Last week, we held our third annual Career Day at Richard R. Green High School of Teaching. Career Day is an afternoon when professionals from across the city come to the school to speak with our students in small classroom settings about their career paths and industries. The big idea, of course, is to expose our students to careers they may never have even heard of through a compelling personal connection, in hopes of inspiring them to pursue whatever it is that they really love and are excited about during and after college. What’s unique about this event is that every single one of our 550 students, regardless of academic standing or self-motivation, gets to participate.

Given that many of our students have had limited exposure to different careers and have faced challenges and stifled opportunities throughout their education, Career Day has the potential to be a truly transformational moment in their lives, opening them up to a future they simply could not have imagined before.

Career Day is my favorite project, and each year I try to come up with ways to make the event more meaningful and engaging for students. It has grown tremendously from 19 speakers in the first year to 48 speakers this year.

Additionally, we added a Career Fair, in which Amanda Augustine, job search expert for TheLadders, spoke with students about their individual passions and dream jobs. At the fair, students had the chance to speak with representatives from a variety of professions, including the military (Navy and Marines) and AmeriCorps (Vista, NCCC and CityYear), as well as non-profits that offer internships to high school students.

The speaker series featured professionals from non-profits (including Russell Simmons charities), magazine journalism (the editor and art director from US Weekly magazine), graphic design, product design, music entertainment, system design, cinematography, social media, law, nursing, fitness, software engineering, architecture, broadcasting (Terrence McKnight from NPR & WQXR), finance, healthcare management, and education. A week later, students are still talking about the speakers they met and spoke with at Career Day. In high school time, that’s an eternity!

To learn more about Career Day, or to volunteer next year, please visit the website at wix.com/rkessous/rrgcareerday.

Rachel Kessous has been a public school teacher in NYC for 9 years. In addition to being a teacher, Rachel is also the Director of the Liberal Arts Academy, where she coordinates career preparedness programming for students and mentoring programs focused around finding students passions and preparing for college.

I first discovered TheLadders through my participation with StreetWise Partners, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income individuals overcome employment barriers and obtain better jobs. When I began my career, I was working 40-hour work weeks in a customer service position that didn’t utilize my skills or compensate me properly. I then took a position in accounting, which, due to circumstances beyond my control, led me to doubt my capabilities in the workforce.

After that experience, I turned to StreetWise Partners, a bit scarred and needing to rebuild my natural confidence. With hard work and commitment, I made it through the program with aspirations of finding a job that would suit me and support my intentions of continuing my college education. My resume was already adequate but definitely needed an update to combat this ailing job market.

At the Career Boot Camp, hosted by StreetWise Partners and TheLadders in June 2012, I was lucky enough to win a resume rewrite, which I used immediately. To my extreme delight, my rewritten resume was a perfect representation of my career history and potential. Beaming with confidence and acceptance of change, I left my customer service position and decided to hit the ground running for my bright future. Within two weeks of leaving that position, I was able to acquire a temp-to-perm office coordinator role with Success Academy Charter Schools.

This was made possible by my burning drive for accomplishment, a great phone interview, an amazing resume and a glowing cover letter (that I can also thank TheLadders for). Just two weeks into my new job, I was offered a permanent position. TheLadders gave a woman with so much promise an extra boost in the game of life.

- Octavia Thompson

A few years ago, a former employee from TheLadders met Orlando Ashford, a Board of Directors member from StreetWise Partners, the wonderful New York-based organization that provides job-skills training and career mentoring for job candidates facing employment barriers. They quickly discovered that TheLadders shared StreetWise Partners’ vision of helping individuals improve their lives by taking proactive steps for obtaining better jobs. In December 2011, TheLadders’ Founder & Chairman Marc Cenedella, along with CEO & Co-founder, Alex Douzet, announced StreetWise Partners as the official non-profit of their company. For more than a year, the partnership has continued to soar.

Last fall, StreetWise Partners helped announce that TheLadders had expanded to the sub-100K+ arena, enabling the online job-matching service to help all career-driven professionals, including StreetWise Partners’ motivated job candidates. However, the full partnership really bloomed in a conference room in December 2011, when a small team of StreetWise Partners and TheLadders employees quickly hashed out goals, and began planning our first live training seminar.

