Category Archives: Networking

Gutsy job search networking

Posted on August 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

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’d 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.

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

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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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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LinkedIn – How to get 8,000,000 contacts today

Posted on August 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

The best attempt to date at business computer networking is www.linkedin.com . So I am going to point out what is obvious to some people.

You’ll be asked for the standard personal information.  You can also put in a lot more information about yourself.  You can choose the level of information you allow out.

They will also ask if you want to check your email list for people already on Linked In.  This is not an attempt to steal your list.  They will check your email addresses to see who else is using Linked In.  Then they give you the option of connecting to people already in the network.  You can also send invitations to people not yet in the network.

I am directly connected to 2000 people. Several people I am connected to have over 5000 connections. When you sign in, send a request to join your network to bryan@agicc.com . I’m all for it.

I can keyword search through 8,615,000 people using contact information keywords. Those are people within three network steps of me.  For instance, the other day I needed a recruiter in Charlotte, NC.  I found two.  I sent requests to my contacts to be connected to them.  Permission was granted and we had a chance to talk.

If you want to find someone who works at XYZ company in Fairfax, VA, give it a shot.  This is one way to start your network while job searching or career building in your own company.

Give it a try.  It’s free, or you can pay for upgrades. See how many people you can reach by just linking to me.

While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is making mistakes and becoming superior.  (Link)

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Something To Do Today

Try out www.linkedin.com .  I’d be happy to link to you through bryan@agicc.com .

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Tomorrow:     The international manager roundtable method of getting a job.

Double your chances after an interview

How to close an interview

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Blog job networking

Posted on July 30, 2014 | Leave a comment

There are 6 billion people.  If you passionately care about something, someone else will too.  Find them and you have a network.

This is either a metaphor or a call to action.  You can either use the idea of blogs to create a non-computer network, or you can start your own blog.

Personal networks are all about passing around useful information.  Weblogs can help you share information and build a personal network.  For a weblog to work you have to make a commitment to find or compile information to share.  Same thing with a personal network.

One way a blog (weblog) is rated is by the number of times it is cited by other blogs.  It is cited in other blogs because it is interesting. What can you find out on the internet that other people want to know?  Is there something personal about you that would interest other people?  Do you know something other people really want to know?

What do you know that is interesting?  What is new or hot?  What can give someone else a jump on their competition?

If you know something useful, tell everyone who can use it. Do it daily, weekly, or monthly. That’s how to make your personal network worthwhile.  That’s also what makes a blog worthwhile.

Sharing useful news is the highest form or networking.  What can you find that will be useful to all the managers who could hire you?  Send it to them even if they don’t have a job for you.  Networking is about helping, not taking.

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Something To Do Today

My blogs are www.howtoreallygetagreatjob.com/blog/

How can you put things you know into the hands of people who want to know it?  Who can you help?  That’s networking.

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Later: Getting linked in.  Very easy networking.

The international manager roundtable method of getting a job.

Double your chances after an interview

How to close an interview

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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Networking with scissors and screen prints – for jobs

Posted on July 25, 2014 | Leave a comment

Networking with scissors and screen prints – for jobs

Your best introduction can be made with scissors or a screen print.

Decide which people you want to network with.  Let’s say program managers.  Look in websites, newspapers, trade publications, and business magazines for any mention of any program manager who might hire you, or know people who could hire you.

When an article mentions your target by name, cut out the article.  Put the article in an envelope and send it to the person.  If you want to really impress them, have it laminated too.  Include a very short handwritten note congratulating them. Add your business card to the envelope.

A week later give them a call.  Don’t mention the article you sent.  They’ll remember it.

If you are looking for a job, ask them who they know who is hiring for the position you are looking for.  If you need their help for something else, ask them who they know who can help you.  And you can always just say, “Hello, congratulations on the promotion.”

You will be surprised at how heartily you are helped.  You paid attention to them when you didn’t have to.  Now they will want to pay attention to you.

Networking with scissors will get you places you never thought possible.

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Something To Do Today

Figure out where you can find articles that mention the kind of people you want to network with.  Start reading for names.   Clip the articles and send them out.  Then follow up.

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Later: 100% exposed job networking.

Linked in

The international manager roundtable method of getting a job.

Double your chances after an interview

How to close an interview

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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The 100% easiest network

Posted on July 23, 2014 | Leave a comment

The absolute easiest job search networking tool is one of the least used.

To network, you have to communicate.  To communicate comfortably you have to have a reason.  The most overlooked reason is to say, “Thank you.”

Do you think this is too easy?  Do too many people do it?  When was the last time you received a thank you note?  When was the last time you sent a thank you note?

The hardest part at first is noticing things you can be thankful for.  Did someone help you directly?  Indirectly?  Did you get an answer you needed?  Is there a leader who has shaped your industry?  Did someone give your friend some help?  Did someone just talk to you on the phone?

