Kudos to Lindsey and Kate, who organized this well-attended event at the  Public House in Center City, Philadelphia.

What is “Speed Networking?” It is an event designed to promote business connections, in this case among a group of professionals who already share an interest in careers in the “Sustainability” sector of business.  In my role as a resource for people interested in this sector, this association-sponsored event was sure to attract people I would be able to relate to.

How does the event work?  Participants were assigned either letters or numbers.  Letters remained seated at small tables; numbers changed seats after a specified period of time  until most attendees had an opportunity to meet one another.  In other words, letter “C” met with number “3;” then number “3″ moved over to meet with letter “D.”

Where does “speed” enter the picture? These events are staged to promote a quick introduction to as many people as possible, with time afterward for socializing.   Time seems to be our scarcest resource these days: I was able to meet and make an initial assessment of 10 people in 65 minutes.

WIIFY-What’s In It For You?

• For those who are not comfortable with face-to-face networking, this is an opportunity  to practice in a controlled environment and for a limited period of time – no need to reach-out to people ‘cuz they’ll come to you.
• This type of event preserves a bit of anonymity – you may find 1-2 gems among the 10 contacts you might make, and there is no shame in leaving the 8 or so other contacts to be mined later or not at all.
• In just a few minutes, participants  share business cards and discuss their goals, share their “1-minute commercial,” ask for recommendations”, etc.   Take notes, follow-up, be a giver…
• Your group can suggest some “prompts” or conversation starters, or leave it to the participants.  Lindsey and Kate suggested 6-minute blocks of time, so there was ample time to share information and determine if connections were worth pursuing.

I’d like to hear about your experiences:  is this a legitimate method to build your network, or is it too contrived?  So far, my take on it is that speed networking could be a great ice-breaker for a group training exercise or meeting.  I recommend it as a NYNT – Nurture Your Network Tool.  Thanks again to Lindsey and Kate, (and to whomever jammed the parking meter outside the Public House so I could park for free)!

The Reach Personal Branding group recently circulated a post that deserves wider circulation.  William Arruda,  a respected advocate for personal branding and co-author of Career Distinction, commented on a NYT piece by Thomas Friedman called,  “The New Untouchables.”

Arruda makes the point that those who will survive and flourish during challenging times are those who can distinguish themselves – those who can become the purple cow in the herd of brown and white cows.   As I prepare to meet MBA students who aspire to be the corporate and entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow (Net Impact Conference 11/13 & 11/14),  it seems timely to extrapolate these words from William’s post:

As I see it, this is all about personal branding. What do you offer that is not available from anyone else? What emotional brand attributes do you add onto your competence that gets people excited about you? What unique talents and abilities put you in a class by yourself?

Will you make the case to a prospective employer that you understand their issues – that you are prepared to integrate your education, experience, and personal qualities in a plan that makes an overwhelming case for hiring and retaining you.  Will you make yourself indispensable?

It is possible to make lemonade…A familiar ingredient in the refreshing alternative to economic woe:  the Business section of your local newspaper…

• Today it is the Philadelphia Inquirer that offers a glimpse into what's happening in the regional job market.  The article that attracted my attention refers to the Information Technology (IT) efficiencies that are funded in the 2009 Economic Stimulus Package.  Read the full article in the Philadelphia Inquirer to learn more about the $2 billion in loans and grants, plus $17 billion in Medicare reimbursement for health-related IT spending. 

• So what, you may ask…WIIFY (What's in it for you?) -  Good question… These funds are targeted to go to doctors, medical practices, and hospitals – those who need to adopt the IT efficiencies called for to improve our health care system. These are small businesses who are likely to hire outside consultants to implement these changes to their business models.

•  A local employer poised to benefit from this legislation is NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc., a medical-records-system provider owned by California-based Quality Systems Inc. that employs 500 at its Horsham headquarters.

•  Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Phila) wrote the new legislation that steered the funds toward practitioners rather than insurance companies. Financial incentives to doctors and hospitals will be available as early as October 2010, so these small businesses will be looking for guidance ASAP.

Another ingredient in the lemonade is networking:  conduct online and off-line networking to find partners, perform competitive analysis, and identify links to decision-makers…

• Lots of information available is available on this topic – see the archives of Career Acceleration Notes, as well as recommended websites and blogs
  
• If you missed-it, read or listen to the NPR Marketplace report on Social Networks and Layoffs
  
• A few key points from the NPR program:  * Hyper-networking combines online and off line networking  *Jobs are not being posted  *Decision-makers are using Google in-place of gossip to vet prospects

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Now I know what a fly feels like when it hovers over people who are working fast and furiously.  Instead of being the one on the hot seat to guide new users through the elements of LinkedIn, I was like a "fly on the wall" during Jason Alba's 90-minute teleseminar, held 12-17-08. The program was sponsored by Experts Connection™
and hosted by Kathy Simmons, President and CEO of NETSHARE. 

