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Derry News 12/03/04

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Derry News 2/20/02

New Hampshire Business Review 9/20/02

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Edward Jones Investment Representative to Speak

Derry News - December 3^rd, 2004

By Chris Dornin
DERRY NEWS STAFF

"Nutfield Networking keeps hopes alive for unemployed."

A local nonprofit agency, Nutfield Networking, has survived for three years without a staff, fund-raising, grants, a bank account, a budget or dues. The self-help support group serves the jobless, the recently jobless, the underemployed and the scared-of-becoming-unemployed. Its volunteers get together every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Londonderry Christian Church, a few miles north of Londonderry Middle School on Mammoth Road. What keeps Nutfield going is a program model that's a bit like a 12-step group or a 1960s consciousness raising session, but without any negative connotations. Think of it as an upbeat gathering of folks looking for opportunity in every crowded elevator and doctor's waiting room. If you have a business card and a memorized 20-second pitch, you can ask perfect strangers in that amount of time for three names of people in your field that you should get to know. At a typical meeting, 40 or 50 job-hunting former engineers, CEOs, accountants, managers, teachers, purchasing agents and out-of-work salesmen or technical writers or Web site designers listen to an expert on resume writing, career switching or salary negotiations. Then the large group breaks into half a dozen teams to give each other feedback, fresh job leads and emotional energy for the lonely task of finding work. Some folks come for the first time stuck on getting a new job just like the old one in a dot.com sector that crashed four years ago and won't come back soon or in quite the same way. These new arrivals often need some been-there-myself, tough-love advice on changing careers. They especially need some role models to see how a new way of marketing yourself works. Another beginner thinks you answer want ads. Or you send your resume to lots of personnel departments. Or you find openings at Internet sites where tens of thousands of competitors already visit. Any of these methods might work, but Nutfield teaches something more personal and perhaps more comforting. It's hard to do at first. You learn to ask for and get help from strangers. And you recruit a small board of directors for your job search to keep you on task and give you advice. Those folks can keep you objective during salary negotiations after an offer. Vince Pelliccia and Marty Bourque of Londonderry were both out of work when they met in late 2000. They became each other's job search coaches. It was so rewarding, they invited others to join them. Sixteen people showed up for an inaugural meeting in January 2002. Both are still heavily involved in the group. That start has mushroomed into a stable program with 903 current members. Maybe an equal number have passed through the group, helping it grow while they got something back. Many of them have found good jobs using skills and contacts they learned at Nutfield. The first skill, let's say it again, is asking for help. An even higher skill is finding out where you're going. That's easier when you can talk to a real person who has been there. It's better yet when you can pick the brain of somebody who works right now or recently exactly where you want to get to. Pelliccia was a group manager for 12 years at M/A-Com, a subsidiary of Tyco. The telecommunications sector collapsed. He lost his job a month or so after Sept. 11th. It was no coincidence. "I was the first one let go," Pelliccia said. He used a technique he calls opportunity development to find a new career the following March. He watched for changes in the economy or in the status of a specific company. Signal Technology announced a new initiative in its quarterly report. Bingo. "I had already networked to the guy starting that group," Pelliccia said. "I called him. I told him I had spent 10 years in a semiconductor business, and I'd be pleased to share ideas to get his project started. That was giving him future value." They had a three-hour lunch. The lunch led to a formal interview the next day. Three weeks later, Pelliccia had a job. Nobody else tried for the same opening. He created it, perhaps months before his new supervisor might have known his staffing needs. "A mutual friend referred me to my future boss," Pelliccia said. That's networking at it's best. He stayed in Nutfield to help keep it going. A few months ago, he took another new job, one he helped create with months of patient networking. These days he often works from his house. He likes to be there when his children get home from school. Tom Mosco worked as an embedded software developer six months ago. Cell phones and car engine computers use embedded software. The Derry man is weighing a career change into embedded software consulting. That's what he's been doing since his last paycheck that had company benefits six months ago. He's weighing whether to go full bore with it or hedge his bets and keep angling for traditional work. "My software skills were in high demand in the dot.com boom," Mosco said. Three consultants visited the Nutfield group the other day. They explained their career switches to working for themselves. The secret is to pick something you love doing, they all said. Dave Guttierez started a headhunting firm at age 40 after working in one for a couple of years to learn the ropes. John Roller bought into a consulting franchise, Express Personnel Services, after doing a lot of research before taking the leap. He warned that everything costs twice as much as you budget for, and it takes twice as long to do. Bill Henes told how he left a senior management job at Lockheed to teach finance part time and consult full time to CEOs. "I do the teaching because I love it," he said. "I consult because I'm good at it. You have to love what you're doing and find a way to make money at it." He said he strives to produce 10 times his fee in new profits for each client. Mosco asked one of a score of questions he brought up in the hour-long session. "I do contract work for three-month stretches," Mosco told Henes. "Finding the work is harder than doing the work. How do you find the work?" Henes said he uses a lot of networking. His teaching doubles as marketing for his business practice. Other consultants find him gigs. He finds clients for them. Happy clients find him clients. Guttierez sometimes finds him clients. Henes cautioned against calling yourself a consultant unless you're really serious about it. It takes too much time. You have to do it from passion. "You start your day at 4 a.m. and work until midnight," Henes said. "Sometimes you work Saturdays and Sundays too. You're only paid to produce solutions. It's feast or famine. I can make $100,000 in six months and go another six months with nothing." Craig Bailey of Customer Centricity in Hudson sharpened the Nutfield folks recently on their job interview techniques. Mike Levine spoke Nov. 23 on how he started a consulting firm with a new approach to the employee recruiting process. Leslie Gabriele will talk Dec. 7 about job-hunting for dummies. John Taylor will speak Jan. 4 on his work as a consultant to human resource managers. During the second half of each session, the members network with each other. They do it online, too. The Web site is www.nutfieldnetworking.com. Anyone can join.

