About Rob Seemann
I have worked in career development as an instructor, counselor, workshop presenter, curriculum writer, and online course peer reviewer since 1999.
How I Got into the Career Development Field
After receiving my MSW, I was hired by TRAC (training, rehabilitation, assessment, and consultation) Associates to work with welfare recipients who were being impacted by the new welfare reform laws passed by the Clinton Administration.
My clients were being notified that their welfare entitlements would end in five years, and my job was to help them transition from multi-generational welfare to mainstream employment. I did not know at the time that the work I was doing was actually that of a career development facilitator!
This challenging population gave me the opportunity to hone my helping skills and develop core career counseling competencies, including employability issues, diversity, and labor market information. I had to balance clients' work histories with their dreams while remaining aware of program requirements and the realities of the labor market.
I learned I could join with clients and easily find their strengths; I also learned I had the ability to understand the needs of employers. Because of my ability to see multiple sides to an issue, I was often called upon as an informal mediator between social service providers and clients.
Experiencing My Own Job Loss
I moved from TRAC Associates to Seattle Mental Health because I wanted to satisfy my dream of being a counselor and put my mental health training to use. SMH was drastically downsized a year after my hire, and the clinic I worked in closed. This was a job loss experience I would have preferred to avoid, but it instilled in me great empathy for all of the clients who have come to me since then after losing their own jobs.
Becoming an Employer
In 2001, my family bought a veterinary hospital and thrust us into the small business world of make-it-or-break it survival. As a result, I became the business manager in charge of a half million dollar annual budget. I also hired and trained employees.
One of the things that surprised me most in my new position was the generally poor quality of resumes, cover letters, and interviewing skills that job candidates presented. Although I needed to maintain my role as manager, I felt it hard to resist my desire to give impromptu workshops on employability issues!
An Informational Interview Leads to a New Career
Clearly, I needed to get back into the career field and adult education. In 2004, an informational interview landed me a job as a Rapid Response workshop leader. Rapid Response is a Workforce Development Services program that works with employers who are laying off some or all of their workforce. It provides on-site workshops, including job loss counseling, job planning strategies, and basic resume and cover letter writing.
Becoming a Teacher and Trainer
My first assignment was leading a Job Loss Workshop for 50 long-term employees at a manufacturing firm. All of my past professional experience naturally flowed together to make my first workshop a success. The success of my first workshop led to more requests from my supervisor to conduct trainings, and I soon found myself teaching up to one hundred people at a time.
Clackamas Community College, which is located near Portland, Oregon, recognized my skills and offered me a multifaceted, part-time position as workshop leader, course instructor and career counselor.
Obtaining CDF Certification
I learned about CDF training from my colleagues. Two of them had earned their CDF, and they recommended the National Career Development Association (NCDA) curriculum to me. I didn't need much convincing. I registered and soon found myself in a classroom with other professionals in the career field. From the first day of class, I immediately knew I wanted to complete the entire CDF program, from CDF Instructor to Master Trainer.
Today: Counselor and Trainer
In my office near Portland, Oregon, I counsel clients who are going through career transitions. I provide customized career development training courses for groups from 5 to 500. And as an NCDA Master Trainer, I conduct CDF and CDFI trainings around the United States. (Before I developed these courses, they had never been taught online.)
Protective Behaviors
As a parent to two young children, I also lead abuse prevention workshops in the Portland, Oregon, community. For more information, visit Protective Behaviors.