Topic 4: Tools and information to support maneuvering
Helping our clients/students
How can we help our student/clients maneuver? How do we help them in ourselves become strategic in their career development? How do we help them develop opportunity awareness?
What follows are several approaches that we gleaned from our Learning Management catalog that support the concept of maneuvering.
We invite you to experience each tool for yourself. The resources section has worksheets that you can share with your clients and students. The first page on each worksheet describes how you can facilitate the activity one-on-one and in groups.
Changes to the labour market
As you’ve seen, many factors influence changes in the labor market. Industry/sectors in your community will come and go, new Industries/sectors may emerge, and new roles will appear as others fade away. Fortunately, these changes do not occur so rapidly that you need to revise your analyses every day or every week. Most of these changes can be predicted or observed simply by maintaining awareness of Labor Market issues at the same time as you keep up with other changes in your community and the world.
Source of LMI
Think of the sources of Labor Market information (LMI), you know. Some common responds to this are:
- the newspaper and magazines,
- social media,
- internet sources,
- friends and family,
- Chambers of Commerce,
- networking,
- volunteering
The three P’s
LMI( both formal and informal) comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes- sources are multiple and varied. It can be overwhelming for clients/students to process. For them, it might be useful to think of three broad categories of LMI.
Including information glean from both hard copy (e.g.,
newspapers, magazines and reports) and soft copy (online) sources.
People
Including information gained from those in their Network and those in their networks network, social media interactions and information interviewing.
Participation
Including Information Gain from Jam shadowing, volunteering, work experience and online activities such as being part of the discussion forum on LinkedIn.
Activity: media analysis
This activity provides an opportunity in integrate your understanding of the structure of the labor market by applying it to real events in the news. It will help you make the connection to LMI in informal print sources. This activity requires you to find a new story either in your daily newspaper or from an online New Media source. See any of the Billow articles for example.
Links up : Start it up, B.C.,
Links down : With new, Ministers
Media analysis questions
Read the article and after you have done so answer the following questions:
What does this article tell you about the labour market?
Type your text here
What trends can you identify as a result of this article? Can you identify any:
- international trends/LMI
- National trends/LMI
- Provincial trends/LMI
- Local trends/LMI
Type your text here
What products/services can you imagine might be needed as a result of these trends?
Type your text here
What does the article suggest in terms of potential opportunities in the labour market?
Type your text here
Activity: dependable strengths
Our Dependable strengths our transferable skills and abilities that we draw on to perform all kinds of activities. Often, they are so much a part of who we are that we take them for granted.
Next, you will have the opportunity to think of something that you did well, enjoyed doing and – on reflection – feel proud of. It can be anything, big or small.
For example:
- I had unexpected company and, although I wasn’t prepared, put together a great meal.
- Last week at work, and to learn a new operating system and, all I was intimidated, I did it and am now coaching others on my team how to use it.
There is a worksheet in the resource library that you can use to facilitate this activity with the client or student.
The power of networking
An important maneuvering strategy is networking – developing, maintaining and mobilizing relationships. Not all people in our networks need to love us ( although that’s a bonus). After there are people in our community that could provide the required information, expert advice, share experience, or connect us to someone else that could enhance our network.
Starts with Me towards Other sources, one circle after the other.
Finding information in your network
Sometimes people want to help, they just need the reason. But how do you or your clients/students find these people? Below is a line of thinking that you can use for yourself, and your clients to uncover the power of your and their personal or Professional Network.
There is a worksheet in the resources that you can use for facilitation.
Think about something you would like to learn. If you are willing, mention what you like to learn to 3-5 people in your office, School, neighborhood. Ask them the following questions:
- Do you have any information or expertise on this?
- Do you know someone with this information or expertise?
- Do you know someone who could likely help by connecting me to someone with the needed information or expertise?
How many names did they suggest to you?
Maneuvering your network
Often valuable networks exist right under our nose. This simple exercise can be done with clients and students. It showed that putting it out there is the key to good networking. People are generally more than happy to help but they can’t if they don’t know the need exists. This is true in tracking down information, advice or expertise. It’s also true in a job search.
Today’s labor market can see and penetrable with so many applications now being done online and searches based on keyword matches. And maneuvering strategy is to find ways to spread the word about what kind of work you’re seeking and engaging the most comprehensive Network possible in being your work search allies.
