Springboards is seeking an exceptionally talented trainer/coach who is interested in becoming part of our network of experienced contract trainers and coaches.

Position: Contract Trainer/Business Writing and English Language Development Coach

The following qualifications are required:

• -Minimum 10 years of experience in training and coaching business people in a one-to-one capacity, at a variety of organizational levels;
• -Minimum 5 years of training/coaching English as a Second Language (ESL)-speaking professionals or training on English Language Development (ELD) ;
• -Master’s Degree in English, Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Education, or a similar field;
• -Demonstrated experience training/coaching on: business writing, grammar, advanced writing concepts, audience centered communication, PowerPoint, and presentation skills.
• -The ability to customize instructional content to individual, one-to-one coaching engagements;
• -Flexibility in responding to client needs and adding customized program elements when needed;
• -Familiarity and/or interest in the healthcare industry;
• -Excellent personal presentation;
• -Strong interpersonal skills and communication habits;
• -Collaborative, collegial, and passionate about training and coaching;
• -Fluency in English is required, additional languages are advantageous but not essential;
• -Ability and willingness to travel to client site

This is an 18-hour, 3-4 month commitment requiring a vehicle. Coaching sessions are generally 1.5 hours/week. The client and training location are in Greater Boston.

If interested in being considered, please submit your resume/CV and cover letter to info@springboardsconsulting.com, referencing “Contract Trainer/Business Writing and English Language Development Coach” in the subject line.  Please include your salary requirements. Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.

We’re excited to announce the recent certification of Springboards as a Woman Owned Enterprise in MA!

While this has many obvious benefits for Springboards, what are the benefits for your company, doing business with a SOMWBA certified enterprise?

“The obvious benefit to being concerned about diversity and inclusion is to incorporate talent from diverse communities that match the increasingly diverse customer base.” (BBJ, March 2011. Read more: Supplier diversity boosts the bottom line | Boston Business Journal )

You can also…

-Anticipate accountability and superior service. SOMWBA certified businesses attest in writing that they will perform their services as marketed in every point of contact—from the website to the proposal. Many also hope to be re-certified, so expect nothing short of diligence.

- Promote community building and economic prosperity in the region by supporting SOMWBA certified businesses.

-Meet organizational goals for corporate social responsibility and operational sourcing needs under one umbrella.

These are just a few of the many advantages, and many competitive, people-focused organizations in the Greater Boston area are catching on. A Google search for “businesses with supplier diversity, Boston” yields over 100,000 results. Don’t you want to be in that number?

We’d encourage you to read the full article in the Boston Business Journal and learn more about what some of the largest and fastest growing companies in the region are doing to promote supplier diversity while they increase their own talent diversity.

We also welcome you to give us a call, and learn more about other ways Springboards can boost your bottom line by effectively supporting, engaging, and retaining valuable international employees. Are your current professional development resources enough? Appropriate? Effective? Call us for an exploratory discussion—617-959-6301–today!

Yours in diversity,

Nadia Nassif

Principal and Founder

Springboards

Clock Tower Place, Maynard, MA (September 17, 2010)—If you haven’t yet attended a MassInnovation nights event and you’re looking for fresh faces and ideas in the entrepreneurship, innovation, and social media space, don’t miss out on next Wednesday’s 20^th meeting for the Massachusetts Innovation Nights series. MassInnov (#MIN20, for all you Twitterers out there) will be hosting at this hot first-time location in Clock Tower Place. Check out the massive RSVP list!

Springboards is excited to be featured in the Expert’s Corner along with the Clock Tower Law Group, Evarts Coaching, Schneider Associates, Structured Information, and the Joel Foner and Ability Success Growth team. Don’t miss the chance to come out and receive complimentary one-on-one feedback and expertise from this fabulous entourage.

Nadia, Principal of Springboards, will be meeting with both individuals and companies who attend MassInno to talk about how to develop effective and appropriate oral and written communication, whether it’s to:

• Increase business opportunities as an entrepreneur
• Encourage the promotion of an aspiring employee
• Increase confidence in job prospecting

Come for a one-to-one chat and walk away with tips and strategies on effective professional communication for yourself, a colleague, or one of your employees.

