Thursday, June 26, 2008

A letter from Chicago Mayor Hon. Richard M. Daley

Yesterday I received a surprise letter by mail: my photo with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley... autographed with best wishes! It is really a great feeling to be called "Honorable Tatiana Sorokina" and get a recognition of all my efforts!

The photo has an interesting story: end of May I was lucky to be invited to the Asian-American Leaders Reception hosted my the Mayor. He gave a passionated speech about how Chicago is the best city for immigrants. The Mayor was very excited that Chicago has always been a very welcoming city for immigrants and he seemed to be very proud that, according to him, in early 1930s "no one in Chicago spoke English!" Well, at least that's what he believes in. It felt like the Mayor is really doing his best to create a good atmosphere for all newcomers.

At the end of the reception I got second time lucky as I was offered to be photographed with the Mayor to commemorate the occasion. I new I would get the photo from the press office but I didn't hope to get it autographed in such a nice way!

I guess the Mayor really enjoyed and appreciated my book, "The Legal Alien's Guide", which I presented to him. In a letter I received earlier he wrote that it was "very thoughtful of me" to create such a Guide and present it to him. On my side, I really appreciate that Chicago Mayor appreciates what I am doing for Chicago and its residents.

You can see the infamous photo on my website http://www.legalaliensguide.com/ (where else would it be? :-)

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Russian Women Magazine

Among tons of information for immigrants with Hispanic and Asian background I finally found a great resource for my countrymen - everyone who speaks Russian and lives in the U.S., especially women. It is called Russian Women Magazine http://www.russianwomenmagazine.com/ This website is non-for-profit and has 4 objectives:
1. Exchange of information among Russian women who live abroad
2. Communication
3. Self-expression
4. Sharing of experience
The editor and producer, Olga Sapp, is a Russian herself living in USA. She says that her goal is "to help women to find themselves in a changing world". The Russian version of the site now has 600 pages full of advice and useful information.

The English version of the site was created for American men who either want to help their current Russian wife or are looking for a Russian wife.

I hope everyone can find something useful for oneself on this wonderful website.

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com

Thursday, June 19, 2008

"Healthy" networking

My friend is organizing a fantastic event tomorrow (well, all her events are great but this one is really special): you will learn tips about healthy lifestyle, see fitness demonstration and have FREE healthy lunch. This is also a unique opportunity to network with variety of business professional in downtonw Chicago. You don't need to RSVP, just show up!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Access to the Boys Club - career related event for women

Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting is a "national, non-for-profit professional association that creates opportunities, adds value, and builds relationships for its members, the community and its business partners while expanding Latino Leadership in the global workforce". ALPFA organizes various interesting events and here is information about one of them:

Access to the Boys Club

Come join other female professionals at this year's Women of ALPFA events as we explore traditional male characteristics that women can use to advance their careers. The night will consist of intimate table discussions revolving around topics such as taking risks, emphasizing your achievements, and communicating effectively in a male dominated environment.

Date
June 19, 2008 (Thursday)
Time
06:00 P - 09:30 P
Location
University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe Street Chicago IL 60613
Cost
Professional Member
$45.00
Professional Non-Member
$60.00
Student Member
$20.00
Student Non- Member
$30.00

Attire
Business Professional

For tickets and more information go to http://www.myalpfachicago.org/content/pe_woa.php
Contact
info@chicago.alpfa.org

If you don't manage to get to this events check their calendar, this organization is definitely worth keeping in mind even if you are not from Latino background.

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com/

Friday, June 13, 2008

Resume services and future seminars

Yesterday I conducted another exciting seminar with a colleague of mine, Charlotte Weeks from Weeks Resume Service http://www.weeksresumeservice.com/ If you are looking for a job in Chicagoland she is a great resource for you. She is a Human Resources professional with experience writing achievement based resumes and targeted cover letters for a variety of fields.
She has experience "on the other side", i. e. she knows exactly what recruiters are looking for.

In addition Charlotte is just a very nice and compassionate person and has excellent "people" skills. Her rates are very reasonable too.

Finally, Charlotte is also a person who has a passion for helping others: she is doing it not only through her resume services but also through donating 10% of her proceeds to charity (United Way).

Her website is definitely worth checking out next time you are applying for a job.

We will continue to organize seminars together with Charlotte on the topics of networking + resume writing. Stay tuned for the up-coming dates! If you want to receive information about the up-coming dates of our seminars via e-mail, please send me a message via "Contact us form" http://www.legalaliensguide.com/contactus and I will add you to my distribution list.

