Networking and Hurricane Irene

It has been three days since Hurricane Irene hit New Jersey. While the New Jersey coastline was severely damaged in many spots, at the last minute Irene veered to the left and caused major havoc in central and northern NJ, NY, and New England. Before she started blowing and while we still had electricity, I joined a Facebook group called, Jersey Shore Hurricane News, a group created by three men who provide "up-to-the-minute news and original analysis to keep you informed during the approach of tropical systems. We're currently focusing on Hurricane Irene." The Jersey Shore Hurricane group grew to over 25,000 members and many of them have joined the conversation and contributed the kind of instant detail that can't be found on TV or on the radio.

Throughout the storm I looked to the group for information about the current weather conditions, flooded neighborhoods and lightning strikes. Then, when our power went out and I switched to my Blackberry, I learned that my downtown had flooded and evacuations had started. Today, three days later I am still reading reports about road closures and detours, lost pets, water stations, member clothing donations, evacuation center needs, locations where the power has been restored and many stories of neighbor helping neighbor. The Jersey Shore Hurricane Group also provides details concerning all of our hard hit state.

This, my friends is the true definition of networking; listening, sharing, responding and commenting. It is helping someone else by providing information that you know they need and can immediately use. It is giving without expecting to receive something in return. It is in essence, the very "human" part of human nature.

Networking According to my Mother

When I was a little girl I was painfully shy. I don’t know how it happened but I wouldn’t surprised if some “thoughtful” adult in my life introduced me as, “This is Nancy. She is shy”. When I was about six years old, my mother decided to put an end to it and she gently eased me into meeting other children. I remember a day when we first moved to Eatontown, NJ after my Dad was transferred back from Germany to head the Army Central Intelligence Office out of Newark. We rented a farmhouse situated on 24 acres of fields and barns and fruit trees. It was a fun place for a kid with a love of the outdoors and an imagination.

One day the children from the neighborhood came over to see who the two new girls were. My sister ran outside and jumped right into the conversation and action. I looked out of my window at the fun and wished that I was as bold as she. My mother, noticing my hesitance took me by the hand and led me out to meet the neighbors. Oh it was hard and I can remember hiding behind her, clutching a stuffed lamb for dear life. Gradually, with her encouragement and casual conversation I stood in front of the new kids and smiled. They didn’t care that I was “shy” or quiet; they just wanted to play in our huge yard. We remained friends for years.

Looking back I can remember some of the lessons my mother taught me about meeting other people (networking) and I am so grateful. As the years went on and I had a family of my own, she continued her introductions and friendly matchmaking with my children. Today marks the seventh year of her passing. As I thought of her and gratefully acknowledged the huge role she played in molding who I am today, I jotted down her networking tips. (She would have laughed at the word networking; she most likely would have called them common sense people skills.) They are great tips for the kid in all of us.

1. Be yourself. You are who you are and can’t ever make yourself someone else.
2. Be open to new people and new ideas. You might learn something.
3. Treat everyone the way that you want to be treated. Everyone has feelings just like you. Everyone should be respected.
4. Get out there even if you don’t feel like it. You’ll most likely enjoy yourself more than you expected.
5. Not everyone is as confident as they appear. Everyone has some sort of insecurity. Be open to people and make them feel comfortable.
6. If someone is not interested, so what? Move on and meet someone new.

I’ve carried these tips along with me through life. Her advice, recipes, voice, smile and mannerisms have made me who I am today and I am grateful.

Resume Preparation

One of the things that I have been doing more of lately is helping people write their resumes. While it is time consuming and often very frustrating I find it challenging and enormously rewarding. Sometimes I will receive a half page of the highlights from someone’s 30 year career. Other times I may get a five page report of the daily/weekly/monthly tasks that someone has meticulously prepared. I look at these resumes and everything in between as a great start. Someone made an effort to capture their working life and that’s a hard thing to do.

Here’s what I do to involve a client in creating their own specific resume template. Perhaps you can do the same thing to prepare your own resume.