Reprinted with permission of The Derry News.

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Derry News - January 17^th, 2002

By Joanna D. McVeigh
DERRY NEWS STAFF

Londonderry resident Vincent Pelliccia worked for Ma-Com, a semiconductor company, for 20 years before he was laid off.

He has been out of work for 15 weeks.

Marty Bourque, also a Londonderry resident, was laid off six months ago, for the first time in 24 years. Bourque got a job right out of college and stayed with the same company, Malden Mills, for 22 years. He then worked for an Internet start-up company that went under.

So now the two are involved in a community networking organization called Nutfield Networking, searching for another job while helping others in the same situation.

On Tuesday, Governor Jeanne Shaheen told 40 members of the Greater Derry Rotary Club that the economy has been struggling since Sept. 11. She said the state's latest unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, but the rate was 5.3 percent in Londonderry and 6.1 percent in Derry, with revenue slowing at the state level.

"I was shocked to hear I was being laid off, but I feel I have recovered from the emotional turmoil and have been networking ever since," Pelliccia said.

Pelliccia said that finding a job is a lot more difficult than most people think. It requires meeting people in various industries, going to job seminars and conferences, but more than anything it takes time. "It's a lot more difficult than looking in the newspaper and finding a job in the classified section," Pelliccia said.

Pelliccia and Bourque said the idea of starting a local networking organization stemmed from the two job seminars Town Council Chairman hosted in December and January. When they attended the job seminars they spoke with Oswald about a permanent networking organization in town that would meet on a regular basis. They began what is now called Nutfield Networking, an organization with close to 25 members, 15 of whom signed up in three days.

"Through my networking I got involved with Mark Oswald. I went to the job seminars in town and met a number of people who were giving their time to help others," Bourque said. "These people were total strangers and they were willing to give their time."

Nutfield Networking plans to meet twice a month. At the first meeting Tuesday night, about 15 people were there, with experience ranging from early childhood development to vice president of marketing and sales. The group is also hosting a career assistance seminar Friday, Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Leach Library. There are limited seats available, so those interested should contact either Pelliccia or Bourque ahead of time.

