentially as a result of the valuable guidance of the PSGCNJ training classes, speakers, and networking sessions with a wonderful group of talented, displaced professionals. I also found the information tremendously helpful, current and relevant. Prior to joining PSGCNJ my marketing career objective was dull. PSG’s tools polished my career plan. Yes, it required a lot of determination and hard work; volunteering and remaining involved at PSG, expanding my academic talents, and taking full advantage of all the resources made available to me, all played their part in my job search success story.
Summarizing how PSGCNJ ties into my recent job landing:

• I heard about the job through a fellow Programs & Networking Committee member (Sonia Amanik), who forwarded me the lead.
• To prepare myself, I utilized both the Advanced Resume Review and Mock Interviews teams.
• The PAR resume I developed and used was taken from methods I learned at Training and from Lloyd Feinstein’s free thirteen part series of reemployment seminars that I attended. (He was recently one of our general meeting speakers.)

Am I extremely grateful to the NJ DOL, PSGCNJ, Union County College and all the new friends and associates I’ve met over the course of my transition? To say emphatically “Yes!” would still be an understatement. Was it hard at times to stay encouraged, focused and totally committed to pursuing my career in these challenging times? Absolutely! But I know now it never needs to be difficult or done in isolation. From now on, networking will be a constant for me. And if and when the next career or job change presents itself, I’ll be all the wiser and quick to head back to PSG. Having a strategy, tools and support is the winning formula.