1. Research the client’s past companies to learn what they actually did. Go to the company employment page, enter the job and read the job description. Clarify with the client that they performed these activities. Expand on these and make them measurable by asking questions such as:
a. Who do you work with? Internal? External? Where were they located?
b. How many clients did you have? (If applicable)
c. Within this position did you save money, time, create a process, design a procedure, etc.?
d. Looking at that position, what were your biggest accomplishments? What were you proud of? Why?
e. What did you like about this job? What didn’t you like?

2. Look up the type of position the client wants (any job board, ehow -money and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook). Do the job responsibilities align with what the client has said? Is there new wording that can be incorporated into the resume (new buzz words, technology, jargon)? Expand on these by asking the client:
a. Have you done these types of activities before? What specifically were the results?
b. Could you jump into this job tomorrow? Why? Capture the specific activities that support this.
c. Why are you perfect for this job? Again, capture the specific activities that support this.

3. Go to the online pages of the companies that the client is interested in working for. Read the “About Us”, “Our Philosophy”, and “Our Employees” type of pages and read the wording. Ask the client:
a. What have you done in the past that supports this company philosophy, etc.?
b. How would you fit into this company?
c. Why would this company want you?

All in all it is a lot of questioning, note taking and thinking. The responses are then culled down to specific wording and resume format. It's a great start, the client is involved and in the long run, sees themselves as an accomplished player with skin in the game. You can do it too.

The Networking Event - A Follow Up

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, I was about to attend a women’s networking event and like many people, I was nervous. Sure, I have an entire class based purely on networking and my book is filled with tons of networking tips. Still that old uncomfortable feeling came over me, “What if no one will talk to me?”

The event topped off at 50 people and the room was set up with standing pub tables and sit down tables and chairs. As expected there were clusters of women who knew one another and stood in small groups catching up. There were also single women and those who moved from group to group. I was prepared, though and this is what I learned.

1. We talked about our jobs.
2. We talked about our families
3. We talked about sports
4. We talked about our jobs again

We talked about our jobs. With drink in hand we introduced ourselves and our businesses. The variety of companies and positions in the room was impressive. Since we were all business owners, the playing field was level. Our introductions quickly turned to our businesses and it was remarkable to see people talk so comfortably about their passions.
Tip: Practice your elevator speech but don’t make it sound rehearsed. Think about what you love about your field of interest and let that passion shine through.

We talked about our families: Many attending the networking meeting had families and the conversation quickly turned to children, colleges, jobs and locations. I realized that like-aged women seemed to gather together. I did notice that the younger (20 something’s) stuck together and didn’t really stray outside of their own group.

We talked about sports: Many years ago there was a networking survey conducted that tested the false theory that when men get together they talk about business and sports and when women get together they talk about anything but business. We again proved that the hypothesis was wrong as we discussed teams, personal sporting likes and dislikes and local events.

We talked about business again. We exchanged cards, business ideas and scheduled future meetings. When I returned home, I connected with these women on LinkedIn.

This networking event was for me, about gathering business. For the job seeker, the same principles apply. It’s all about personal connection followed up with a social connection. It’s about listening and sharing information and not pushing. It’s about meeting new people and establishing relationships. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a chance.

I am looking forward to doing business with my new connection and continuing the relationship with my other new contacts.

Networking Events

Tonight I am attending a professional networking group meeting. It is for professional women in my county and is limited to 50 guests. Networking is great however not all people are great networkers. I train about it and coach about it but honestly, it makes me uncomfortable. It reminds me of going to a party and not knowing anyone but the host. Depending on your personality, it can be intimidating too. So what am I doing to prepare? I intend to:

1. Practice my elevator speech. My elevator speech for tonight will be short (15 seconds or so). I intend to listen and question more than speak.
2. Don't make it all about me. Did you ever go to a party and run into the person who only talks about themselves, their families, their successes, their whatever? I don't EVER want to be that type.
4. Exchange cards when asked. I certainly won't shove my card into someone's hand unless asked.
5. Take notes when I get home. I intend to remember names, companies and interesting facts about the people I talk with and follow up with them later. If I see something that I think that they will like, I will forward it to them with a note.

What do you do to prepare for a networking event?