The program was structured well, with accompanying slides that were clear and not distracting. Jason moved through the content quickly, but paused frequently to check for understanding and questions.  Targeted toward executives who may not have fully embraced social networking tools, Jason offered a few key learning points:

• Social networking is key to marketing your brand.  Clarification of your brand is essential to career management.  Not sure about this?  Not convinced?  Think about Barack Obama, the most successful job seeker in the land and winner of Ad Agency's Marketer of the Year
• Online networking tools can make it easier for those who are not natural "schmoozers."  The Internet can make it easier to reach-out to new people, reacquaint yourself with former colleagues, and step outside your comfort zone to build new connections.  The big "but" here is that online networking should make it easier to conduct the warm networking that is still key to your success, e.g. association meetings, breakfast with colleagues, lunch with people in related fields, etc.
• Of the tools available, all have value, however, LinkedIn.com is not optional for anyone who is serious about career management. Jason is also a huge fan of Yahoo & Google Groups (find those whose interests are similar to yours and join); Twitter (the fast-growing micro-blog), and blogging in general (my suggestion – individuals might try the new application, Google sites)
• LinkedIn.com's value proposition is to facilitate connections with those you know (and may have forgotten) and those you want to know.  An effective profile is key to increasing your odds of being found by colleagues and recruiters; it may be wise to hire a professional to help create the profile and learn the ropes of social marketing.  

This Experts Connection program included Jason's thoughts about Facebook, no longer a tool reserved for college students or Friday night plans.  Some key points: 

• There are no 2nd or 3rd degree connections through Facebook
• It is more casual, personal, and intimate
• While job seekers and recruiters have made inroads into Facebook, it is still more social than its business sibling, LinkedIn.

To offer the greatest value to participants, Jason focused on LinkedIn and talked about many of the features and new applications available to members. To learn more, contact a career professional or look for
the 2nd edition of Jason's book, I'm on LinkedIn, Now What.

Those who have worked with me and/or readers of my blog and website will recognize Jason Alba – he is the self-made social marketing guru and author of books and blogs: I'm on LinkedIn, Now What and I'm on Facebook, Now What.  A software engineer by training and experience, he founded JibberJobber.com in response to his own frustration with a job search.  JibberJobber.com has evolved into the "go-to" career management tool for those conducting a passive or active job search.  In the name of full-disclosure, I am honored to be one of Jason's partners in JibberJobber.com

Studs Terkel died in Chicago yesterday at age 96.  He enjoyed a full life to be sure, with the possible loss of an opportunity to cast his ballot for a fellow community organizer, Barack Obama.  Click here to read an excerpt from an October 23rd interview with Studs about Election 2008.

As one whose first "professional" job was with a community-based employment development agency... …with two sons who work to repair the earth, one through higher education and another via social entrepreneurship/BOP…whose family has walked the talk, I join Studs Terkel and Barack Obama in celebrating the value proposition that "community organizers" can bring to the workplace.

Some may scoff or snarl at the idea that "do-gooders" offer value to the traditional world of employment (e.g. Rudolph Guiliani at the Republican National Convention), but with the perspective of an interviewer like Studs Terkel, let's look at what a hiring manager may find:

• Excellent interpersonal skills – listen twice as much as they talk to people who are not often heard
• Needs assessment ability – understand the needs that are underneath the expressed frustrations
• Problem solving/Resourcefulness – able to identify needed resources and people
• Project/Program management – ability to keep a lot of balls in the air, all headed for home-plate
• Sales/Marketing ability -  accountable for outcomes; identify continued and new funding sources
• Communication tools – written, verbal, print, visual, audio, Web 2.0, and in several languages

The service that community organizers perform is as valuable as that offered by our military, our teachers, our police officers and fire-fighters, and by journalists, broadcasters, and interviewers like Studs Terkel, who respectfully chronicled American workers since 1957.

Great experience today – my first as a guest on BlogTalk Radio!  I was honored to join a few other JibberJobber Partners who have talked with Jason about issues of importance in the Web 2.0 world of career transition and job search.

We talked about McCain and why he appears to be losing the job to Obama, despite his "hard copy" credentials and experience.  The conclusion appears to be that McCain has not responded well to the behavioral question of the day – the economic crisis. 

• Obama has been able to convince the interviewers, a.k.a. voters, that he "feels their pain" and has practiced the time-honored strategy of listening with 2 ears and talking with 1 mouth. He has learned from the interviewing process and has offered need-based plans that appeal to voters whose issues are health care, education, foreign policy and war, and of course, the economy.
• McCain and Palin talk a lot about themselves – a commentator on NPR suggested that McCain is asking the voters to reward him for his military and government service – he is not offering success stories via examples or testimonials that speak directly to the concerns of voters.  Indeed, one commentator observed that he appears to be a veteran of WWII, rather than a Vietnam War-era veteran; perhaps his POW experience shielded him from the cultural shift that affected his chronological peers.  His problem is not his chronological age, but the perception that he
  lives in the past and is not equipped to lead in the future.