The seminar will feature John Taylor, a principal consultant and facilitator at Outsourcing 2000. He will speak about maintaining or enhancing self-esteem through the identification and documentation of knowledge, skills, abilities and prior professional accomplishments. He will also teach about career survival skills including networking and interviewing techniques. The seminar is free.

"John is very energetic and positive," Pelliccia said. "He is doing this in part because he is a good person and in part because he is a good businessman."

Pelliccia said the most important aspect about losing a job is leaving all the negatives behind. When asked what advice he would give to other people in his situation he said, "You shouldn't go through it alone. Networking provides a group of energetic people who are willing to help."

For more information on Nutfield Networking contact Pelliccia at Vpelliccia@prodigy.net.

Or contact Bourque at martybourque@aol.com. Nutfield Networking is also on the Internet at http://groups.yahoo.com/. Anyone can post a message on the Web site.

Reprinted with permission of The Derry News.

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Derry News - February 20^th, 2002

By Chris Dornin
DERRY NEWS STAFF

If you have one of those new-economy jobs - you know, the ones without deadlines, bosses or paychecks, you're rubbing shoulders with good company in the unemployment line.
You should meet those people. Career-changers in Londonderry are systematically networking with each other.
It makes their self-appointed full-time work less lonely. Some are using guerrilla marketing tactics to replace the jobs they lost in the dot.com wipeouts and downsizing at places like A.P.W. Electronic Solutions and Sanmina, at Sun Microsystems and Fidelity.
Vince Pelliccia and Marty Bourque of Londonderry help coordinate the Nutfield Networking Group. Its 50 members, all of them unemployed, share job leads, rehearse interviews with each other, critique each other's resumes, and go to industry conferences together for moral support.
Their next meeting is March 5 at 7 p.m. in the Londonderry High School cafeteria, and they've invited some headhunters to grill people in mock interviews. Members will get feedback from pros who size up dozens of candidates a month.
"It's hard to improve without that," Bourque said. "This is a chance to find out on the spot what works and what doesn't. You'll come out of it much better prepared to interview."
It's better than learning by trial and error. The standard don't-call-us-we'll-call-you postcard arrives three weeks after the interview. The rejection letter, if it ever comes, tells nothing: Many qualified applicants....We had a difficult decision...We'll retain your resume on file...etc, etc., etc.
Thanks to Nutfield, Bourque revamped his entire job campaign.
"Before I was just responding to newspaper ads," he said. "That's a shotgun approach. Now I'm targeting companies I want to work for, finding contacts at those companies, introducing myself to them, and learning what I can add to their organization. The idea is to get inside. You have to become an active salesman. The product is you."
Until four months ago, Pelliccia ran a $25-million division of Tyco Electronics in Lowell called M/A-COM. It's in the depressed telecommunications industry. Three weeks ago they let another 120 people go.
Pelliccia had been steadily employed since age 15. A year ago the industry projected a 15- to 20-percent growth rate. Those numbers were wrong. "It was like getting hit by a truck," Bourque said. "I rebound well, though. Within a few days time I had started talking to friends and began a process of learning how to network, which is the only way to differentiate yourself in this current job market."
Ideally, someone you meet hands your resume to your future boss. A similar technique is called opportunity creation. You watch for change in your industry. That's what creates jobs.
"I read a press release from a company starting a commercial project," Pelliccia said. "From a cold call into the business leader, I got two interviews, and hopefully an offer. Nothing had been advertised. The position didn't even exist. The initiative I took hit a nerve with them."
According to Bourque, members share each other's successes and failures. The camaraderie partly replaces their lost colleagues.
"As your confidence rebounds, you build new friends," he said. "You have to go into this process willing to help. You also have to be very clear on how people can help you."
Pelliccia is holding up well since losing part of his old identity. "Fortunately, my finances are sound," he said. "My wife works full time. I'm determined to stay positive and make this a positive change in my life."
After 22 years in materials management with a firm in Lawrence, Bourque joined a startup dot.com. It went out of business. This is his first time out of work. He just used up his unemployment benefits.
He got a jump-start on his search from John Taylor, an outplacement consultant. Taylor gave a pair of free, half-day seminars for the Nutfield group. His firm, Outsource 2000, comes in when large companies downsize the way Fidelity did recently in Boston.
Taylor helps the axed employees recognize their skills and win precious interviews. David Sailor, a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments in Londonderry, taught Nutfield members how to roll over the retirement accounts.
Group members tell everyone about openings. If five or six people apply for the same slot, it's okay.
"I just let another gentleman know about a job I'm going after," Pelliccia said. "He may get it instead of me. If so, I was not the best person. At least one of us could find a job."
Pelliccia learned a lot about career changing from David Corbett of New Directions, a Boston outplacement firm. Corbett advises workers in mid-to-late-career to consider a "portfolio lifestyle."
A job by itself can't fulfill every need to help others.
Job seekers with a lot of life experience should strongly consider serving on nonprofit boards, mentoring younger people in their field, or volunteering for town commissions.
Pelliccia said that's a big part of the satisfaction he gets from Nutfield.
He said he can be reached at vpelliccia@prodigy.net or at his cell phone: 603-930-8234. Bourque can be reached at his cell: 617-515-8372. The group chats online at Yahoo! Groups : Nutfield_Networking home. That's where members leave job post openings for each other. Anyone can join up by emailing the group at:
Nutfield_Networking-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Reprinted with permission of The Derry News.