With 2013 on the horizon, we can reflect on a year’s worth of fantastic workshops and events, and we are more thankful than ever for this mutually rewarding partnership. Commemorating their inaugural year together, StreetWise Partners’ Executive Director, Tracey Allard, and TheLadders’ Director of Account Management, Thomas Murphy, share their most memorable highlights during a brief Q & A.

1.     Why do you think that the partnership between StreetWise Partners and TheLadders is such a good match, benefitting so many job seekers?

Tracey Allard, StreetWise Partners: This partnership is a perfect alignment of the mission of StreetWise Partners and the business purpose of TheLadders. Together, we arm jobseekers with the tools, know-how, access, and resources to build their careers. For StreetWise Partners, the talents and expertise of TheLadders’ staff add value in the form of current career best practices, effective coaching techniques, and results-oriented, job-search strategies. The outcomes include a strengthened program curriculum and better-prepared mentors to help our trainees achieve short-, mid- and long-term goals and ultimately, to break the cycle of poverty and get on a path to economic self-sufficiency.

Thomas Murphy, TheLadders: I think the main driver of our success has been what we at TheLadders call “the right DNA.” Like any fast-moving tech company, our employees have to wear many hats. Whereas this may seem daunting to most, we embrace every challenge as an opportunity, from building a new website to creating a training program for StreetWise Partners in under 60 days. From day one, I knew that Tracey and her team had an identical attitude. Referring to the StreetWise Partners team as lean would be an understatement, as their reach makes them appear 10 times larger.   To be frank, we knew all along we would be successful since we have a group of people fully dedicated to one goal of using their expertise to help others arm themselves with the skills needed for finding their next job.

2.     In addition to celebrating the one-year anniversary of your partnership, StreetWise Partners is celebrating its 15-year anniversary and TheLadders will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2013. How does it feel to be a pioneer in your industry, especially as your efforts benefits so many job seekers?

TA: Since 1997, StreetWise Partners has delivered a deeply impactful, unique, and highly reputable career-mentoring program. Its efforts leverage and enrich the experiences of a diverse network of business professionals, models corporate-engagement best practices, and equips trainees with the skills, confidence, and strategies needed to achieve their career potential, break the cycle of poverty, and get on a path to economic self-sufficiency. The new year ahead marks a momentous time for us. After fifteen years of program delivery, we are poised to mature our programs, deepen our impact, and grow strategically. With the combined experience and expertise of a dedicated staff, the commitment of our Board of Directors, and support from high-impact corporate partners such as TheLadders, we can look forward to another 15 years of transforming lives!

TM: Searching for a job, at any income level, can be overwhelming and uncomfortable. For me, being part of a team which has helped countless, self-motivated job seekers find pride in their next career is truly humbling. Over my three-year tenure at TheLadders, especially during this last year partnering with StreetWise Partners, I was impressed by the unwavering commitment of our teams to stay at the forefront of information and training. Anyone who has participated in our partnership with StreetWise Partners knows that none of our information and support would be possible without Amanda Augustine. She has leveraged her role as Job Search Expert for TheLadders’ more than 5 million job seekers and ensured that her bespoke advice and support can be repurposed specifically for the StreetWise Partners’ trainees.

3.     Over the past year, what is your favorite memory in working together?

TA: Our first Career Bootcamp in February 2012 was an eye-opening experience for me. I know that TheLadders’ staff is a talented bunch, but this inaugural half-day workshop illuminated the extent to which TheLadders’ team brings their “A-game” each and every time. The level of professionalism, content expertise, generosity, and enthusiasm that staff demonstrated was incredible!

TM: I cannot pick just one. Of course, creating and implementing our first onsite training in under eight weeks was an amazing feeling of pride and success. Both teams agreed to a lofty goal and, together, worked hard, knowing that our efforts would pay dividends to the larger community. However, there is a consistent feeling that makes every event special to me, especially when considering the way we have grown. Through the dedication and leadership of The Ladders’ Manager of Talent Specialists Christina Kane and Director of Sales Lou Ciniglia, every new volunteer always return for future events. There is something to be said about the programs and a community we create that makes our teams come back for more!

4.     What traits do you think that Tom/Tracey possess that make him/her so effective at motivating others?

TA: Tom is a thoughtful doer and a natural leader. In spite of what I know must be incredibly busy days with his own work at TheLadders, he contributes meaningfully — and as promised — to every collaborative planning session, workshop design, implementation, and follow up. Tom models an exceptional level of civic leadership that enables StreetWise Partners to thrive as a result of this partnership.

