Comment of the Week:Having Purpose While Job Searching

It is difficult for many people to be productive during a time of unemployment while searching for a new job or career. We admire this job seeker who did not miss a beat "I spend about 50% of my time looking for work and 50% of my time volunteering, primarily with the Boy Scouts and Knights of Columbus. For a recent phone interview, I wanted to be prepared for the question “what have you been doing for the last 5 months” so I wrote a summary of my volunteer work, education, and home improvement projects during this time. Below is the list of accomplishments that are volunteer and education related.

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Prepared and gave a speech on Project Management to a chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants.
Helped two Boy Scouts obtain their Eagle Scout rank by teaching them project management.
Developed 7 swim lanes flowcharts that documented the processes of programs that the Knights of Columbus State Respect Life committee does annually. I worked with each project chairman to develop these and I presented them at a committee meeting where we made live changes and approved them. They also approved three job description documents.
Wrote a survey to a 140 member organization that I belong too, got it approved, and developed a plan to get close to 99% survey participation. Created a database and have been entering data for it.
Recruited a replacement chairman to a state-wide organization that I belong to, trained him on his duties, and transitioned another member’s duties to another chairman.
Took two long backpacking trips with the Boy Scouts, teaching them the Back Packing Merit Badge and earning the 50 mile award.
Putting my new NRA Instructor certifications to work by teaching shooting skills at a Boy Scout camp and the Great Lakes Jamboree this summer.
Taught 3 of 4 classes in Personal Finance to 20 boy scouts.
Prepared for and ran a quarterly financial investment education club meeting which I am the president of.
Started a CISCO networking class at NWTC as part of the Cisco Academy and am holding a 96% going into the final.

The question never came, but I was ready for it in more detail than I could have possibly had time for. I would have paraphrased the list. It would be a better answer than a fluff answer." -Mark A Kohls, Green Bay Wisconsin

Comment Author: Mark Kohls
Post Commented On: "8 Interview Questions & Answers for Older Workers ...