Ideas, Notes, Quotes

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2. Communication
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4. Getting Interviews
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by Gary Ames

Here are some items designed to get you thinking and campaigning.  Let me know if you are stuck.  I care about you, but don't have time to call.  I need reports from you on a regular basis.

Networking is the process of developing and nurturing personal and professional contacts in order to obtain: 1) Referrals, 2) Advice, 3) Information 4) Support 5) Energy ─ RAISE

Networking is:                   Niche marketing; Creating your own visibility; Empowering yourself;

                                                      Getting together to get ahead.

Know and communicate what you want.  Clarity is power.  Discard waste and the irrelevant.  Don't rush relationships.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers.

Make goal stronger than fear.  Lean into your fear.  Step outside your comfort zone.

Don't fear rejection, fear non-contact.

WIN ─ `What's Important Now?'  Ask this question continually.

Stay in conversation with the companies you're interested in.

"No" has three meanings:

1.             I'm not ready now, or

2.             I'm having a bad day, or

3.             You didn't press the right button.

Discover what is available for you in cyberspace on computer forums.  Industry conferences, want ads, resumes, and enough information to prepare for an interview by downloading a robust company portfolio including recent speeches of the President.

Exec-U-Net 800-637-3126 and NetShare 800-241-5642.  These have unadvertised jobs for clients who:  make $50-125K, have mainstream technical/functional goals and have geographic flexibility.  Expensive, but they have many good listings of jobs each issue.

Ten attributes small businesses need in their employees:  generalist, hands-on, decisive, risk tolerant, resourceful, informal, missionary, committed, pragmatic.  Resumes and communication strategies should reflect these requirements.

Have a list of 20 companies and industries you are dying to work for as a networking aid. 

"It's like teaching a person only familiar with a digital watch the meaning of counterclock-wise."

Career Principles for Changing Times:

Take charge of change.

Develop system view.

Choose field, become masterful.

Know yourself ─ your passion.

Build a positive reputation.

Develop a broad network of support.

Provide value.  Ask what's missing?

Design career from future.

Explore and develop options.

Be a self-starting learner.

"It's either networking or not working." 

Track your current calendar obligations and strategize what time can be committed to a campaign and how to use the available time on the calendar.

Men “report” talk; Women “rapport” talk.

Identify high probability employers.  Size, growth, emerging industries.

"How many people know you exist."  "How many people know what kind of position you want."  Network with references first.  "I want to be at the right spot at the right time."  "The more people I talk to the better off I am." 

"Interviewing is a rough sport; the pay for 2nd place is zero."

Extend the two dimensional concept of networking to a three dimensional concept of matrixes.  Contacts with an industry is the tip of the iceberg.  Seek network referrals with not only competitors but customers, vendors, customers of those vendors, consultants, authors in industry journals, etc., etc. 

Write resumes/creative materials geared to requirements of job focus instead of thinking here's all I have done and can do. 

Define a "must deliver" and "may deliver" communication strategy.

Set ambitious contact activity goals.  One career consulting firm in Florida typically sets 25 conversations with decision-makers per week and insists (contractually) on regular campaign updates. 

Dear prospect:  I'd like 5 minutes of your time, 2 now and 3 when I call in a few days.  I'm beginning to establish a network of contacts among competitors, industry suppliers and customers.  Use your Bio and goal statements.

1. Advanced Job Search  2. Communication  3. Documents  4. Getting Interviews  5. Interviewing  6. Research  7. Miscellaneous  8. Tools