The Cure for Career Confusion
To get the best help and advice from your network, I recommend creating a personal ‘marketing plan’. It may be the most important document you’ll give to people you ‘network’ with.
While a resume is what you’ve DONE, a personal marketing plan lays out what you WANT to do… making it easy for your networking contacts to provide the right, meaningful information.
This is what a personal marketing plan looks like:
Networking business cards, which have the look and feel of a traditional business card, give you the opportunity to provide critical career and contact information to people you meet in social and professional situations where it is not appropriate to hand out resumes. Here’s how to design an effective, inexpensive networking card:
Who says you have to look for jobs online only at job-related sites? Here are two strategies to look for jobs using social media.
Until you’ve done it at least a few times, attending a networking event can be stressful. What’s the best way to introduce yourself? Who should you talk to? How can you get a conversation started – and keep it going? These are just some of the questions you may have about how to make networking events work well for you.
The more people you talk to, the more opportunities you’ll uncover. There are things you can do to make networking at business events simple and straightforward. Taking a little time to prepare and practice in advance will soon have you networking like a pro.
The reason to grow your network is clear: the bigger your network, the more likely you are to know someone who can offer career help, whether by making an introduction, serving as a reference, or more. The easy way to build up your network is with current and former colleagues. But once those relationships are in place, and you’re connected on LinkedIn, how else can you expand your network?
One option is attending networking events. They’re designed to help people form connections. The trick is, first you have to find the right events. Get tips on how to find networking events, as well as how to make the most of them.
1. Professional Associations
Search online for professional associations for industries that you want to work in and then search for an association chapter that is local you. Professional events can include breakfast or lunch discussions, networking events, happy hour events, conferences, seminars, workshops, discussions, classes, and so much more. Industry colleagues and mentors could be good sources for recommendations, too.
They’re also the perfect place for you to look for a mentor as many organizations offer programs where they pair people with industry veterans.
Attending these events is an excellent way for you to meet other like-minded individuals, learn about trends in your industry and keep up breaking information, ad if you’re in the right spot at the right time, learn about unadvertised job openings.
Your college or graduate school can also be a great source of networking events. They may host local alumni events and holiday parties, which are a great place to meet people who are likely to give you advice and assistance.
Affinity groups form around interests, goals, and sometimes identity. Some organizations, for instance, have affinity groups for LGBTQ+ people, or for women, or for people with disabilities, etc. You can join a group at your office, or seek out one outside of your company. For instance, DamesBond is a woman-focused networking organization, while Our Professionals is a membership-driven organization that has job listings, networking events, professional development, and more services for members.
Thanks to the internet, there are tons of ways to find events, conferences, and specifically networking-focused events, all categorized by geographic location.
Two of the most popular and well-known sites include:
Do you follow industry organizations on social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram) and subscribe to newsletters? Many organizations put on annual or even more frequent events.
If you’re involved in media, publishing, or public relations, for instance, you’ll want to follow MediaBistro and Muckrack on social media and subscribe to their newsletters, since both organizations frequently host networking events, conferences, and host classes.
Look for the organizations in your industry and follow them on social media and through newsletters. If you’re not sure which organizations are big, ask colleagues, post on LinkedIn, or do a quick online search.
For more places to find networking events, think local: your library or religious institution may host events. You may also find events open to all at community organizations, co-working spaces, and through your local chamber of commerce.
After you complete the Job Target Criteria form, you’re now ready to discover: How Many Potential Employers is Enough
Maintaining new contacts can be beneficial, but only if you make the effort to nurture and maintain the relationships.
In life, persistence often prevails.
The Law of Seven is a selling strategy which states that the sale often will not be made until at least seven exposures to the product or service are completed. The Law of Seven is followed faithfully by sales professionals, advertisers, marketers and more.
To have the most success with job search networking, you need to use this strategy and how often to contact people:
Networking is picking up your phone and making the call or sending a job search networking request letter. You need to be networking consistently in your job search. An initial flurry of calls is not sufficient to keep your network alive and moving forward.
What’s an elevator pitch, and how can it help your career? Your elevator pitch is a quick synopsis about you: who you are, your background, what you do, and what you want to do (if you’re job hunting). The reason it’s called an elevator pitch is that it should be short enough to present during a brief elevator ride.
Done right, this short presentation helps you introduce yourself to career and business connections in a compelling way. An elevator pitch is a great way to gain confidence in introducing yourself to hiring managers and company representatives.
It’s a common act of respect to send a written or digital thank you email or card following a networking conversation. If your handwriting is legible, the personalized touch of a handwritten note is always appreciated, through an email works just as well.
Now that you have job search networking meetings scheduled, you may be thinking “But what do I say?”
The actual process of networking can seem somewhat mysterious, yet it really isn’t. You are simply making contact with individuals who may be able to assist in your job search.