TRAINING VIDEO REVIEW
By Susan Zemelman

"Winning at Job Hunting"

Mel Schnapper, Ph.D. Successful Job Hunting, Inc.

TRAINING TODAY Chicagoland Chapter American Society for Training & Development 6/91

With a recession in full force, job hunters in every field, including training, are looking for new techniques to beat the odds. Mel Schnapper, a Chicago based career counselor, and member of CCASTD, has created a video outlining his "total job hunting system", a system he feels is so effective that he actually "guarantees his contractual clients will find the job of their choice for which they are qualified."

The video and its accompanying booklet outline Schnapper's system, beginning with creating an "Accomplishment Form," developing a resume, networking, writing job letters, interviewing, and negotiating salary. None of these topical areas are unique to the jobhunting scene, but some of Schnapper's advice isl

The Accomplishment Form, the heart of this system, is a paper and pencil exercise which generates information for the resume, the "sales" (not "cover") letter and the job interview. In brief, it consists of generating a minimum of 30-40 accomplishments ("So tell me what can you do?") along with the skills used, ("How did you do it?") and the results achieved ("Of what benefit was this to the employer?"), Schnapper presses for terse accomplishment statements (10 words or less), with results/outcome statements that use both quantitative and qualitative measures.

The final part of the accomplishment form asks the writer to give one reason why he/she is proud of the accomplishment ("What turned you on about the ' a kind of work you do?). The "source of pride" piece is an important part of the system because it engenders feelings of self-esteem and empowerment in the individual -feelings that frequently get undermined during a frustrating job search.
Schnapper encourages his  audiences to draw upon both professional and personal accomplishments. One personal accomplishment example in the booklet accompanying the video deals with planning a wedding.

Other words of wisdom:

On Networking:

- Don't just attend meetings, assume a leadership role in organizations.
-When you network at a meeting, approach the oldest people first, with the assumption that they are the most experienced in the field.

On Letters:

-It's not a "cover" letter, it's a "sales"" letter. Make sure to address employer's problem, or need and present yourself as the solution.

On Interviewing.

- Every question and answer should be driven by an employer benefit.

On Negotiating Salary.

-Whoever talks about salary first, loses.
 
 

The one-hour video avoids monotony by alternating between Schnapper in different settings: talking to the video audience (in a rather deadpan style); being interviewed by Robert Chesney of "Window on Wall Street"; and finally working with members of the "Over 40" club. This last scenario is quite interesting in that Viewers actually see real people struggling to articulate their accomplishments, role playing telephone calls, and dealing with "sticky" interview questions.
 

Although the Video sometimes smacks of an advertisement for Mr. Schnapper and his services, it still offers practical, useful advice for the job hunter. So whether you are amongst the unemployed or the "unhappily or nervously employed," (80 percent of Schnapper's clients), this video may give you some new ideas in pursuing your job search. m