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com

Monday, June 9, 2008

Federal Government is hiring

I have recently read an interesting article in one of the career-related newsletters I receive. The job market may be tight in some places, but the federal government, is recruiting new employees. Two million people work for the federal government, and many are baby boomers. As baby boomers retire, federal jobs open up and are becoming available to new job seekers.

By the year 2013, the federal government expects that 40 percent of its workforce will retire, leaving 800,000 jobs to be filled. The federal government has a broad range of opportunities for job seekers of any discipline, from biology to engineering. The official Web site for federal employment is .http://www.usajobs.gov/ More than 100,000 jobs are currently listedwith salaries between $48,000 and $69,000 per year.

Good luck working for Uncle Sam! :-)

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com/

Thursday, June 5, 2008

June FREE networking opportunities

June will be a great month for FREE networking opportunities:

EURO 2008 - EUROPEAN SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 IN SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA will kick off on June 7. Swiss-American Business Council, Goethe Institute and Austrian Consulate General in Chicago will be organize events around several games (see the schedule below). And each event will be a great opportunity for meeting people, social interaction but also business networking because a lot of the people who are on the distribution list of, say, Swiss-American Business Council are businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc. They will draw a good international crowd to these events so it is definitely worth checking them out!

OPENING MATCH of EURO 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
10:30 AM
(Kick-off time 11.00 AM)
SWITZERLAND : CZECH REPUBLIC
LIVE FROM THE ST. JAKOB STADIUM BASEL
Light Hors d’Oeuvres will be served
Cash Bar
Prizes will be raffled off during the intermission
ADMISSION FREE
Lobby, 323 East Wacker Drive, Chicago
RSVP by Friday, May 30, 2008. Email: http://b4.mail.yahoo.com/ym/emadvice.com/Compose?To=chi.culture@eda.admin.ch or call: 312 915 4528

Switzerland : Turkey
on Wednesday, June 11 beginning at 6 :00 PM
Austria : Germany
on Monday, June 16 beginning at 6 :00 PM
Emmit’s Irish Pub
495 North Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
http://www.emits.com/ or phone 312 563 9631
Hosted by the Austrian Trade Commission
Swiss-American Business Council (SABC)

Eleven Minutes – SOCCER short films
on Thursday, June 12
beginning at 6:00 PM
Goethe Institut Chicago
150 North Michigan Ave, Suite 200, Chicago
www.goethe.de/chicago or phone 312 263 0472
Hosted by the
Goethe Institut
Consulate General of Switzerland
Austrian Consulate General

EURO 2008 FINAL
on Sunday, June 29
beginning at 1:15 pm
Goethe Institut Chicago
150 North Michigan Ave, Suite 200, Chicago
www.goethe.de/chicago or phone 312 263 0472
Hosted by the
Austrian Consulate General in Chicago
Please note: all EURO 2008 soccer matches can be viewed live at the Goethe Institut Chicago. For information, see www.goethe.de/chicago or call 312 263 0472.

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com

Monday, June 2, 2008

REMINDER: seminar for jobseekers, June 12.

This is a reminder that I will be organizing my next seminar for job seekers (people in career transition, graduating students and newcomers to Chicagoland) It is called "A to Z of Successful Networking". The seminar will include Resume Writing Techniques session.

WHEN: June 12, 2008, 5.30 - 7.00 pm
WHERE: 111 West Jackson Boulevard, suite 1108, Chicago, IL 60604

Topics to be covered:
-why networking
- where to network
- how to network
-how to prepare for the event including how to create a perfect resume

Learn all tools and techniques to network comfortably and successfully on your own, connect with people, build relationships and acquire new customers.Also learn DOs and DON'Ts of resume writing.

Resume writing session is conducted by Charlotte Weeks who is a professional resume writer and owner of Weeks Resume Service. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University, and spent over three years working in Human Resources. While experienced in all types of resume writing, her specialty is writing for people making career changes.

All participants will get a FREE copy of "The Legal Alien's Guide. Building a Career and Life in Chicago, Illinois" - the unique guide that has detailed listings of networking organizations, associations, groups and clubs in Chicago and suburbs.

Price: 37 USD

Please, register at http://www.legalaliensguide.com/Seminars

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Most helpful Chicago guide
http://www.legalaliensguide.com
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