Long, flowery notes are NOT necessary, and actually less helpful. Some people take a long “thank you” as shameless self promotion.  A one line thank you by email or on paper is all that is necessary.  So few people send a thank you note, that you will stand out no matter how short the message.

Keep track of everyone you send a thank you to.  Write it in the networking section of your job journal.

All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. (King)

Now is the time to build your network.  The receptionist at any company will give you either a mailing address or an email address.  You know how to write.  Write one thank you note every day.  Start now.

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Something To Do Today

Send a thank you note on paper or through email.  See if you can send 5.

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Tomorrow:     Scissors for jobs

Later:              100% exposed job networking

Double your chances after an interview

Linked in

The international manager roundtable method of getting a job.

How to close an interview

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How to get that job they don’t want to give you or don’t have

Posted on May 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

You may get a job by thorough persistence.  Don’t be pestilential and persistent, be pleasant, nice and thoroughly persistent.  Let me demonstrate.

My daughter Merrilee has Down Syndrome.  Her IQ is 43.  She has a lot of advantages over job seekers with down syndrome.  Job seekers with down syndrome accept what happens to them fatalistically.  My daughter with Down Syndrome got an extra half chromosome that makes it impossible for her to be fatalistic.  For example:

Merrilee loves cartoon videos.  We limited the time she spends watching them.  We locked them in the boys’ room so she couldn’t get them.  Yet she showed up with a cartoon video in her hand while I was at the computer or reading and handed it to me almost every day.

How did she get the video?  She knew that eventually one of her brothers would leave the door unlocked or the key down where she could get it.  She checked the door several times a day.  Not obsessively, just whenever she went by their room.

She can’t talk clearly, but I knew when she handed me a video that she wanted me to play it.  She gave it to me when I was busy so I wouldn’t go upstairs to lock the room.  I would hand it back and say, put it on the TV stand.  She did.   10 or 20 minutes later she brought another.  This went on until I played a video for her or put the videos away and locked the boys’ door.

She is how you should be in your job search. If I tell her, “No,” she’ll be back.  If I lock the boys’ door, she’ll be back.  She’s gentle and loving.  She’s quietly persistent.  She’s not unreasonable.  I want to help her.  She does what I ask when I tell her to put the video on the TV stand.

A job seeker with down syndrome sadly lacks Merrilee’s gentle persistence. Job seekers who feel down, just give up at the first, “No.”  There may not be a job today, but there might literally be one tomorrow.

Be persistent.  Don’t give up on the job or promotion you want.  Figure out how to gently and kindly get your qualifications before the decision maker.  Be reasonable, persistent, helpful and nice.  Take your resume to HR every time they ask.  Ask what you can do to qualify for and get the job.  Then do what they say.  After a month or two, try again.

If you make yourself qualified and have a great attitude, eventually someone will leave the door unlocked.  Someone will quit or the department will expand.  If you are kindly persistent and not irritatingly pestilent, you’ll have a great shot at the job.

You can’t have the blessing of the extra half chromosome that Merrilee has.  However, you can develop her persistence, love and patience.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.  (Coolidge)

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Something To Do Today

Is there a promotion you really want?  Are there companies you really want to work for?  Go to your job journal and write a plan for getting what you want by being persistent in a nice way.  Decide how often you can try again.  Set appointments on your calendar to try again.

Tomorrow:  Down Syndrome vs down syndrome part 2

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Followup, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, Raises

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Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job

Posted on April 10, 2014 | Leave a comment

Giving away 30 seconds to get a job may seem like a no-brainer.  The trouble is that few people do it.  You have to think about it.  Here is how it works.

 One college fundraising drive was also an experiment.  The fundraisers went into the dormitory common area where there were students.  Half the time they just asked for donations.  The other times they came and handed out soft drinks as they asked for donations.  The trips with the soft drinks raised several times more money.  The secret is giving something away before you ask for help.

Give 30 seconds away.

Your time and attention are your most valuable possessions.

The greatest secret of top salesmen is: establish a relationship before you sell yourself.  Break your target person out of their rut before you sell yourself. Start by spending 30 seconds talking about them.  Few people can resist trying to help someone who has given them 30 seconds of rapt attention.

Ask a question and then listen.   “How is your day going so far?  How many of these interviews do you do in a day?  You must be worn out by now, how do you keep a fresh attitude?  Is that a picture of your dog?  My kids were crazy this morning, do you think it was just the weather?  How did you learn to do this job?”

It takes practice.  Get the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.  Read and apply one chapter a day. It will make people smile when you enter the room.  You’ll be memorable.  You will also enjoy meeting other people more than you ever have before.

Want a job?  You have to stand out from the crowd.  Give your most important possession away.  Give 30 seconds of your time and attention.  You will be fondly remembered by everyone you meet.  They will also really want to help you because you are a nice person.

