'The Empowered Job Seeker' series, v.25 - Encouraging Organization, Engagement and the Utilization of Powerful Job Search Tools

It is important to us at CMS that our outplacement program candidates have a well-rounded experience while working with us. Encouraging the organization of their job search, the use of personal exercises as well as a program feedback questionnaire is part of how we accomplish this.

For Robert, the overwhelming feelings he had while navigating his job search were sometimes unbearable. He had not had to organize a job search for some time and it felt like a daunting task. Career transitions rarely follow a straight line. They are coupled with a lot of uncertainty, unknown factors and personal fears that can often paralyze or take people off course.

For candidates like Robert, the step-by-step nature of the CMS program materials helped to keep his focused on one task at a time, in a logical order. In addition, as he reported in his program feedback questionnaire, the ability to utilize our Job Search Tracking Tool was important to his success. The CMS Job Search Tracking Tool, he told us, enabled him to visualize both what he had already accomplished in his job search journey, and what he had left to pursue. It also gave him an easy way to record successes and areas for improvement when it came to interviewing and acted as a journal where he could document topics needed for discussion with his Program Coach.

Being able to follow a clear, step-by-step process was essential to Robert's job search success as it substantially reduced his stress and anxiety typically felt by those left to their own devices. Working with his CMS Program Coach through the logical order of modules including Personal Goal Setting, Résumé Writing, Résumé Marketing and Interview Preparation gave Robert a sense of control, and helped to maintain his focus on his end goal.

It’s our hope that by providing these tools to all CMS job seekers, that we help to complete their experience with our outplacement program. And, by offering them the use of our Program Feedback Questionnaire we hope to empower them and also to learn from their input!