Networking—Compassion or Competition?

Fellow jobless people you meet through networking can become part of your community of connections or they can be competitors. The distinction is really up to you. However, choosing the compassionate route can have short- and long-term rewards.

Even those who may be competing for the same jobs hold some promise as connections, because if they find a job before you do, they are suddenly on the inside track again and able to help you more. The wider you cast your net, the more options you give yourself. If you shut off those who might “take jobs away” from you, you also shut off the potential leads and support they can offer.

Just as with not burning bridges with past employers (see the last post), being open minded in your networking could lead to a job opportunity you never imagined existed.

The keys to success in networking with other jobseekers are sharing and caring. You can:

• Share interesting articles, papers or news items with your connections.
• Add them to your online network on LinkedIn or other social media.
• Offer support by listening.
• Notify them about new networking opportunities.
• Invite them to join you to hear an interesting speaker.
• Ask them to come along to a professional meeting, exposition or other event.
• Introduce your contacts to others in your network.
• Send links to resources on job hunting or their profession.
• Check in periodically to see how they are doing.
• Get together one-to-one over coffee.

Turning Anger into Positive Energy after Job Loss

When you leave a job, especially under unhappy circumstances such as a layoff or separation, it is wise to leave with as much style as you can muster—staying calm and professional. And, to stay that way, no matter how angry you are. Throwing epithets or trashing your former employer will only do you harm.

In a town like DC where a lot of people know a lot of people, word can get around. You may tell people what happened to you in “confidence,” but in another context your tale of woes may just be another bit in their memory bank, and it may be reaching the ears of possible future employers or coworkers. It might even reach your previous boss, which could hurt your chances if he or she is called by your next potential employer for a reference. Additionally, people shy away from complainers. If you are networking, you’ll do better if you park your personal issues at home.

However, I’m not suggesting that you ignore how you feel or suppress your initial anger. What I am suggesting is that you deal with it to get over it, so you can start on a positive path towards finding new employment. If you deal with your anger in constructive ways, whether it’s writing in a personal journal (not a blog), talking it out privately at home or with a professional counselor, or taking it out in exercise, you are taking charge of it rather than letting it consume you and infect what you do and say.

Employers are looking for upbeat attitudes, and burning bridges has never been the route to success. Working through your feelings will help you find the positive energy you need to move on.

After the Networking Event—What’s Next?

When networking, you will likely meet people who are looking for jobs like yourself, some just laid off and others who have been on the market for months or longer. You will encounter others who are well connected in the DC business community, sales persons or business owners looking to gain a customer, and career coaches and recruiters. Any of these individuals could turn out to be good connections for you to make.

Each time I attend a networking opportunity, I leave with several business cards and connections that could lead either to freelance, contract or permanent work, or new friends, or even guest bloggers. These are just quick meetings, nothing definite, but bearing potential. So, what’s next?

Without follow-up, all these networking connections are just noise. It’s up to you to make the music. On the same or next day after a networking event, you should:

• Make sure the notes* you jotted on the business cards you collected are meaningful, while you can still remember enough about the people and what they said. I recommend that for later reference you also date the cards and add the name of the event or organization.
• Sort your cards (and your memories) into: A. those with true long-term potential; B. those with peripheral common interests; and C. those who are probably not going to be part of your immediate circle.
• Start contacting your A group first. Invite them to join your online network (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) or set up a time to meet over coffee.
• Write short greetings to your B group, and if you are so inclined, to your C group. After all, this latter group may have connections to other people you’d like to know.

Now you have begun the networking process—and it definitely doesn’t end here.

*See the October 20 post.

Making a Networking Event Worth Your While

Networking is more than meeting people, elevator speeches and a stack of business cards. It’s about building relationships.

At a “networking” event, such as those given by the groups mentioned in my Oct. 19 posting or by a professional organization in your field, you will shake hands with many people, exchange short conversations and trade business cards.