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Something To Do Today

Practice giving away 30 seconds with everyone you meet.

Later:  Beauty contest job openings and being memorable

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Posted in Interviews, Networking

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Giving your way into a job.

Posted on April 3, 2014 | Leave a comment

Do you know how hard it is to get an administrative job with a symphony orchestra?

A symphony administrator told me how to do it.  A woman called him and asked for a job.  He said, “I can’t hire you, there is no budget.”

That’s not the end of the story.  She said, “I’ll work for you for free.”  It was a wage he could afford.  She did a great job for 3 months and went back to school.  What do you think will happen when she applies for her next job and has experience and great references? 

You can’t afford to work for free.  Not forever, anyway.  Can you do it for a few hours or days?  Over the weekend?  Helping people out of a bind is a great way to network your way into a job.  They will feel compelled to let others know how much you helped them.  In the programming and computer networking field it is a very common way to work yourself into a company.

I can point to specific examples where this worked for accountants, secretaries, company presidents, salespeople, office managers and more.  These were jobs worth anywhere from $6/hour to $250,000/year. These people all helped someone who mentioned they were snowed under with work.  After a few hours they offered to come in the next day.  After 2 days they said they’d help out the next weekend.  The boss, owner or chairman of the board heard about it and hired the person.

If you are unemployed, what’s the damage?  If you have a job, why not spend some of your evening and weekend time helping out with something you don’t normally do?  I know people who got promoted because they came in a few extra hours to their regular job to help their boss out on the boss’s project.

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Something To Do Today

Do you know someone who needs help?  Seize the opportunity.  Go on in and see if you can help.

Tomorrow:     Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job too

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Followup, Networking, Perseverance

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Two ways to Robo-Network (no need to talk to people)

Posted on April 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

Do you want to be known as the person who can solve any problem?

Then go to where people with problems are: online.  I assume you are an expert at your profession.  Go online and find an online forum where you can contribute.  You can ask your co-workers and teachers what online forums they suggest.  I just did a Google search on “Sarbanes Oxley audit forums” and got a very specialized list of forums.  Spend a few hours getting to know your forum and its tone, then hop right in and offer some help. 

Did you know there are recruiters and researchers that specialize in finding smart people in online forums?  They do it for accountants, programmers, truckers, pilots and a lot more occupations.  More important, the people who rely on the forum often let others know where jobs are.  Generally they take the conversation offline, where others are not involved.  That’s why you don’t see it. 

So let’s say you let slip that you are from Harrisburg, PA.  Someone else says they are from York, PA.  You send an email outside the system to that person and place each other in your network.

Want to extend this?  Add people who give you their business card at a class.  For all the people you have in your network, keep two email address lists.  One for the occasional, “How are you doing,” contact.  Send an email every few months with a little personal update.  Have another email list for the folks you want in your close network.  Find a reason to email them more often.  It could be with a note about something you saw in an online forum you want to make sure they noticed.  Make sure both lists know when you are looking for a job.

Two ways to Robo-network:  Contribute to online forums and make email lists to keep people in your network.   

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Something To Do Today

Find an online forum about your expertise.  Help someone there with an answer they need.

Tomorrow:     Giving your way into a job

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Forget lunch. Other ways to network

Posted on April 1, 2014 | Leave a comment

I know you will not invite to lunch most of the people you see every day. I know that.  So now, how do you network with them?

At the office lunchroom, at church, at association meetings, before and after business meetings, at classes, waiting for the bus, at technology events, business fairs and anywhere else people are doing what you are doing, network.  Talk to teachers especially.  They have contacts with people in every business and class they teach.  Search out salespeople.  They spend their whole day getting to know decision makers.  Give a salesperson a lead and they will do their best to help you with your needs.   

Everyone you meet knows someone else.  Get in the habit of talking to people.  It is always a little frightening.  One of the most outgoing people I know told me, “People say they wish they could be like me and just say hello to strangers.  What they don’t realize is that it is also hard for me to do it.  I just force myself to say hello and a conversation usually follows.”

Back to the old formula, talk with a person about their successes, then ask them for advice.  The absolute greatest book ever written on the subject of engaging people in conversation is How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  It is written in small segments so you can read and apply one lesson a day.  I have re-read the book several times. 

If you are going to be meeting with people you may never see again, bring business cards.  You can make them on your computer and there are a lot of places on the internet that will make them inexpensively.  Don’t forget your email address as well as phone numbers.

Why business cards? If you are networking with people who have no way to contact you later, you haven’t built much of a network.  Understand that most of your cards will be thrown away within a week, but some will be kept.  My best success has been with magnetic business cards, but they are expensive. 

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Something To Do Today

Get a copy of How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  Libraries and bookstores all have copies.  Start reading one chapter a day and applying it.

If you don’t have business cards, get them or make them.

Tomorrow:     Even more ways to network.

Later:              Other things to say to draw them in.

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