After establishing a trusting relationship with the safety officer, it would be helpful to document what was talked about with the safety officer. What kinds of information was shared? Was that person helpful? Was another meeting or on-going meetings scheduled? Did the frequent meetings taper off so that there was still communication, but on an informal basis?

Did the soon to be job-changer find other community resources about the profession of a safety officer? Did he/she find out about local, state and federal safety, plant issues and how to find information quickly? Did she/he subscribe to newsletters, journals, and organizations? The job-changer needs to be an informed individual in order to enter the new world of a business, safety officer and to be able to digest the new information, easily.

Next, is to approach management with the information gained with the safety officer, community information, etc. Having an appointment made by the safety officer to the business manager will make the job changer's efforts appear real, knowledgeable and sincere. The purpose for this activity is to gain recog- nition from management and to have the safety officer appear to be more competent than he or she may be.

Lastly, she/he needs to have a detailed proposal to offer to management. (The assumption is that the safety officer is enthusiastic and approves). This proposal needs to be a document which will show how the new person can contribute to the company with fewer accident reports, clearance with any city, state boards on safety issues. This job seeker can save the business money and time.

This approach is almost like a graduate course in best practices and will work with almost any job changer. Knowledge, they always say: Is Power!

Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A,
Certifed Career & Job Transition Coach

Web: www.doitnowcareers.info
Email: doitnow@nwinfo.net