Springboards will be giving away free resources and prizes—among them, complimentary coaching prizes!

If you’d like to reserve your slot ahead of time (recommended) please contact us here.

We hope to see many of you there!

A question like that stings, doesn’t it? Of course, you know the millions of reasons why they should be calling on you for your genius, your dashing personality, or for even being associated with someone like yourself who has their Ph.D in biology from MIT. But if you don’t have a ready answer, and you haven’t done your homework, then how will the would-be employer know what they’re getting? More than this, how will they know how you can help them at their organization, with their current business needs?

A personal pitch with a clearly defined unique value proposition is one of the strongest (and sadly most often ignored) communication skills you could ever devote time and energy to. If you haven’t yet, or still need help, now is your chance.

This coming Tuesday, on November 9^th, “Launching Your Own Start-Up” will provide you with rich opportunities, not only to network and connect with a diverse mix of  attendees, but to participate in this before-event workshop:

Why Hire Me

What: This one-hour workshop will cover the basics of defining your unique value proposition, how to develop a succinct personal pitch, and how to improvise based on different audiences.

Who should attend: international students (with a mainly MBA focus), international professionals-in-transition, international professionals with increased business development responsibilities (such as prospecting, client relationship management, and networking)

Where: The Venture Development Center, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125

When: 3-4 p.m. (signs will be posted in the VDC receptionist area)

Cost: Free–just bring a notebook, a pen, and some business cards

**To sign up and reserve your spot, please contact us here. Registration is now closed. Space limited to 12 persons.

We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Venture Development Center, Boston, MA (November 9, 2010; 5-7 p.m.)—Place, people and positioning are critical success factors in any marketing campaign. Are you marketing yourself for a job, or a career in entrepreneurship?  Then don’t miss “Launching Your Own Start Up”, a prime time to focus on what it means to be an entrepreneur, and beyond this, to network and be visible–key ingredients in personal branding and the development of professional communication skills. If you’re in the early stages of career planning or your entrepreneurial pursuit, here is a unique opportunity to be in the right place, around the right people.

Come and hear from a seasoned panel of established start up CEOs—Dennis Ford, CEO of Brighton House Associates, David MacFarlane, CEO of Akiban Technologies, and Richard Dale, Principal of Sigma Partners– who will share the key ingredients to success in launching and growing a start up venture. In the following panel, Nadia Nassif, Founder and President of Springboards, will join two other U-Mass Boston alumni, Alex Kreopolides and Sean Maney, as they share the challenges and success stories of their startup companies. Appetizers and networking to follow. (From past experience, the food is great!)

This event is one of a series of start up and early stage venture-focused panels directed by Daniel Phillips, Founding Director of the Entrepreneurship Center of U-Mass, Boston. This past September 28^th 2010, the Venture Development Center drew in over 100 attendees from all interests—current students, professionals-in-transition, members of the VC community, area innovation and entrepreneurship figures, local politicians and leadership from the U-mass academic community.

“The Entrepreneurship Center is right on target. They have the right idea and this is funneling the spirit of the Massachusetts’ entrepreneurial and innovation economy.” Notes of support and optimism for the center and the event were also strong from the local political community, particularly from Massachusetts Secretary, Governor Gregory Bialecki, who shared his approval of these efforts in a talk following the main event.

Springboards, which has its official headquarters at the Venture Development Center, is proud to be a part of this upcoming talk. “One of the biggest challenges for international students and international professionals-in-transition is branching out and doing the actual networking. Mixing with a room full of strangers can be intimidating and culturally, well—shocking.” said Nadia Nassif, president of Springboards. “The only way to really make an impact on one’s job prospects and to know what you are really interested in doing is by connecting with people and putting yourself out there. With such a great mix of attendees expected, this is a fabulous event to come to. Don’t miss it!”

