Thursday 17 December 2009

Congratulations are in order....

Congratulations to Gert (ORourke) who won the 2009 Marketing Institute of Ireland, West Region Award for Start Up Business. Well deserved and congrats from all at WIN.

Monday 14 December 2009

Christmas Drinks and 1 hour free consultation with Talent Fusion

Christmas drinks! We are planning on meeting on Monday (21st) at 7pm in The Huntsman where we can have a few drinks and also if anyone wishes, a bite to eat. Let me know by Friday if you can make it by sending me a quick email so I can reserve an area if we have a big crowd. (huntsmaninn.com/location.html).

Ger Colleran dropped in some Christmas presents for the group - 1 hour free consultation with Talent Fusion (talentfusion.ie) or iCareer (icareer.ie) or Great Speech (greatspeech.ie) in the form of vouchers. These can be used by yourself or you can give them to someone as a present. I still have a number left so I will give them out on a first come, first serve basis - please drop me an email if you want one. Thanks a million Ger.

Saturday 12 December 2009

Last session before Christmas

Thanks to Aaron Downes and Johnny Donnelly from Arcana (arcana.ie) who both provided a compelling and inspiring session yesterday. It certainly left us on a high note for our last session - very upbeat and positive feelings leading into 2010.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Next Session: December 11th

Hi everyone,

It is hard to believe how time flies but we are heading towards our fourth WIN session on Friday, December 11th. Our guest this week will be Aaron Downes from The Dublin Job Club.  Aaron has considerable success with the Dublin Job Club and many people have found work through the club or have started their own business.

Aaron will facilitate the session on Friday and will draw on his own experiences based on the Job Club which has been up and running since earlier this year. You can find out more about this on: http://www.dublinjobclub.blogspot.com/

Enterprise Ireland have agreed to make the boardroom available to us from 9am onwards so you can get in there early to mingle with other early starters or pre arrange a meeting in advance of the session.

See you Friday.

Friday 27 November 2009

WIN session - November 27th

Hi everybody,

Today was our third networking session and already two people have lined up work through networking. After todays session a third person told me they that they had lined up some work also. So the networking efforts are producing results and well done to those who have picked up some work.

Ger Colleran was our guest speaker and he delivered a presentation on networking which was informative and very helpful for the group. Mark Keane also spent some time going through LinkedIN and the benefits it offers members.

We have one final session before Christmas with Aaron Downes, facilitator of the Dublin Job Club. This session will take place on December 11th from 10am - 12pm.

Due to the level of networking which is taking place within the group we are asking people to take the opportunity to come along at 9am and use the time to network before the session.  

Finally - we will be planning a night out to 'network' over a few glasses of mulled wine - we will keep you posted about that.

Saturday 21 November 2009

WIN session - November 27th

Hi everyone,

Ger Colleran, founder at Talent Fusion will be our guest speaker next week. Ger is planning to talk to the group about networking and is also going to use the opportunity to work with some of the group members to help them develop their elevator pitches.

Please note that we will be extending the session to 12.30pm on the 27th as one of the members is planning on giving a demo of LinkedIN.

Talent Fusion
http://www.talentfusion.ie/
Talent Fusion helps individuals and companies achieve excellence through innovative customised career development and training solutions. We provide personal development to nurture people’s talents and skills, so they become the best they can be. We are committed to delivering long-term personal and high quality services that delivers results and provides value for money.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Hi everyone,

Things have been busy with WIN over the last week. We have lots of new members and we have also been inundated with offers of help.

One of the initiatives which has been put our way is from Crystel Robbins, Project Manager with execpass.com. She has extended an invitation for eligible WIN members to avail of a complimentary subscription to Execpass.com a new validated Business & Executive networking site.

Crystel adds 'Execpass.com is a validated Executive to Business & Business to Business Networking site, encouraging executives to plan their next career or investment move and encouraging companies to expand, build succession/expansion plans or seek investment or business partnerships”.


I suggest you have a look at the site, have a look for our WIN group and see if you want to join us. Don't forget that it is free to join for now....

Friday 13 November 2009

Another successful meeting....13th November 2009

I just want to thank everyone who attended and contributed our session today. We had a fantastic session and the networking between members is beginning to really take off...

Thanks to Nick Allen and Crystel Robbins who were our guest speakers.

More info to come over the next few days.

Thursday 12 November 2009

The Tubridy Show...

A big thank you to Ryan and Aonghus and their team for giving us the opportunity to talk about WIN live on air on November 11th. You can hear the podcast here: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thetubridyshow/2009-11-11.html

Friday 6 November 2009

Focus on Your Future - join the Career Reorientation Programme

Hi everyone,

Nick Allen from Whitwell Consulting got in touch with me and his company has designed and developed a Career Reorientation Programme for FÁS. This course is being run through FÁS in Mervue. The course is free and runs 2 days a week over a 5 week period and starts on November 18th. And there will be no change to your social welfare entitlements during the course. More information about the course at the end of this blog...

