Job Connections Guides Job Seekers and Announces The 8th Annual Career and Leadership Summit

April 28, 2010 - PRLog -- Danville, CA April 28, 2010 - Holly Leighs is a project manager with a college degree, MBA, Project Management Certification (PMP) and more than 15 years of experience in the telecommunications and power industries. She has been diligently looking for work for more than 12 months and volunteering as well, but so far hasn’t been able to find a job.

Leighs still has hope, however, thanks to Job Connections (www.jobconnections.org), a Danville-based organization that empowers job seekers by providing award-winning coaching programs, networking opportunities with more than 3,200 members, job-search strategies, interviewing tips, daily job postings, tactics to leverage a LinkedIn profile and access to Success Teams. And, it’s free. Even though the State of California unemployment numbers are up to 12.6% and the East Bay has been hardest hit with new losses, Leigh knows many members, including her friend Wendi Niehuis, who got a great IT job at Rimini Street, did so by networking their way through this organization.

Job Connections meets every Saturday, year round, at 9 a.m. at the Community Presbyterian Church (CPC) in Danville. A nondenominational organization, Job Connections coaches job seekers on the most direct path to finding the hidden jobs and getting noticed by hiring managers. The hidden job market is said to account for over 80% of the openings in the Bay Area.

In existence for more than 8 years, Job Connections is led by Dean Tracy, a charismatic career coach and recruiter who has assisted hundreds of people find meaningful work. “Job seekers are not going to find a job sitting behind their computer each day. They need to take control of their search and get out and meet the people who will help them get their next job,” says Tracy.

Along with offering weekly three-hour training and networking sessions, where top tier career coaches donate their time to speak to members, Job Connections is sponsoring the 8th Annual Career and Leadership Summit, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 5, 2010, at CPC in Danville. Supported by Bay area companies that include the San Francisco Business Times, Chevron, Safeway and Comcast, the event is free and open to the public and is expected to draw 1,800 to 2,000 attendees seeking to network and enhance their professional and personal skills.

Keynote speakers for this half-day free event are nationally known, career and leadership experts Patrick Lencioni and Amilya Antonetti. Lencioni is founder of the management consulting firm The Table Group Inc. and author of eight books, including the critically acclaimed The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He will be speaking on “Finding Fulfillment in Work”. Antonetti, chairman and CEO of AMA Enterprises, a green business pioneer, author and founder of Amilya’s Soapworks, has been featured widely in the media, including on Oprah, Fox Strategy Room, and CBS Good Morning. She will speak about “The Recipe, How to Overcome Adversity and Lead Your Way to Success”.

Registration at http://www.jobconnections.org is required. Those interested in corporate sponsorships or volunteering should contact Dean Tracy at 925.552.7972 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              925.552.7972      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              925.552.7972      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

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About Job Connections
With more than 3,200 members, Job Connections is one of the largest private-sector, non-profit, support organizations for job seekers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sponsored by the Community Presbyterian Church of Danville and supported by volunteer speakers and Bay Area corporations, Job Connections hosts weekly Saturday job search presentations, an annual Career and Leadership Summit and a Yahoo Group which connects members on a daily basis with job leads, job search information and Success Teams. The Saturday job search presentations take place at 9 a.m. at 222 W. El Pintado Road, Danville. There is no fee, religious affiliation, or volunteer requirement associated