LaidOffCamp Phoenix: Learn how to kickstart your new career

April 1st, 2010

Have you been laid off recently? Are you REALLY happy in your current job? Do you dream about escaping from the cubicle and following your passion? If any of these questions have got you thinking, do I have an event for you…

Laid Off Camp Phoenix is an extension of a national effort to help people find work; whether it be full-time work, freelance work, volunteer work, or whatever’s next for them. It is a locally based, community-supported effort to offer resources and reassurance to those contemplating the next step in the career path.

This isn’t a job fair or a traditional conference filled with talking heads. Rather it is a ‘camp’ style ‘unconference’ where you’ll learn from others who have been in your shoes at one point or another, and survived to talk about it.

There will be session on communication skills, and the importance of attitude. You’ll learn about new strategies to finding work in tour crazy economic times. You can find out what it really takes to start you own business. You’ll even her about health insurance and mortgage options to assist you during a transition. But perhaps most importantly, you’ll be able to meet and interact with a wide variety of people in various stages of the employment continuum.

For a full schedule of what will be going on, check out the agenda here.

In addition to the sessions, LaidOffCamp Phoenix will feature a ‘Resource Room.’ Here, you’ll find one-on-one coaching on such things as resume writing, interview tips, healthcare coverage, your mortgage situation and information from local networking and job search resources. There will also be people ready to help you with social networking tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Vyllij or even to launch your own personal WordPress website. There will even an onsite photographer to take free, professional quality photos of you for your online avatar.

Oh yeah, you’ll also get to hear me talk about taking a new direction and making it work. I’ll be leading a session on how loosing your job can inspire you to do something completely different, and how effective community building can support your efforts. It was at LaidOffCamp last August that I got the confidence and enthusiasm to begin down my new path. And while I still haven’t quite reached my desired destination, I am excited by the opportunity to give back to the community and share the insights and skills that I have gained during my journey to date.

LaidOffCamp Phoenix is taking place this Saturday, April 3, 2010, from 8:00am to 4:00pm at the Chandler Senior Center 202 E. Boston St., Chandler, AZ. For more details, here is everything you need to know.

*     *      *

To help people get into the spirit of LaidOffCamp, there will be a screening of Lemonade on Friday, April 2 from 6-8pm. Lemonade is a movie by Erik Proulx, who turned the misery of being laid-off into a springboard to a more fulfilling life. Erik will be present, along with Pamela Slim, the award winning author of Escape from Cubicle Nation to discuss the movie and the lessons it teaches. In true community fashion, the organizers are asking those who have employment to sponsor tickets for those who can’t, so everybody can enjoy the film and learn together.

The screening with take place at the Chandler City Council Chambers in the Downtown Branch of the Chandler Public Library 22 S. Delaware St., Chandler AZ.

Related articles by Zemanta