Gutsy networking

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.  (Edison)

The most spectacular networking I have ever seen was done by an out of work international executive.  It took incredible guts and an unswerving belief in his mission.

He was a multilingual Canadian who had hired and fired a lot of people in his career.  He did something very simple, he started a job hunting club.  He also did something very difficult, he made it an elite club.

In order to get into this club you had to pass a rigorous test.  You had to be fluent in 2 languages besides English.  He would personally test your ability to converse in any of 5 languages besides English.  If you were fluent in other languages, he would find someone else to test you.  You were also required to have been a CEO, CFO or other Chief Officer of a major company.  Pay range a minimum of $150,000 per year.  And he had to like you. 

If you were admitted you had to pay $10,000 to join.  The club was not allowed to have more than 10 unemployed members at a time.  The ones who had found a job were milked to find leads for the currently unemployed group.  They had special speakers, retreats and job hunting meetings.  They occasionally invited a headhunter/recruiter to come and talk to their club.  The opportunity to speak was quickly taken up because of the caliber of executives in the club.

This only worked because of the vision, energy and hard work of the founder.  It was a part-time job all by itself.  This is the absolute hardest way to network. It is also incredibly effective.

What does this have to do with you?  Think about it.  Do you have the guts to start a club for unemployed people in your field?  Can you keep the quality of candidates high?  Can you help everyone in the club to network?  Can you turn the club into a permanent elite group of people in your field?  Will they all stay in contact AFTER they find jobs?

There are a lot of variations to this idea.  Do you have the nerve to do something like this?  It will be a great adventure if you do.

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Something To Do Today

Start a job network.  Talk to others who are looking.  Create an email list to communicate with the others in your group.  Keep in touch at least weekly.

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