How to Capitalize on Your Networking Contacts

So you have been attending a lot of networking events and met plenty of people. How to capitalize on your “networking capital”? Here are some tips on how not to be annoying to people and get a response/help you need:
1. At the initial meeting make sure you ask the permission to contact a person later. Don’t just “show up” out of the blue, unsolicited e-mails and phone calls are never welcome.

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Diversity Career Fair

Diversity Career Fairs are organized by CareerJournal.com (part of WSJ) in major US cities approximately once every quarter. The next fair will be held on Tuesday, October 23, in Washington D.C.. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel Old Town.
The Executive Diversity Career Fair provides a unique setting for job seekers from diverse backgrounds to meet with top companies.
Eligibility: Companies recruiting at the fair are strongly committed to seeking executive, managerial and professional women, disabled and minority candidates, including recent graduates from M.B.A. programs. However, all candidates are welcome.
Cost: The event is free to candidates, and all eligible attendees can register on-site at the event. Attendees should bring multiple copies of their resumes.
Environment: All interviews will be conducted in private suites with company representatives.
Career Assistance: Free seminars throughout the day will cover such topics as job-search success tips and career-advancement strategies. A free resume critique will also be available at the event. You can find more information at http://www.careerjournal.com/diversity/?cjcontent=mail
Tatiana Sorokina is the author of Legal Alien’s Guide. Building Career and Life in Chciago, IL. http://legalaliensguide.blogspot.com This is a comprehensive guide to various networking organizations, associations, groups and clubs that help you to find a job or start your own busienss.

“Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success”

Under this name an anual national conference will take place in Chicago, IL on October 20-22, 2007 organized by Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). It is organized as a forum for both students and professionals to discuss issues of higher education and career.
Undergraduate, graduate and professional school students from colleges and universities throughout the Americas are invited from all academic disciplines. Arrive with resumes to discuss career, internship, research and advanced education opportunities. Special Student Track Workshops, Leadership Forums, Student Mixers and a Career Fair will be part of HACU’s 21st Annual Conference.
Students conference rate is 299 USD but before August 10, 2007 you can apply for a Conference Scholarship that will cover the cost of:
(1) conference registration;
(2) travel and lodging for out-of-state students;
(3) conference-related meals; and
(4) conference-sponsored entertainment events.
However the admission to Career Fair only is always FREE and open to all students.
For more information contact Student Track Coordinator: (207) 692-3805, studenttrack@hacu.net
The detailed information aboiut the event and how to apply for scholarships is available at http://www.hacu.net

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How to make networking experience more pleasant and productive

When you begin networking for the first time it can be a nerve-racking experience and it is natural. Not many people are comfortable talking to complete strangers, let alone asking for their assistance. Below are some tips on HOW to make a networking experience more pleasant and productive:
1. If you are not at ease approaching people, introducing yourself and ask for advice then don’t do it. Instead start a conversation about the person you approached. Here how it may work:
Scenario A: a person’s badge (at most of networking events everyone wears a badge) says “Mary Smith”. You approach her and say: “Hi Mary! So what do you do? (Where do you work?)
Scenario B: a person’s badge says: “Mary Smith. XYY Company”. Your first line should be: “Hi Mary! I’ve never heard of XYY. What does your company do?”
Scenario C: a person’s badge says : “Mary Smith. Coca-Cola”. Your opening line should be: “Hi Mary! What department are you with at Coca-Cola?”
People LOVE talking about themselves. And they will appreciate your interest in them so they will definitely ask you back about you, what you do and what sort of help you are looking for.
2. When you listen to a person I mean LISTEN, do not just wait for your turn to talk. Ask additional questions. Be genuinely interested. The better you will know the person the easier it will be for your to build rapport with him/her.
3. When asked what help you need be very clear and specific. Your interlocutor does not know your circumstances so he/she will act based only on what you say.
4. If you have resumes or handbills with you it is good but it will be better if you have a business card too. Business cards are easier to handle and people are more likely to keep them. Ideally you should have a website address on you business card which will take a person to your resume on-line in case your paper copy is lost (which is not unusual).
5. ALWAYS follow-up. This is one of the most important rules of networking. Send a “thank you” note and any additional information about yourself. In the end ask a person how you could be of assistance to him/her.
6. If you agreed on a time-line to re-connect and the person didn’t come back to you re-establish relationship yourself after 7-10 days (write another follow-up e-mail or give him a call).
If you still are not comfortable with open networking start with so-called “structured” networking. During such event all participants are seated around the table with a facilitator and everyone is given 2 minutes to introduce oneself and pass around resumes, business cards, etc. Thus you have a chance to be introduced to about 10 people and then follow-up with the ones you feel you might have a connection or who may help you.