Hometown Facebook Pages Go Viral

Have you noticed all of the “You know you’re from (insert name of town) when…” Facebook groups popping up? Every day I see that another one of my friends has joined one and has joyfully jumped into the local conversation. I’m not excluding myself because I’m right in there sharing memories about my favorite beaches or the Firemen’s Fairs we attended or the best pizza or subs joints on the Jersey shore. Why are these groups appearing so suddenly and why all of the happy talk? I’ve got a couple of theories.

The sky is falling. Last week the stock market plunged, the unemployment numbers barely budged, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the US credit rating to A++ (an historical slap in the face) and our US representatives were arguing and taunting each other like school kids. Who wouldn’t want to forget all the nastiness in the world and go back to a time when we were young, foolish and rode our bikes until it was "dark o'clock"? The teachers, friendships and the songs are the comfort foods that we long to devour when the world is going to hell in a hand basket outside our very windows.

Social media has made is so much easier to connect. I can remember my father calling for telephone information in Iowa, Colorado and California looking for the phone numbers of his former Army buddies. When he was able to get one of the guys “on the horn” they reminisced about the old days and the mischief they caused and even the dangers they faced. They hugged one another over the phones lines and promised to get together at one of the annual reunions. If my dad was around now, I’m sure that he’d be Googling every name in his address book or joining a Facebook group devoted to Army World War II or Korean War veterans.

Since this is a job search column, I don’t need to tell you that these groups are also building up your networking contacts. Relationships are being re-established and new ones are created. Our shared memories are a bridge. By the way, some groups are allowing the members to post their business names in a separate document. I applaud those groups because they are allowing the members to network professionally and hopefully help someone with any employment needs. NOTE: It’s rude to advertise your company name in a Facebook group without asking the administrator for permission first. It silences the group members and makes people very uncomfortable.

Whatever the reason for joining one of these hometown groups, enjoy them. If you find that they aren’t for you, you can always leave them. I know that for now, I am going to stick around mine and enjoy the conversation.

When the Writing is on the Wall (or Not)

"In case of an emergency, break glass"

Sometimes a job termination can come out of the blue. It smacks you right in the gut and brings out emotions that you never thought were even possible. If it is warranted fine, then it won’t be such a surprise. If not, then the rage, hurt, and anger can rise to the surface and sap your energy and self esteem. It can leave you feeling shattered, helpless and without a clue about where to turn next.

Some companies have a bit of compassion and will give you a bit of notice. Whether a reduction in the workforce is two months or two weeks down the road, this at least gives you a chance to process the news and begin the physical and emotional preparations to leave. Others (and some very respectful companies) are not so compassionate and will bowl you over in disbelief. This second option is cruel.

Even if you feel comfortable with your standing in your company, it pays to be prepared in case you are eventually caught in the cross hairs. What can you do now to prepare?

1. Copy all of your performance appraisals. If you don’t have them, ask your manager for a copy for your files.
2. Review and document all your past trainings and certifications.
3. Review your email for any thank you notes or recommendations from internal and external clients, peers, managers, etc. Print them.
4. Document any internal company awards. What were they for, why did you receive them?
5. Look at the goals you established for the past three to five years. What were the measurable accomplishments? Who (and where) were your internal and external clients? If you had to, could you explain the tasks involved in these goals? Print these too.
6. Look at your electronic or paper calendar and document important events. These may remind you of particular activities or project work.

If you work for a company that doesn’t use goals or performance appraisals (shame on them) it may be more difficult to go mining for information. What is important is that you document everything about your job. This includes:

• Your customers. Who are they? Where are they located? How many customers do you have?
• Your day to day activities
• Your major accomplishments over the past five or so years

When I worked as an HR Consultant and a Learning and Development Consultant, I presented goal setting and performance management training. One of my tips was to create a “Me File”. As the days, months and year passed, I suggested filling it with all important documentation. As an employee, the file documented the projects, tasks, etc that were accomplished in the year and were a good reference tool for preparing a performance appraisal.

If you are suddenly faced with a reduction in workforce and are terminated, grab your Me File when you leave. Its new purpose is to help you find new employment and will be the fodder for your resume and interviews.