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New Hampshire Business Review, September 20^th, 2002

By Ron Bourque
Vol. 24, #20 September 20 - October 3, 2002

Network group gives meaning to finding work

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE

Talk about motivation, someone has to turn the lights off to get these people to leave at 9 p.m., and they’re not even getting paid! Where can you find people like that? The Nutfield Networking Group (nutfieldnetworking.com) in Londonderry. As we know, there is an awful lot of unemployment today. When companies close down or lose 50 percent or more of their revenue streams, good people, even stellar people, are affected too. I attended one of the group’s bimonthly sessions, and I was quite impressed with the people just at my table. There is an awful lot of talent available that is not being used, something our faltering economy simply cannot afford. What I found distressing were comments like, “I’ve only been out six months.” Only? I guess it’s a relative term, since many people have been out a year or more. Yes, they have families, mortgages, car payments, dental bills and all that, yet they still manage to be optimistic. I know it doesn’t make sense, but Nutfield Networking, and other groups like it, are about people helping people. People voluntarily do things for each other for free, even though many are in rather desperate situations. This includes coaching potential competitors on everything ‹ resume writing, interviewing skills, prospecting, fact sheets, differentiating yourself, elevator speeches, etc. People share their best strategies, what works for them. It’s like starving people sharing their bread with each other instead of hoarding it for themselves. It’s the sort of thing one might expect to see in a church gathering (they do meet at Londonderry Christian Church), not a business networking event. Of course, networking is supposed to be about helping each other, but savvy networkers tend to know what someone can do for them before offering help. This is different. It’s about helping people who may never be able to help you in return. If you’re really good at it, you might inadvertently help him or her get the job you really wanted.