The lesson for job seekers and career changers is to identify the needs of prospective employers; identify and emphasize transferable skills and personal qualities that are prized by this organization; and offer your brand and mini-business plan in a WIIFTm (What's In It For Them) context. 

The Recruiting Animal joined the conversation and added value by sharing his perspective as a Recruiter and a Canadian.  We discussed the impact of age, race, personality, and blogging in the interviewing space.  Listen to the recording and offer comments to keep this topical discussion alive:  <http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jibberjobber>

As a career professional and a political aficionado, I've been carrying this post around in my head for quite awhile; time to put these thoughts out-there for your consideration…  I'm intrigued by the lessons we can learn from this election – the "national interview" that the voters and media are conducting with John McCain and Barack Obama. 

If related experience and traditional credentials could win the job, John McCain should be in a better position two weeks prior to Election Day.  Instead it is Obama, with training as a lawyer, and limited and varied experience as a community organizer, teacher, and legislator who is most likely to be offered the job.  How has that
happened?   Why has
someone who lacks compelling experience in the 3 major areas of traditional work
(business/industry, military, government) been able to win the confidence of millions of potential voters?  Why has experience not
sealed the deal?

I think the answer lies outside the box – in the transferable skills and personal qualities that are the elephant in the interview. 

• Too many candidates conduct their job search campaigns in the McCain model: they respond to the explicit requirements of the job, e.g. 25 years in Senate; military service; and a conservative centrist philosophy in-keeping with that of most Americans.  As if faced with a case study or behavioral question, McCain's suspension of his campaign appears to have weakened his presentation in the opinion of the interviewers.  He acted unilaterally, and was unable to gain the support of colleagues during the discussion of the $700 billion bailout plan. While McCain has the credentials and experience most sought-after, he did not demonstrate the requisite transferable skills and personal qualities to handle this economic crisis.
• Obama's success in the polls suggests that candidates may be more successful by intuiting the personal qualities needed to meet the job requirements. Obama's presentation reflects his analysis of what the interviewers are looking for – beyond the requirements.  Obama has presented himself as calm and thoughtful in response to the $700 billion bail-out plan; he has left himself some wiggle-room in the event he actually inherits is crisis.  He appeals to an unstated desire to lower the heat on our discourse and become more unified and accepting in our interpersonal (and global) relations.  While Obama's political philosophy may be somewhat to the left of most Americans, he is winning voters over with transferable skills that demonstrate an ability to listen and collaborate before responding to challenges.

Let's relate this thesis to the situation faced by a recent business school graduate. Here's a posted job requirement: 3-5 years brand management experience in a consumer products environment.  Suppose you are a candidate with 2-3 years experience as a blogger for a professional association?  What are the transferable skills that you gained as a result of this paid or unpaid experience?  What are the personal qualities that you can claim as a result of your successful contribution to the exponential growth of the association-its growth in membership, recognition in its space, increased revenue, etc? 

• A blogger must design communication that specifically supports a brand, in this case, the niche carved-out by a professional association.
• Your experience required a great deal of collaboration between staff, current members, and the public, including potential members.  You've come to understand the perspective of these disparate groups and understand what they need from the association, the brand called…
• You have an impressive portfolio of Web 2.0 and traditional marketing pieces that have been targeted to a niche market.  You have conducted competitive analysis in the association's space.  Again, this directly transferable to brand management.
• You cultivated relationships with association members who work for consumer products companies; they know you, respect you, and will advocate for you.

So, do you get the interview?  If so, can you win the job?  Invoke the lessons of the national interview.  For more on this topic, listen to Blogtalkradio.com on October 30, 2008 – Noon – <http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jibberjobber>  The podcast will be available for download later…

A client has maintained a constant training regimen
to scale her brick wall: technology is sending her job to the scrap-yard. 

She is an incredibly positive and tenacious
person.  The transition/training process has required nearly 6 months of
patience and focus; now she is close to realizing her goal.  One door may be closing, but a window is
opening…

Her recent e-mail referenced this excerpt from the
last lecture of Professor Randy Pausch, who offered a legacy talk shortly
before his struggle with cancer ended with his death. Perhaps these words will inspire
those who are trying to scale their own walls

The brick walls are there
for a reason.

The brick walls are not
there to keep us out;

the brick walls are there
to give us a chance

to show how badly we want
something.

The brick walls are there to stop the people

who don’t want it badly
enough.

They are there to stop the
OTHER people!