TM: Inevitably, no matter how hard everyone has worked and prepped for one of our events, there will be that last-minute stress. It’s during those times that Tracey’s motivation truly shines through; she is always calm and thoughtful in those moments. She successfully listens to everyone’s concerns and helps guide the teams forward. On a personal level, I have never met someone so established in her profession, yet so open to others’ ideas and feedback. Every time Tracey asks “tell me what you think,” I am reminded and motivated to insist that my own mentors and peers help me perform my job better through their honest and helpful feedback.

Want to see TheLadders and StreetWise Partners in action? Come join us on January 10^th for Job Central, an unusual and trailblazing event, hosted at Grand Central in midtown Manhattan. The best employers, recruiters, and career experts in the New York metro area will come together to conduct a free, comprehensive job-search experience for professionals looking to make their next career move. See you there!

Lisa Hagendorf is the Vice President of Public Relations for TheLadders where she is a huge ambassador of the brand in the office. At the gym. And on the street. She just can’t stop talking about TheLadders. Ever.

Ah yes, the legendary Ron Burgundy. Will Ferrel’s famous news hound from the movie Anchorman is quite the character. Not only for his perfect hair and sharp wit, but also for his mustache. Have you seen that thing? I want to be friends with it.

There are plenty of famous people and characters who are hirsute on the upper lip, but Burgundy is one of my favorites. Here at TheLadders, we may not hold a candle to most of them, but some of us are trying during November.

It’s all for Movember, which raises awareness and funds to fight prostate and testicular cancer. Basically, men grow a mustache for the month of November. In my experience, it usually prompts this exchange from friends, coworkers and relatives:

Them: “What’s going on with your face?”
Me: “Do you like it?”
Them: “God, no. You look like you belong on To Catch a Predator.”
Me: “Well, it’s for Movember. I’m raising money to fight man-cancer. You should donate.”
Them: “Oh. I’ll give you money because that’s a good cause. But you still look creepy.”

That’s the sacrifice we men make during Movember. And it’s been a huge success. Since its inception in Australia in 2003, Movember has raised $126 million to support charitable organizations such as LIVESTRONG and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

You can help TheLadders Movember team fight cancer. Donate on our MoLadder Team Page.

Together, we can wipe out cancer once and for all. And then I’ll never grow a mustache again, I promise.

William Beard is the Associate Creative Director of Copy for TheLadders. He appreciates the irony of someone with the last name “Beard” growing a mustache. This is his current “Mo.” Needless to say, his social life is on hold this month.

When baked goods are in the office, it’s a guarantee that I’ll be close by! You can count on me to make some, eat many, and finish whatever my co-workers cannot. So when TheLadders organized a bake sale to benefit City Harvest, I signed up to help organize the event.

City Harvest is an organization that exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City. They distribute food to many food programs and educate individuals, families, and communities on the prevention of diet-related disease. Due to Hurricane Sandy, our baking and eating efforts were delayed by two weeks. Still when the day came, I arrived with my strawberry cheesecake, an insatiable appetite, and most importantly, my equally hungry and generous colleagues. We devoured cupcakes of all sorts – Red Velvet, Guinness, and Pumpkin Spice. There was also an assortment of cookies, pumpkin bread, cream puffs, and pumpkin pie!

As a company, we raised $358 for City Harvest. To top it off, TheLadders will make a matching contribution to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, along with all of our individual contributions, to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Who ever said that a sweet tooth would only lead to cavities and a few extra pounds?

Mary Frances Usher is a Lead Talent Specialist at TheLadders.  When she isn’t sourcing top talent for recruiters on site and organizing food related events in the office, Mary can be found eating cupcakes, candy, cake, and Chipotle.  

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been two weeks since I reported on Hurricane Sandy’s impact to TheLadders office in downtown Manhattan. Since then, we’ve relatively returned to business as usual, but we fully realize that many people and businesses are still suffering from Sandy’s devastation.

I feel a deep sense of compassion for the loss of homes and, most tragically, lives. As a business owner and entrepreneur, I am empathetic for other business owners who have experienced damage from the storm.