Rising to the occasion

The group was started in December by Marty Bourque (a third cousin) and Vince Pelliccia. Vince Babich, Glenn Cad and Steve Walsh were early attendees and now act as quasi-board members to manage the group. Today they have 145 members. Everything is free, and nobody gets paid. Interestingly, Pelliccia now has a job working for Signal Technology Corp. in Beverly, Mass., but he still runs the group to help others. Marty Bourque has a temporary job helping to improve airport security. He couldn’t be at the meeting I attended, but he was still coordinating things behind the scenes to make sure everything went well. Why would “graduates,” as they’re called, come back to help after they’re employed? It’s “people helping people.” It’s easy to get hooked. Conversely, we hear that so many people who have jobs are dissatisfied with them. Those who are left after a layoff often have to do the work of those who have left plus their own. That term “24/7” can have a depressing ring to it. Giving up all your personal and family life for stockholders can produce a real emptiness after a while. It wasn’t always that way. I wonder if some of our unemployed networkers aren’t rediscovering some of the things that used to make work fun. Things like the satisfaction of helping others, working together, camaraderie, sharing successes and, yes, sharing failures too. Many of these fell away in our never-ending quest for results at all costs. Not only do we not get the results, but we discard our ability to produce such results. Ever been through a downsizing? Did you notice how everyone tries to look busy, tries to look indispensable? How many are trying to make people, other than themselves, look indispensable? When it’s every person for himself or herself, we lose something. If you think you might be in a position to hire, don’t just look for “qualified” people. Go to Nutfield Networking or a similar group and see if you can find a hero ‹ someone who tries to help others succeed instead of someone who just tries to get ahead. Someone who’s been out a long time may have formed some beneficial habits that will be tough to lose. It’s amazing how a hero or two can put the soul back into an organization, and that makes an incredible difference in performance. People will do for each other what they would never do just for shareholder value. NHBR

Ronald J. Bourque is a consultant and speaker from Windham. He has had engagements throughout the United States and in 12 countries in Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 898-1871; fax, 894-6539; e-mail, bourq@att.net; Web site, bourqueai.com.

Reprinted with permission of the New Hampshire Business Review and Ron Bourque.

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Nutfield Networking Group meeting scheduled 2/5/2002

The Nutfield Networking group, a follow on to the Job Search 101 workshops organized by Londonderry town councilor Mark Oswald in December and January, will hold its next meeting on Tuesday 2/5/2002 at the Londonderry High school cafeteria. The group will meet from 7:30 to 9:30pm. To date over 40 area residents have expressed interest in participating in the group. This month's meeting will feature David P. Sailor from the Edward Jones Investment firm, on the topic of managing 401k's and retirement goals. (see below)

John Taylor, SPHR from Outsourcing 2000, LLC who spoke at the groups last meeting, offered to provide a one day Career Assistance Program (at no cost to participants) to be held on Friday 2/1/02 at the Londonderry Leach Library, with 20 people scheduled to attend.

Career assistance is a benefit that some employers provide to their employees affected by a Reduction in Force (RIF). The goals of the program are to 1. To maintain or enhance participants self esteem through the identification and documentation of knowledge, skills, abilities and prior professional accomplishments. 2. Facilitation of a methodology that will result in a productive job search, (e.g. marketing strategies, resume development) and 3. Develop "Career Survival Skills" including networking and interviewing techniques that will not only benefit the participant today but also in the future.

The Nutfield Networking Group was established to promote networking among residents of Londonderry and surrounding communities. The Group meets on a biweekly basis using a combination of free form and structured networking. Regardless of your field of interest, Networking can help connect you with people and ideas beneficial to your job search and quality of life. Anyone interested in participating can join this group. The only requirement is that you bring ideas and a willingness to participate. The rest will be easy.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Nutfield Networking Group can do so by contacting Marty Bourque by email at martybourque@aol.com or Vincent Pelliccia at VPelliccia@prodigy.net

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Edward Jones Investment Representative to Speak Before the Nutfield Networking Organization on 2/5/2002

David P. Sailor, the Edward Jones Investment Representative in Londonderry, will be speaking before the Nutfield Networking Organization on "Company Plan Distribution Options" at 7:30 on February 5, 2002 at Londonderry High School.

The seminar is designed to help participants focus on their retirement goals, evaluate their options, review tax consequences and consider the potential benefits of an Individual Retirement Account.

Edward Jones, the only major financial-services firm advising Individual investors exclusively, traces its roots to 1871 and currently serves about 5 million clients. The firm offers its clients a variety of investments, including certificates of deposit, taxable and non-taxable bonds, stocks and mutual funds.

The largest firm in the nation in terms of branch offices, Edward Jones currently has more than 8,000 offices in the U.S. and, through its affiliates, in Canada and the United Kingdom. Plans call for expansion to 10,000 offices.

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