CAREER SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR CORPORATE EMPLOYEES

At Delaware Valley Career Solutions, we offer two programs tailored for the corporate market:

• Career Crossroads (Career Assessment and Planning)

• Put Your Best Foot Forward (Job Search Preparation Program)

These programs were designed at the request of several corporate clients to address certain gaps in current outplacement services. In both programs, our highly experienced staff works one-on-one with your employees. This allows us to tailor our services to your employee’s exact needs with a consistent emphasis on quality and helping them to meet their goals. At the same time, we can balance structure and flexibility to match each employee’s unique situation.

Program #1:  CAREER CROSSROADS

Who Can Benefit

• Employees affected by company downsizing or reorganization whose needs include an in-depth review of their career options.

• Key employees needing guidance in planning their career paths within the organization as they shift from working as individual contributors to take on more management responsibilities, or as they consider pursuing a functional leadership vs. a general management role.

• Valued employees whose current roles or career paths are not a good fit with their competencies, work styles, or interests, and where the employer is willing to consider other internal roles that are a better fit with employees’ strengths.

How This Service Assists Employees

• Provides employees with a structured process and support to help them take stock of their unique “brands”.

• Enhances employee awareness and understanding of the requirements of different career paths.

• Prepares employee to approach the job market with a clear focus and move into a job search efficiently.

• Identifies organizational and other work environment factors that the employee should evaluate for potential impact on career success and job satisfaction

Benefits to the Organization

• Strengthens the employer’s reputation for making strategic and pragmatic investments in human capital.

• Can be positioned as a component of the organization’s employee retention strategy.

Program Components

The focus of this program is an in-depth career evaluation involving analysis of: skills, career interests, personality factors, career values, and other motivators using formal assessments, analytical exercises, and an optional 360° feedback process. This evaluation will help the employee to identify realistic career paths and to understand the types of organizational cultures and work environments in which they are most likely to succeed, and which ones to avoid if possible.

The process includes:

• A comprehensive review of the employee’s career history.

• An assessment of career-related skills, interests, personality, values and other motivators delivered and scored online using a secure server. An optional 360° feedback survey may be completed by a small group of trusted work colleagues, friends and/or family, selected by employee for an additional fee.

• An extended feedback meeting, followed by two Action Planning conversations.

• Delivery to the employee of a summary report outlining Key Strengths, Areas for Growth, Transferrable Skills and Career Options for Consideration.

• The program consists of five meetings delivered over a three to five week period (meetings may range from 1-3 hours each).

Program #2:  PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD

Who Can Benefit

• Employees separating from the organization who require more personalized career counseling and attention than is offered at large outplacement firms in order to move forward successfully.

• Spouses of employees who have relocated through transfer or to join the company.

Program Components

JOB SEARCH PREPARATION PHASE

The focus of this phase is to develop a job search plan with both short- and medium-term goals. Short-term goals generally target the employee’s readiness to move forward with the plan.
This phase includes:

• In depth review of career history, with emphasis on identifying accomplishments and discussing job search targets.

• Discussion of job search marketing strategy based upon one or more target job objectives, including: identifying key strengths and personal brand features.

• Resume and cover letter oversight.

• Counselor's role is to guide employee in creating a compelling resume and supporting cover letters.  Employee does the actual writing; counselor plays an editing role. (or if the employee does not have the writing skills or desire to write the resume, he/she will be referred to outside resume writing services.)

• Explanation of the crucial networking process and practice in delivering “elevator speech”. Discussion of social networking websites (LinkedIn, Twitter) and how to successfully utilize them in a job search.

• Videotape and review mock interviews.

• This phase consists of five meetings, each one to two hours in length (8 hours total).

JOB CAMPAIGN SUPPORT PHASE

• The focus of this phase is to ensure the employee is confident in his/her ability to move forward with job search or career development plans. Toward that end, the client is given an 8-hour consulting budget for telephone or face-to-face follow-up contacts, at his/her discretion. Goals for this phase are: to help employee maintain a high level of motivation and activity, troubleshoot obstacles, review cover letters, debrief networking contacts and interviews, strategize how to approach upcoming interactions, and generally make sure that the client is conducting the most effective campaign possible.

Please feel free to contact us so that we can better understand your organization’s needs and answer your questions.  We look forward to your inquiry.