I thought long and hard about what our company could possibly do to help with hurricane-relief efforts. We are an online job-matching service for career-driven professionals – how can we leverage our expertise to best assist job seekers affected by the hurricane? After some discussion with my talented and supportive team, we came up with the following plan:

• Donate $300,000 worth of Premium job-search services to those impacted by the hurricane
• Donate $10,000 to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts for those who have been heavily impacted and cannot take advantage of the above benefits
• Support our neighborhood restaurants that were affected by the hurricane by fueling TheLadders’ hard-working employees with free lunch until Thanksgiving

Hurricane Sandy left a path of destruction in its wake, impacting Americans all along the East Coast. The responsibility of rebuilding and helping those in need is one that is shared among everyone. Skip your morning coffee and donate to the American Red Cross. Clean out your closet and put a pile of clothes together for those who have lost everything. Volunteer to distribute emergency-relief supplies to affected families. If everyone chips in, just a little bit, we can rebuild together.

Alex Douzet is CEO and Co-Founder of TheLadders. In this role, Alex is responsible for the company strategy, global business operations, and product development.

For a Monday morning, I had never been more excited to get to the office than on November 5^th. TheLadders had been closed for nine days without electricity because of the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and our 150 employees had been working remotely – from home, friends’ homes, Starbucks and libraries. Although our office finally had electricity, phone and Internet restored, we sat at our computers bundled up in coats, hats and scarves, still without heat. However, our inconvenience was minimal compared to the loss for so many others, and we were simply grateful that we all were safe and sound.

On that first day back at work, we received an encouraging email from our COO and Co-founder, Alex Douzet:

We will be catering lunch every day until Thanksgiving so that you do not have to run outside in the cold. Here is our tentative menu for the next 13 days:                          

• Monday, November 5: Little Italy Pizza & Deli
• Tuesday, November 6: Subway
• Wednesday, November 7: Chipotle
• Thursday, November 8^: Grand Sichuan
• Friday, November 9: Nagomi
• Monday, November 12: Getting Hungry
• Tuesday, November 13^: Five Guys Burgers & Fries
• Wednesday, November 14^: Ellen’s Deli & Grocery
• Thursday, November 15^: Bricklane Curry House
• Friday, November 16^: P.J. Charlton’s
• Monday, November 19^: Thanksgiving Potluck
• Tuesday, November 20^: Mae Mae Café
• Wednesday, November 21^: Sounds of Brazil

Besides the obvious convenience and cost savings, I discovered that it was also a phenomenal opportunity to patronize Hudson Square’s restaurants, many of which were crippled by Sandy. The response of gratitude has been overwhelming:

From Liz Neumark, CEO of Great Performances, which owns Mae Mae Café:

I salute you on your efforts…we would love nothing more than to provide nurturing and delicious meals for your colleagues.

From Phil Mouquinho, Chef and owner of PJ Charlton:

Thank you so much. I must say that in my 32 years here at PJ Charlton I never completed a lunch deal for 110 people so quickly and so effortlessly. Kudos and many thanks to your organization. Now let me show you on Friday how to bring a smile to 110 hungry folks.

From Diana Urena, Events & Group Sales Director of Sounds of Brazil (SOB’s):

Thank you so much for thinking of us. We would love to bring some SOB’s Holiday cheer to your office!

Who knew that we could do so much for the local community by ordering lunch for our 100+ staff from local businesses daily for three weeks? Free meals for us…and the ability to get a dozen restaurants back to business!

Lisa Hagendorf is the Vice President of Public Relations for TheLadders where she is a huge ambassador of the brand in the office. At the gym. And on the street. She just can’t stop talking about TheLadders. Ever.

As Alex Douzet, COO & co-founder of TheLadders, shared with all of our job seekers last week, our headquarters is located in lower Manhattan, which was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Without power, the office was shut down for 10 days. That said, TheLadders did not falter once!  Besides our site being fully operational for our Job Seekers, we also reached our highest number of jobs on our site EVER – more than 235,000!

In addition, our Job Search Support Team set up remote offices — at home, friends’ houses, Starbucks, or local libraries — to help support our members. In fact, preparation started even before the hurricane; we went old school and compiled a phone tree, just in case there were critical updates and customer service reps couldn’t access their email. Even with the office closed on Monday, the team hit the ground running that morning. TheLadders’ Job Search Support Team began responding to our members’ emails at our normal 9 a.m. start time on Monday, October 29. Because Mondays are one of the highest-volume days, we wanted to make sure we were ready for our Job Seekers’ questions.