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Where to Network

The importance of networking cannot be overestimated for people looking for a job or trying to grow their own business. The crucial question is WHERE and HOW to do it in order to get best results for the time and effort spent.
Today I would like to address the issue of WHERE to network:
1. Think outside the box: networking in narrow circles (students’ groups, university related groups only) will not provide you with a lot of opportunities. Think in broader terms with regards of your background: gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc. There are a lot of networking groups in United States tailored for every specific background.
2. Perform a thorough search. Be aware many of the networking organizations that pop-up on the first page of Google search tend to ask significant amounts of money for membership and extra fees for attending events (this is why they have finances to make sure they appear on the top of the search results). Really good job seekers support organizations are usually non-for-profit, they don’t have membership fees and organize events for free or for a tiny fee. But as a result they lack funding and unfortunately not all of them have a website (they communicate via an e-mail list serve). In my experience people find out about their existence only through the word-of-mouth so the more you network the more valuable information you’ll be able to collect.
3. Have a clear picture of who you would like to meet: make a background research on the type of companies you are targeting. After that ask yourself a question: where the managers and key decision makers from these organizations are likely to network? Are you more likely to meet them at a university event, a specific conference, seminar, exhibition or may be a golf networking event?
4. Become a member of a professional association: it will not only give you access to a lot of networking events but also will be a great learning opportunity. Students usually pay reduced fees for membership but enjoy full spectrum of benefits.
Of course, each city and town is different in terms of available networking opportunities. The bigger the city the more options you have: Chicago, where I live, presented me with so much “networking material” that it was more than enough to create a comprehensive networking guide. But at the same time I researched Illinois in general too and I found out that bigger organizations usually have several chapters across a state. In addition to that smaller towns have their own community support organizations. Most likely the latter won’t have a website but chances are they have their regular meetings in a local library (at least it is true for many of the smaller Illinois communities) – don’t forget to check out your nearest library!

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Importance of face-to-face networking for successfull job search

Federal Bureau of Labor statistics indicate that 70% of all jobs in the United States are found through networking. This is no surprise because it’s human nature to prefer working with someone you know or recommended by someone you trust rather than dealing with a complete stranger.
Statistics from various career counseling organizations show that the rest 30% is distributed the following way: 11-13% of jobs are found through recruiters and approximately the same amount through applying on-line. The rest ~5% is other sources (response from printed ads, etc.) Therefore, submitting job applications on-line only gives you a very slim chance of actually landing a job irrespective of the industry.
But this is just one side of the problem. Having been a member of NAWBO’s (National Association of Women Business Owners) Diversity Committee for some time I participated in preparation of various diversity educational programs, which addressed generational diversity among other issues. Our recent findings indicate that recruiters and team managers (i.e. bosses of new recruits) who usually represent Baby Boomers generation (born 1940s – 1960) or Generation X (born 1961 – 1981) complain that new college graduates who represent Generation Y (born after 1981) lack people skills, social skills and team working skills that are crucial for many positions. This is due to the fact that the latter are “on-line” generation and though they engage in a lot of on-line networking it is predominantly with their coevals while their potential recruiters from earlier generations still prefer “face-to-face” interaction.
Therefore we can make a conclusion that face-to-face networking is vital for new college graduates for 2 main reasons:
1. This gives you a chance to meet their potential managers (HR or team leaders) or establish contacts with people who may lead them to the former
2. Develop people skills you may lack to increase the chance of being hired over other candidates in your generation group.
I will address the issue of where and how to network face-to-face in my next post.

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