2016 ICSEW Leadership Conference Career Advancement Panel Session

by Pamela Smith, ICSEW Professional Development Chair

Many attendees of the 2015 ICSEW leadership conference expressed an interest in having more sessions on career advancement. To fulfill this need, a Career Advancement Panel session was offered at this year’s conference.
The panel consisted of five professional women from the public and private sectors. They offered a vast array of knowledge, experiences, and expertise on how to advance your professional career. Some of the topics covered included:

• Resume & cover letter etiquette,
• How to launch yourself to the next level,
• Acing an interview,
• How background and credit checks could potentially play a role in hiring decisions, and
• Tips how to navigate the online state application system, careers.wa.gov.

The session began with panel members introducing themselves and giving brief overviews of their expertise. Then session attendees were given an opportunity to ask questions. The varied backgrounds and experiences of the speakers and format of the session created an interactive energy and provided an educational outlook, not often found in a solo or co-presenter situation. Panel members provided informational hand-outs and stayed after the session to answer more questions.
Some of the positive feedback from attendees included:

• “Lots of take-a-ways. Loved that each panelist brought something relevant to the table, especially the Q&A part.”
• “Great tips to empower yourself & go for it!”
• “Gives me better perspective when applying for growth position.”

The ICSEW leadership conference provides a valuable opportunity for professional development, that might otherwise not be available, and empowers individuals in state government to positively shape their lives.
From a dedicated state employee and the ICSEW Professional Development Chair, thank you to the panel members who volunteered their time and talents to help expand the attendees’ knowledge and assist with their individual career goals. The vast amount of knowledge, capability, and generosity of these diverse speakers’ contributions are truly inspirational.
For additional information, materials from the conference are available here.