By noon on Monday, we had updated our Voicemail, and Help and FAQ sections on TheLadders.com, to provide our Job Seekers with timely instructions for getting support during the hurricane. By Friday, we were up-and-running on Chat and providing live support to our Job Seekers, even though we were all still working from our make-shift offices.

We believe our support plan worked for four reasons:

1. It clearly and quickly answered the most frequently asked questions from job seekers;
2. The message was consistent across all channels: FAQ, Help, Facebook, Twitter and emails;
3. There was consistent internal communication, which allowed us to update our members in real time;
4. Last, but definitely not least, we have amazingly supportive members!

The Job Search Support team would like to say THANK YOU for all of your kind words, prayers, and patience with us last week. We were thrilled to re-open our office on Monday morning and look forward to speaking, emailing, and chatting with more of you throughout the week!

Christina Kane is the Manager of Talent Specialists and our Job Search Support Center at TheLadders. Outside of work she is preparing for her Fantasy Football draft, raving about her adorable Godson and attending A LOT of weddings.

Our New York offices are located in a neighborhood just west of SoHo, recently deemed Hudson Square. We’re lucky enough here to have a great group called the Hudson Square Connection that hosts local get-togethers for those who work and live in the area. I’ve really enjoyed attending their events with coworkers and getting to know some of the people I pass on the street to and from work every day.

The Hudson Square Connection team even created a special rewards program, the Connection Card just for locals offering discounts at nearby businesses. TheLadders is partnering to offer a free 3-month Premium membership to our neighbors as a way to help them get to know our business better. For TheLadders, this is a great opportunity to establish and grow relationships with our neighbors. For attendees like me, this is a great way to save some cash at local restaurants and meet other professionals in the area.

As business, it’s smart to make friends with your neighbors. As a professional, it’s even smarter. Here are some simple ways you can build connections in your community.

Say hello to familiar faces

You see the same people on the street, in your lobby, in the parking lot or on the train every day. If you see them often enough to recognize them, odds are they recognize you, too. Why not introduce yourself in those quiet moments on the train or waiting for the elevator. After all, it’s called an elevator pitch for a reason.

Attend local events

Don’t limit events to just meeting people in your industry or function. You never know what connections your neighbors near your office or home may have. For extra credit, go a step further and see how you can help your community through volunteering. That way, you’re not just meeting new people—you’re also showing them your skills and work ethic while building your resume.

Ask your friends

One of the best ways to connect with people in your neighborhood is through the people you already know. See if you can join local friends when they go out with their coworkers for lunch. Reach out to non-nearby friends to see if they know anyone in your area that might be interested in meeting up for a coffee. This is especially helpful if you’ve just moved to a new area and don’t know many people yet. You might find a great new industry contact, possible job opportunity, or just a new coffee buddy.

Kate Addicott is lead copywriter & voice behind @TheLadders. When not tweeting, Kate creates content to engage members and attract new ones. (At exactly 140 characters, the preceding bio is Twitter-ready.)

“Employ Humanity.” It’s not just a phrase we throw around. It’s painted and posted on the walls in TheLadders’ SoHo offices. It’s a philosophy that lives in our genetic makeup. It’s why we do what we do. And this weekend, more than a dozen volunteers lived that philosophy at our first ever Career Boot Camp event hosted by StreetWise Partners.

StreetWise Partners provides job-skills training and career mentoring for highly-motivated candidates facing multiple employment barriers. Seventy StreetWise mentors and trainees took part in a half-day event, which supported talent and economic growth in New York City. TheLadders best-in-class job matching service and content is a perfect fit for StreetWise and their mission! The day kicked off with a panel presentation comprised of TheLadders executives Alex Douzet and Ware Sykes, and StreetWise board members Orlando Ashford and Singleton Beato. After the panel, career advisors and resume writers from TheLadders conducted workshops for StreetWise participants on personal branding, effective networking and job applications.

We’re looking forward to more events with StreetWise and continuing this important and inspiring partnership. We’re also especially proud to support StreetWise and their ongoing mission. Together, we hope to one day “Employ Humanity.”

You can learn more about StreetWise Partners and TheLadders here.

Lou Ciniglia is the Enterprise Sales Manager at TheLadders.com. He has seven years of experience in recruitment services. His wife is a recruiter. His friends are recruiters. He talks to recruiters all day, every day. Lou loves recruitment.