Nick will be attending our WIN session today to talk about the course and answer any questions you may have.

One point to note is that you must be registered with FÁS to participate and you can register for the course with FÁS in Mervue after our WIN session tomorrow from 12.15 - 1.15pm.

In the meantime, as time is of the essence as there may already be a large waiting list for the course, please contact Nick directly for further information on the programme.

His contact details are:
Nick Allen, Director
Whitwell Consulting
Knockaville
Gaybrook
Mullingar
Co. Westmeath
Tel: 04493 33625
Mob: 085 1643697
nick.allen@whitwellconsulting.com


Focus on Your Future join the Career Reorientation Programme

…..starting mid-November 2009 at FÁS Training Centre, Mervue, Galway………

Are you someone who……..

Has recently become unemployed or may be facing unemployment in the near future?

Would like support in considering and planning options for the future?

Needs to review your career to date, analyse your skills and expertise and consider the opportunities open to you?

Would like to build a useful network of contacts for the future?

…….If you have answered yes to some of these questions, this FAS programme may be for you.

On this programme you will have an opportunity to take stock of your situation and to take positive steps towards the future. This is an excellent opportunity to analyse your strengths, look to areas you would like to improve, improve your communications skills, and get yourself positive and prepared for the next stage in your career. The topics covered are practical and useful and you will work in a stimulating environment where you will meet new people and start building your network. You will be helped to reflect on your career to date and to think about all of your strengths and skills when considering your options.

Don’t go it alone! Join the programme and avail of help with the following:

Creating a personal and career development plan

Investigating education and training opportunities

Building your network of contacts

Selling yourself – CV preparation, communication skills,

Interview techniques including making a job application (for a real or simulated position) to the course facilitators who will then conduct a formal interview and give structured feedback on technique

Managing your job search

Research Skills – efficient use of the Internet and other resources

Information for those considering self-employment

Personal wellbeing – keeping body and mind healthy

Personal finances – practical tools for money management

Volunteering – using and developing skills in the voluntary sector

Programme duration is 2 days per week for 5 weeks. You are allowed to keep your Social Welfare Entitlements !

For Further information please contact FAS, Island House, Galway on 091 534400

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Seminar on 'Digitisation & Intellectual Property’

If anyone is interested in IP and digitisation there is a free seminar on 'Digitisation & Intellectual Property’ in NCAD on Nov 12th. Although the tevent is free you must register. All details can be found here: http://dho.ie/node/628

Friday 30 October 2009

First WIN networking session.

Today was our first WIN networking session and I am delighted to say that it was an extremely positive meeting and thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a success.

A few people said that they had been looking for something like this type of networking session for a while now and it is a great feeling to be able to look back at todays session and say that we are finally out there doing something for ourselves.

We had a few discussions around the fact that the government and many other established agencies seem to be frozen in their thinking and actions and unable to help people - like us - on the ground.

We also had a a good discussion around social media and how each and everyone of us needs to get connected via LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter and so on as part of our proactive networking activities to get us to our next job. The video on the right hand side shows random people on the street in Dublin talking about how many hours a day they spend on the internet. Interesting. (thanks Paul for sending it on).

I think it is fair to say that everyone came away from the meeting with something new - a new contact; a better focus on their career, or simply feeling good about the fact that they did something positive and proactive about their job search...
And last but not least - a big thank you to Tom OMahony, founder of halfaloaf.ie who came along and provided many interesting points and thoughts and ideas. Please log onto halfaloaf.ie and join up. I have got a lot of inspiration from the site and I am sure you will too.
See you next time,
Caroline

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Networking sessions starting on 30th October

We have set up this forum for qualified professionals who are currently out of work and looking for permanent, contract or freelance work. There has been a huge amount of evidence demonstrating the fact that one of the most effective ways to find work is through active networking and in the current economic climate we all need to get out there and meet people who may be able to lead us to our next job.

The sessions will aim to help people to think differently and how to be proactive about their work search. It is also an opportunity for people to keep active, socialize and build self esteem.

The group is also open to small business owners who want to increase their own network of contractors or generate new business.

We will have guest speakers at each of the sessions and the speaker for this session will be Tom OMahony, founder of halfaloaf.ie

The first networking session will take place on Friday October 30th from 11am to 1pm in Enterprise Ireland in Mervue, Galway city.

To register for a place please email Caroline McDonagh: mcdonaghcaroline@gmail.com