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Great News! 
 
PM Training for District 81 Kids – The last of the four workshops will be given tomorrow, afternoon.
 
This has been extremely exciting. The student participation has been excellent.
 
A sponsor meeting will be held with Yvonne Luman,  District 81 Schools on Friday, August 5th. Amongst other things, that will be discussed is the upcoming year. It is our hopes to have a more formal, structured class for next year’s participates. This may include having a few teachers attend!
 
PMP Prep Exam – October  5th has been set for the next PMP Prep class. For further information, please contact the VP of Education.
 
The orientation session have not been scheduled but it is never too early to work on the acceptance application.
 
Professional Day – This group has been busy as well. The theme they have selected is Agile. Look for more detail to follow, soon...
 
Mentor Program – Are you the right volunteer to head up this program?  If so, please contact the VP of Education.
 
Library/Book Program – An update will be posted, soon. 

We are pleased to announce that Jim Keesee has successfully completed all requirements and testing set by the Project Management Institute to qualify for his PMP (Project Management Professional) Certification on July 27, 2011.

Congratulations, Jim!

There are many projects in progress... and there is still plenty to do so if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Vicki Behar.
 
 PM Training for District 81 Kids
 
The goal of this project is to provide fundamental project management skills to District 81 vocational students.  Tomorrow, we will be delivering our second workshop to the students.  This workshop will cover common language and project management basics as well as provide a brain storming exercise involving the students interactively.  The Chapter will be presenting a total of four workshops, this year.
 
The long-term goal is to build a sustainable program.  Once the workshops have been delivered, the volunteers will be reviewing education material provided through the PMI Educational Foundation.  It is our hope that this material can be incorporated into the Blackboard software used by District 81 for next year's program.
 
Professional Development Day
 
The initial planning meeting is set for July 8th.  This is a very talented group and I am sure there will be more to share after their initial meetings... stay tuned!
 
PMP Prep Class
 
Melody and Melia are working like detectives to uncover the changes that will be made to the exam so that our materials can be updated and our next Prep class can be scheduled.
 
They have ordered two books -- newer versions of the Rita Mulcahy books -- and will be examining these books for clues.  They will be attending a webinar presented by Erica Flores, San Diego Chapter regarding the changes.  The webinar will be held on July 8th.
 
What they do know is that approximately 30% of the test will be changed.  The PMBOK will not be updated until next year.  They believe the changes mostly affect the Professional Responsibility section of the PMBOK.
 
Books/Library
 
This team of one - Richard Kearnes - has contacted the Liberty Lake Library.  The librarian indicated that the other library systems will probably have similar policies.  Richard will confirm this by speaking to Spokane County and City library systems in the next few weeks.
 
In the meantime, Richard would like your help in identifying three to four good PM books that you think would be of most use to library patrons. So don't be surprised if you receive a survey, soon!  He will be interested in what you own in your home libraries; what you believe is a good read; and what suggestions you might have for this endeavor.
 
Mentor Program
 
This program still needs a champion... are you the right person to build a mentor program for the Chapter?
 

Do you need an easy way to maintain your certification without traveling or incurring additional expense?

For the next three months, Gantthead has opened up a series of webinars normally reserved for their premium membership holders to anyone who is willing to register on their site.  Registration is free.

Their hope is that they by offering this service to you that you will catch up on PDU requirements, and later decide to join as a premium member to earn new PDUs on a regular basis. HOWEVER, you do not have to do so and the local Chapter is not endorsing Gantthead but merely letting you know the opportunity is out there.

So please pass this along to everyone who may be interested. It is a way to boost your career knowledge. Also, it’s a great opportunity and it costs nothing!

PS "Thank you" shout out to Richard Kearnes, PMP - Chapter member for sharing this information with us! 

PMI is Supporting Important Developments in Project Management by Launching the Agile Certification

Who Should Pursue the PMI Agile Certification?
Practitioners who are using Agile practices in their projects, or whose organizations are adopting Agile approaches to project management, are good candidates for the PMI Agile Certification. By earning the Agile certification, practitioners can:

• Demonstrate to employers their level of professionalism in Agile practices of project management
• Increase their professional versatility in both project management tools and techniques
• Show they have the capacity to lead basic Agile project teams by holding a certification that is more credible than existing training-only or exam-only based offerings

• May 2011 – Candidates for the Agile certification will be able to submit an application for the pilot. 
• August 2011 – Pilot testing is scheduled to begin.

North America/Latin America at customercare@pmi.org

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

6:00 - 7:30 pm

DOWNTOWN LIBRARY

906 West Main Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201
(corner Lincoln St. and Main Ave.)

We will be in the Board Room which is located on the third floor on the southeast corner of the building.

Parking is available under the library for $.75 per half-hour for the first two half-hours and $1.00 per half-hour after that with a daily maximum of $8.00. For alternative parking options, look at this downtown Spokane parking map.

WorkSource is a partnership of government, education, and community organizations that offers a unique resource for businesses and job seekers dedicated to supporting Washington State’s employment needs.

WorkSource started offering free Microsoft E-Learning access to training on Office and other products. The Chapter did announce these courses were available but has no idea of who took advantage of the opportunity.  If you did sign up for this, WorkSource would like to know how the training went. Participating in this survey is voluntary and your responses will remain anonymous.

Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=KN7XzeqiJ8HXvrHsebW1Kw_3d_3d

Your data will be used to determine where and how WorkSource needs to improve WorkSource training. I hope you will take a few minutes to give your open and candid responses.

If you have any questions about this survey please contact WorkSource: (888) 346-3807.

The Chapter is in process of setting up an Education Committee. This committee will be reviewing our current materials used during our PMP Prep Exam courses. This material will be adjusted accordingly for future exam prep courses.

• No matter what the circumstances, getting laid off is horrible.
  • Launching a job-hunting campaign is difficult, exhausting and can be costly
  • Always radiate a cool, calm compsure -- don't look desperate
• Be realistic and set achievable goals
  • Set achievable but flexiable goals
  • Great qualifications and hard work pay off in the end
• Avoid the hard sell
  • Just as consumers are put off by pushing, in-your-face sales reps... so are potential new employees
  • Don't EXCLAIM just EXPLAIN
• Work your Network
  • Local PMI Chapter
  • Church
  • Electronic Networks (Facebook, etc.)
  • Contacts from past projects
• Give yourself time
  • Be patient - it will take time to find a job
  • Be ready to compromised but don't do so too early
• Do it yourself
  • Some coaches are worth it but some are not!
  • Coaches can be costly
  • Go it alone, at first!
• Sell your most marketable skill
  • Most companies are looking for people with demonstrated skills and experiences
• Learn from experience
  • Self blame and doubt get you no where -- remember, you are not alone!  Times are tough.
• Remain positive
  • Expect rejections cranky receptionists, etc. you must stay positive and prove yourself at all levels to your foot in the door!