Event Details:

Where: Venture Development Center, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, U-Mass, Boston

When: Tuesday, November 9th, 5:00 Panel Discussion; 6:00 Networking and Refreshments

DON’T MISS a great opportunity to practice and perfect your personal pitch at this free one-hour workshop beforehand. Check out the details here.

About the Entrepreneurship Center

The Entrepreneurship Center, College of Management, U-Mass, Boston, is part of the singular Entrepreneurship Specialization at UMass Boston, the only school in the New England area that requires hands on experience as a core requirement for a degree. The EC’s programs, workshops, and mentorships link classroom learning with live practice in real world start-ups. They help students develop the smarts, savvy, and skills to take their place in the 21st century start-up economy.

About the Venture Development Center

The VDC is a startup incubator for technology and life science companies delivering top-tier mentorship, expertise and plug and play offices and laboratories.

TIE Headquarters, Burlington, MA (September 17, 2010)—Kudos to the TIE Women’s Initiative for last Friday’s networking lunch and panel discussion on “Pathways to Women Entrepreneurship”, held at their Boston headquarters. Midday timing was no obstacle for this determined crowd–the event attracted more than 30 women, some current business owners, some under cover and many aspiring entrepreneurs.

Panelists included Vidya Vasu, CEO of CustomView, LLC, Deepika Prakash, Founder and President of Patternreview.com, and Gauri Chandna, Founder and CEO of ATFS Learning Center, led in a lively discussion of entrepreneurial topics by moderator Nadia Nassif, Principal of Springboards Language Training and Consulting, LLC.

The conversation began with a question of origins to the panelists: “What motivated you, some of you in traditional and rewarding 9 to 5 jobs, to pursue a path of entrepreneurship? What thought process led to this idea?”

From the outset, each panelist shared entirely different stories. While one woman’s need for personal career fulfillment fueled the entrepreneurial vision for her firm, another simply saw a market opportunity coupled with her own personal interests and part time side project.

In one account, Deepika told of very humble beginnings for her company: “Patternreview.com was born from personal passion and curiosity, a conversation among friends. It was part time and I could not at the time imagine how big it would become today. Initially, I simply discussed the idea among friends and personal networks.”

Gauri confessed a thought process quite different in the start of her venture, but common to many “would-be” entrepreneurs. “I was very comfortable at a six-figure job, but I wasn’t happy. I looked at many options and trends, but timing was bad—it was the year 2001. I knew I loved teaching; I come from a family of teachers.”

In the story of CustomView, LLC, we also learn how Vidya made the leap from prominent position of COO of SolveIT to establish her own firm. Each woman’s path was unique and inspiring.

Despite different beginnings, two approaches were common to all and one message was clear. The  three women recognized inherent behavior and personality traits complementary to a particular business idea and they all did their homework, studying industry trends and the marketplace. Why entrepreneurship? They all agreed they were looking to manage their own lives, trying to establish more work life balance. Whether entrepreneurship afforded them this remained to be discussed later on in the panel.

The conversation deepened as topics centered on obstacles unique to women in business. The audience engaged early and often. “Being taken seriously is one of the biggest problems”, explained one of the panelists. “We don’t follow through when we sell”, another charged. Gauri countered: “Issues of guilt and reflection need to be addressed by us women”, with many heads in the audience nodding in agreement. Vidya also challenged everyone with candid advice on emotions: “These have no place in the workplace, but passion!! We need to separate ourselves from it at times.”

Book recommendations were generous from all sides of the lively conversation, among them: “When I say ‘No’, I Feel Guilty”, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, and “Ignore Everybody”.

But even as the subject of challenges women face continued, several of the speakers shared views on the superior qualities women have in terms of instinct and human relation skills. Many credited these qualities to the very fabric of their business models, working relationships, and management styles.

The event seemed to move at the speed of light. Towards the end of the hour, engagement was at a peak and there was barely enough time to get through questions and a brief summary of points by the moderator.  Audience members did not stop raising their hands at any point during the talk. It was clear that women entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and persuasions left last week’s event motivated and thoughtful about their current business and future business plans.

Now that their appetites are whet, they are probably hoping for a round two.