-

Download randy_pausch.m2YH4U3WTBO0QA.htm

Randy Pausch

If
you’re reading this article, you probably understand that job
successful job seekers talk about what they have accomplished in
previous positions, and present a “mini-business plan” to relate to the
needs of a prospective employer. Review the following list to be sure
you are prepared to interview successfully:

• You have
  clearly and concisely described one – two “success stories” for each of
  your previous employers, using the Problem (Challenge) – Action -
  Result model.
• You have analyzed your accomplishment
  stories to identify the personal qualities, skills, and areas of
  knowledge that made it possible for you to achieve your successes.

Going forward, you need to re-frame this data in terms of what is needed for the specific position you are applying for.

Step #1
- Study the job description and organization to identify the criteria
for the job (not “requirements”). The criteria are likely to be “soft
skills,” e.g., flexibility, team orientation, interpersonal skills,
etc. Create a grid, with the criteria on the left and your previous
employers across the top.

Step #2 – Fill-in the cells
with a note about each employer/accomplishment that addresses the new
job criteria. (Without the ability to post a table online, I can’t
provide a good-looking sample – contact this author for a complimentary
copy of this worksheet..)

Step #3 – Once you’ve
completed this “homework,” use your notes to prepare for questions and
conversation with the interviewers. Be careful to limit your responses
to three – four crisp sentences, using the Problem (Challenge) – Action
- Result model.

Ironically, you’ll need to rehearse these responses so you can deliver them in a style that appears to be totally spontaneous!  Rehearse
wherever you are alone and won’t feel silly talking out loud to
yourself, e.g., while driving, drying your hair, etc.  Want to hear a supportive refrain while practicing?  Try Frank Zappa’s 2005 The Classic Interviews ! 

I'm using this post to demonstrate how you can use your morning newspaper as a guide toward your "next big thing."  Your newspaper doesn't have to be delivered to your door or purchased from a street-corner;  online news will also help you accomplish the goal. 

It is fair to say that we accept the need to demonstrate that we are current in our field, that we understand how events in the world affect our
industry, and that we offer a unique value to a prospective employer.  While the thought process that I'm going to suggest isn't new, it seems that job seekers have abandoned the news and therefore, removed themselves from current information that can inform their unique value proposition and brand…  An example:

Many of my current clients are looking for B2B,  marketing, or communications opportunities in industries with staying power in the Greater Philadelphia area, including Allentown, Princeton, and Wilmington.  So, to become familiar with the major industries in the area and keep abreast with what's happening with innovative ideas, products, services, and key people, these clients check-out:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Business section, published daily, (best for job seekers is Monday)
• The Philadelphia Business Journal – published weekly

Monday's Inquirer featured an article about competition between regional health insurers, principally Capital and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Sheild, as well as their non-Blue competitors, Aetna and Valley Preferred.  Public regulators are holding hearings to evaluate the wisdom of a Blue merger, and the writer offers a very informative history of the business of health insurance in the corporate arena.  This is a very large and profitable industry;
opportunities exist in a multitude of roles, including executive
management, sales, IT, finance, marketing communications, etc.  To
paraphrase JFK's 1960 inaugural address:  think not about
what Blue can do for you; think of what you can do for Blue, or any other company of interest…

1. Take a few moments to look at the About Us page of the company web site; this page will lead you to think of the possibilities you might create or fulfill based on what you offer. The Jobs or Careers page reveals what is available now; while it is possible that you might find the perfect job, it is unlikely.
2. Once you determine your genuine interest, dare I say, "passion," then start looking for connections – people who can help you gain access and information about the company to better determine what you can do for them. These connections can be found in the weekly "People In the News," in the body of news articles, through company web sites, through online networking sites, and in the office next-door to yours…
3. Perform a SWOT analysis on the company; learn about the company's competition; develop a few proposals.
4. Practice listening to understand how you can meet their needs, both those that are stated and those you'll intuit based on your research.
5. Prepare targeted marketing materials – resume or profile, letters,
   e-mails, 30-60-second commercial, exit summary, etc.  The operative
   word is "targeted;" the operative perspective is WIIFTHM – What's in it for them…

A client meeting last evening led me to the March 21-27 issue of the Business Journal that featured Gamesa, a Spanish wind turbine maker whose US manufacturing facility has filled a large part of the space once occupied by the US Steel Fairless Works. This firm will employ 115 at its Center City headquarters office, and has leased 3x more office space than it previously held. So why should job seekers care?  The alternative energy industry offers an excellent opportunity for those who are good communicators and also comfortable with science and technology. Moreover, it may be an excellent alternative to industries that are more likely to be adversely affected by the economy, e.g. housing, construction, pharmaceutical.

While sipping your coffee, try these 5 clues to discover what you'll be when you grow up, or where you'll find your next big gig…