Time to Pay Homage to My Guest Speakers: Part 1

As far as I know, I'm the only career coach in the Massachusetts One-Stop Career Center system who hosts guest speakers on a monthly basis. And, I've been consistently doing it for four straight years. But I wouldn't have accomplished this without some great folks.

Guest Speakers? you're wondering. Who are they and what do they do? First of all, EACH ONE of them are my LinkedIn connections, which shows the power of nurturing relationships on this platform, and they range from career coaches, recruiters, HR, and hiring managers. Basically, they are the salt of the earth.

My guest speakers volunteer their time to speak on matters of the job search. Even though they have busy schedules, they put aside an hour to educate and entertain my audience, all of whom are unemployed and range from entry-level to executive-level.

Of all the webinars I lead, this is by far the most popular one, often exceeding 75 attendees and sometimes bursting 100.

Let me introduce them and briefly mention what they discussed virtually. (The pandemic forced us to go virtual, which was terrible because it took the human interaction away, but was good because I could recruit my guest speakers from afar.)

Let me first preface by saying that my memory is not the best, so I might get some facts wrong. Here we go:

Edythe Richards was one of the first guest speakers, if not the very first. She has appeared four (4) times to the best of my knowledge. Her topic was Emotional Intelligence (EQ) but she's also spoken on MBTI.

Sarah Johnston graced us with Job Searching During Difficult Times. She's from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area, which shows you how versatile virtual interaction is. She's also a Top Voice on LinkedIn.

Kevin Willett entertained my audience with Networking In-Person Vs. Using LinkedIn. Kevin is a true friend to the Career Center, as he's appeared numerous times in-person and virtually.

Mark Anthony Dyson hails from Chicago and talked about The Ins and Outs of the Job Search. His words, "The people were served," referencing my failure to record the event, stay with me to this day.

Wendy Schoen, MBA, JD was given a tough assignment; I asked her to address the 9 Don'ts of the Job Search. She didn't pull any punches. And I didn't expect her to. Well done, Wendy.

Lotte Struwing, CHRL, CCP, CBP, Certified Coach is a recruiter who assuaged our fears of the applicant tracking systems (ATS). She hails from Canada, but I'm not quite sure where.

Gerald Schmidt is local and one of my favorite clients, because he graciously gives his time to other job seekers. He educated my audience on What Hiring Managers Look for in a Candidate.

Caitlin (Outen) Natalie rocked the house by talking about A Recruiter's Perspective on the Job Search. She spoke more recently on how to better communicate with recruiters. Deer antlers? She'll know what I mean.

Kevin D. Turner , whom I call sir Kevin Turner, supported his branding tagline, "Branding Not Blanding" by talking about just that. This was his first of two appearances. Y'all probably know Kevin. He's the authority on all things LinkedIn.

GREG JOHNSON グレッグ　ジョンソン is a Lakers fan, but I don't blame him for it. He spoke on Interviewing in Today's Market for the Chronically Enhanced. I loved the title and his eloquent manner of speaking.

Sonal Bahl is truly international; she hails from Belgium. She gave a stunning talk on How to Negotiate Like a Pro. Sonal is a true pro, and the audience appreciated her lesson.

John Racho is a recruiter who educated my audience with An Honest Talk with a Recruiter. John has spoken at the career center so many times, in-person and virtually, that I can't remember. He's always welcome back.

Susan P. Joyce is an SEO expert, so naturally she spoke on Using SEO to be found. She has also appeared at the career center in-person and virtually. She and I had coffee at an eatery called Purple Carrot.

Loren (Executive Career Strategist) Greiff (rhymes with Life) is also a Chicagoan. She addressed the sensitive topic of Coping with Job Loss, and she did a better job than I ever could. Loren is a Career Coach who emphasizes networking as a way to land your next job.

John Joseph and Douglas Drake tag-teamed to talk about Succeeding in the Job Search: One Person's Journey. I know, there were two of them. I was thrilled to have former clients of mine to grace the...screen.

Armando Llorente, SHRM-SCP is also a favorite clients of mine. One of his specialties is disability, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He taught us that belonging (B) is missing from this acronym. He's a masterful speaker.

Virginia Franco wowed the audience with expert resume writing advice. She's a two-time guest speaker, and I hope she will once again teach my audience about resume writing. Virginia?

Shelley Piedmont did a stellar job of delivering Crushing the Interview. She's a natural on screen. Shelley's from the North Port-Sarasota Area. That's in Florida, if you're wondering.

Hannah Morgan is all about the job search. She enthralled the audience (and me) on The Future of the Job Search. She teases me about my Pats, and I tease her about her Bills. I guess I'll shut up for now.

Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill, MA, Ed.M doesn't suffer from Imposter Syndrome, as he excited the audience on this very topic. Recently I accidentally dialed his phone number and we had a nice little chat. I jokingly told him I didn't miss-dial to ask him back as a guest speaker; I don't think he got the joke.

I will pay homage to my other 22 guest speaker in Part 2. Don't go away; you'll want to hear more about some more people whom I call the salt of the earth.