Career Transitions: The New Workplace Reality
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 8:30 am-noon
Penn State Abington - Lares Building | register
Registration fee must be paid prior to the event. No registrations will be accepted at the door. Fee: $20
Are you currently working in a position with income substantially below previous full-time employment? Unemployed? In a career transition?
Career Transitions: The New Workplace Reality can help with your individual career needs by providing you with helpful strategies to get to your personal career level.
The one-day conference will host a panel of HR and business professionals who will give their insights on resume techniques, networking and proven strategies to succeed during your current career reality.
Participate in concurrent break out sessions to learn:
1. How to get your resume noticed
Panelist: Thomas Brennan, '88 Sr Director, HR, Harron Entertainment Company, bio
Panelist: Karen Carli, Career Development, Penn State Abington, bio
2. Proactive Networking
Bob Sobocinski ’74, Bus Development Manager, John Crane, Inc, bio
Corie Gabriel `04, Private Client Group at Roosevelt Investments, bio
3. Strategies for Underemployment and unemployment
Entrepreneurship
Professional Certification
Going back to school for credit
Panelist: Lynda Williams ’84, Asst VP, Wells Fargo Bank, bio
Panelist: Clare T. Lawrence, Program Supervisor, PA CareerLink Montgomery County bio
Questions? Contact Kena Sears, 215-881-7388.
| Sponsored by Penn State Abington’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations, Office of Continuing Education, Montgomery County Workforce Investment Board and Pennsylvania CareerLink. | |
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Panelist Biographies
Thomas Brennan ’88, a Penn State graduate with a bachelor of science in Economics, has more than 20 years of extensive experience in human resources in the areas of organizational excellence, strategic planning, employee relations, recruiting and staffing, performance management, training and development, benefits, compensation and operations. Brennan was certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resource Certification Institute in May 2001. He also received a Certificate in Human Resources studies from Cornell University in November 2002. He is currently senior director of Human Resources for Harron Entertainment Company based in Frazer, PA, where he is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Human Resources. Brennan oversees of all the functions in support of over 700 employees at both the corporate location and field offices throughout the country.
Karen Carli has been providing career-related services to a wide range of clientele for the past 25 years. She has been assisting students and alumni in the Penn State Abington Career Development Center since 2003. Prior to joining Penn State, she was a self-employed Career Consultant. Karen offers her clients innovative and productive job search techniques. She has developed and presented many effective group training seminars related to career services. Her background includes professional resume writing. Examples of her work are published in two resume writing manuals.
Corie Gabriel `04 has run the Private Client Group at Roosevelt Investments, a boutique investment management firm in New York City, since 2008. Corie acts as a primary point of contact to the firm's individual investor clientele, responsible for all facets of client service. Prior to joining Roosevelt, Corie was a senior relationship manager at Fisher Investments. He was also formerly a financial advisor and retirement planning specialist at Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Securities, respectively. Corie earned a bachelor of science in Financial Services from Penn State. He currently resides in Hoboken, NJ with his wife and son.
Clare Lawrence has 20 years experience in Workforce Development serving in the PA Department of Labor and Industry’s Bureau of Unemployment Compensation and currently in the Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership (BWDP). For the past 10 years, Clare has managed staff and resources for BWDP at the PA CareerLink to serve individuals impacted by job loss. Clare has been instrumental in administering federal and state programs under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 with the goal of reemploying dislocated workers.
Bob Sobocinski ’74, a Penn State graduate with a bachelor of science in Business Logistics and an associate degree in Computer Systems, has more than 30 extensive years experience in sales, sales management and business development in the rotating machinery business. Bob is currently the business development manager of the Americas for John Crane, Inc., a multi-billion dollar world leader in highly technical mechanical seals and couplings for pumps and compressors. In his current position, he is responsible for identifying new business opportunities in North, Central and South America and applying or adding company resources to create a profitable cash stream for the parent company. Bob has been instrumental in leading his company to double digit sales growth over the last six challenging years through new product development and increasingly effective sales programs across diverse market sectors and North and Latin America countries.
Lynda Williams ’84, a Penn State graduate with a degree in management, went on to earn her master’s of science in management from Rosemont College in 2001. Lynda gained much of her experience working for her first employer, PNC bank, for 19 years where she was Assistant Vice President of Management Investment Operations. Her duties included managing the foreign currency processing unit, which consisted of foreign exchange trading and check clearing. Lynda has been working for her current employer, Wells Fargo Bank, for nine years, as assistant vice president in the Manager International Check Collection Department. Her job includes the management of the foreign check processing unit, the integration of system enhancing projects, and the reporting of weekly and monthly management practices. Lynda is currently in the dissertation phase of her Ph.D program at Capella University and is expected to graduate in mid-2012.