Adventures in Networking Part Deux: The Art of Schmoozing

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Adventures in Networking Part Deux The Art of
Schmoozing

• Your tour guide
• Jennifer Johnson

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Words of Wisdom

• Information is the currency of the job search.
• -Anonymous

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Words of Wisdom

• Never neglect your network
• -Sandy Henderson

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Reality We do Networking all the Time

• Finding day care
• Picking a good movie
• Finding a good hairstylist
• Finding a real estate agent

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Networking Defined

• Developing relationships to help you achieve your
  goals
• Help others achieve their goals

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Reasons You Want to Network

• Job search
• Best practices
• Leads for information
• Referrals for hiring
• Referrals for vendors
• Sense of community

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Table Talk Success Stories

• Who has a networking success story they can share
  with their table?

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Networking Tips

• Network with a goal in mind
• Access and exposure to the right people
• Stay connected
• Listen first
• Follow up / say thank you
• -Cheryl Ferguson

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Networking Tips

• Have a Networking Plan
• Who will be at the event?
• Who do you want to talk to?
• What can you do to prepare?
• Do your homework!
• What are your networking goals?
• What will you come back with?

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Accountability Group

• Having an accountability job search network can
  reduce the time spent in a search.
• Keeps your search focused
• Shares ideas and information
• Shares referrals and leads
• Holds you accountable!
• Makes you realize youre not alone

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The 4 Dos of Networking

• This aint no party
• Do your homework
• Have an elevator pitch
• Focus on quality of interactions, not just
  quantity
• -Caroline Levchuck

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Jennifers 2 cents worth

• Spend at least as much time giving as asking
• Be sensitive to time
• Be brave
• Make it easy for someone to help you
• Dont wear out your contacts
• Dont vent while networking

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If you are currently unemployed

• Dont take your job loss personally
• Dont spend all of your job search time on the
  computer
• Get out of your pajamas
• Get out of the house and talk with people at
  least twice per week
• Go easy on yourself and find ways to reinforce
  and rebuild your confidence and self-esteem

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Lets Talk About Image

• Every public way you communicate may create an
  image of you to an employer
• Ring-tones
• Voice mail greetings
• Answering the phone
• Email return address
• Blogs
• My Space

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Closing out a Job Search

• When you land in your new job, follow up with
  your network and give them your contact
  information
• Keep the network that you built alive
• You never know when you will need to do another
  job search
• Once you get to your destination, dont forget
  what got you there

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Table Talk What do you think?

• How you can use networking for your benefit?
• How can you give back to your network?
• Your best tips for networking!

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Barriers

• Shyness
• Lack of time
• Lack of know-how
• Fear of rejection
• Fear of appearing needy
• I dont know anyone
• I already have a job
• Over-reliance on internet job search

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Networking Ideas

• PHRMA
• SWHRMA
• The HR Network (for an invitation email
  jjohnson_at_spiritone.com)
• Corporate Recruiters Network (http//finance.group
  s.yahoo.com/group/NWCRA/ )
• Say Hey Northwest
• Professional associations (HR and/or industry)
• Professors / college instructors in your field or
  industry
• City Club

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Ideas from the HR Network

• www.indeed.com (job search engine)
• www.linkedin.com
• www.plaxo.com
• All job fairs- even accounting and engineering
  (booths tend to be staffed by HR people)

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Ideas from the HR Network

• Jobseekers boards
• HR bulletin boards (SHRM HRTalk, HR.com, etc.)
• Reaching out to third-party recruiters who
  contacted you in the past
• Volunteer work both HR and non-HR

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How can you network at a PHRMA meeting?

• Start a conversation
• What does your company do?
• How did you get involved with PHRMA?
• Find connections and commonalities in what you do
• Gain knowledge of different industries and
  companies
• Find ways to give back
• Connect people with others

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Frequently Overlooked Opportunities

• Look beyond the obvious
• Industry contacts
• Vendors of various kinds
• Consultants
• Benefits brokers
• Account reps

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Make Networking a Game!

• My goal today is to reconnect with 5 former
  colleagues and meet 5 new people
• Sit at a table where you dont know anyone
• Ask questions

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How can you network at a conference?

• Get attendee list and create a target list
• Use social events as an opportunity to meet
  people
• Sit with people you dont know
• Circulate dont congregate
• Write notes on the back of the contacts business
  card
• Follow up with new contacts at an appropriate
  interval

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How can you network at a party?

• Walk over and say hello
• Pick up cues about what they want to talk about
  (family, work, etc.)
• Keep it light and pleasant

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The Elevator Speech

• Can the people closest to you describe what you
  do for a living in 2 minutes?
• Can you describe what you want to do clearly in 2
  minutes?
• Can you describe what you are looking for in 2
  minutes?

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The Informational Interview

• Give your elevator speech (why you are
  networking, eg you are in a job search)
• Tell them what you are hoping for (information
  about their industry, job types, search
  strategies)
• Come prepared with a few important questions
• Ask for referrals to others who may be able to
  help
• Look for opportunities to help them
• Stay aware of time and offer to close the meeting
• Send a thank you soon after the meeting

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Words of Wisdom

• No matter how busy you are
• No matter how stressed you are
• No matter how shy you are
• No matter that you have a great job
• Dont neglect your network!

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Pop Quiz!

• Have you taken this to heart????
• Stand up!
• Move around!
• Introduce yourself to 5 people you dont know
• Be bold! Be brave! Have fun! Give your elevator
  speech.
• See. That wasnt so hard!