Here are a few tips for making attending such an event more successful and meaningful:

• If the name badges are “do-it-yourself” stickers, write your name neatly and large for easy recognition.
• Attach your name badge on your right side so when you shake hands, those you are meeting can easily read it.
• Arrive early before the full crowd has assembled. It’s a good chance to have fuller conversations when the room is quieter.
• Hold back on the drinks, even if there is an open bar or drink specials. A tipsy networker is not a pretty picture.
• If there is food, have yours early on so you can greet people without a mouthful.
• Practice name recall by making introductions. The more you use a name, the better you remember it and the stronger the connection will be.
• Do not make the mistake of discounting the value of fellow jobseekers, who may prove to be your best advocates and scouts. These linkages can prove to be mutually beneficial and long-lasting.
• Do not ask for jobs, but rather listen to what people talk about, what their concerns are and what they are looking for.
• Make notes on the backs of business cards you gather to help you remember specifics about the people who gave them to you. Jot down their interests, goals, specialties or other notable facts.

Armed with a handful of cards, what do you do now? I will address that in my next post. Also, see these earlier posts on networking.

Call Me an Optimist—Jobs Are Like Tomatoes?

One of my two “girls,” a tall productive yellow cherry tomato plan, bit the dust in early September. Her offspring were delicious. The sister plant with its plump red cherry tomatoes is nearing its demise. Both plants lived fruitful lives, enjoying the sun, enduring storms and cold nights, and delivering 100s of wonderful little tomatoes.

We popped them in our mouths raw right off the plant, we added them to vegetable and pasta dishes, and we sautéed them with leaves from our basil plants. They joined our stir fry meals and topped fish fillets.

As the two plants aged, they developed leaf spots and hosted spiders who strung their webs from stem to stem. They stopped being pretty. At one point, my husband pointed to them and declared they were done. No more of the little green gems were going to turn to red or yellow, he thought. “Time to cut them down.”

Call me an optimist. I wasn’t ready to give up (seems to be a lifelong trait of mine)…and it turned out I was right. We had at least a dozen more ripening tomatoes after the initial death sentence.

Now that their season is nearly finished, I look forward to planting their cousins in the spring. We had a good run together. It’s been great.

In a way, it's similar to leaving or losing a job you liked. It was a good run, but now it's time to move on.

[If you’re new to One Tomato at a Time, please check out these earlier posts on planting and tending my “girls.”]

Signs of the Season, Networking Opportunities Are Everywhere

Trees are starting to show their fall colors, and networking opportunities are abundant in the DC area. Organized groups, from professional associations to local meet-ups and interest groups, are hosting gatherings at a wide range of venues. If you are looking for a job, this is prime time for making connections. Summer is over. Everyone is back in action.

Here are a couple of affordable, very active groups that sponsor area networking opportunities jobseekers should check out.

Washington Network Group—WNG is a membership group, but you don’t have to join to attend. Over time it will make sense to join so you can participate in networking at the nominal member rate of $20. Food is included at these evening events, and there is a cash bar. The group holds events specifically for professionals in government affairs, business, communications, technology and international fields, but they also hold events that bring them all together. Go to http://www.washingtonnetworkgroup.com/ for more information. WNG also offers an extensive online list of organizations for further networking.

Washington DC Connections—This is a group spawned on LinkedIn last April that has mushroomed into a network of more than 11,000 DC area professionals. It has 13 special interest subgroups as well. There are no membership dues, and events cost $20. Since it is part of LinkedIn, there is also an active online community, where members often post information for jobseekers. Go to the group’s LinkedIn pages for more details.

The general wisdom for jobseekers is that you won’t find a job sitting at home. So take advantage of all the opportunities around you to get out to meet new people, connect with those you’ve met before, and potentially open a niche for yourself that leads to a new job.

Chipmunk Cheeks—Never Giving Up

While writing for this blog, I often see a small brown flash in the corner of my right eye as a chipmunk—cheeks full of acorns—dashes across the top step outside my back door. Sometimes it will sit there for a while on its haunches, looking around, totally oblivious to my presence. We regularly share a space on this planet, only a few feet apart. It’s one of the small pleasures of working at home.

My chipmunk friend, like millions of others, is preparing for the winter. Even I have begun my preparations for colder weather by extracting my long-sleeved shirts and sweaters from a cedar-lined storage box in my closet.

As the seasons come and go, we all make small and large adjustments to our lives. As jobs come and go, we move on too. Sometimes the effort and changes such transitions require are large, but taking each step One Tomato at a Time (so to speak), we get closer to where we want to be.

My friend the chipmunk makes countless trips to transport a few acorns from their source to a hiding spot, never giving up because the task is too large.

I think there is a lot we can learn from chipmunks.

Passing Unemployment Milestones and Focusing on the Future

Many who were laid off earlier this year or before are still on the market for a job. There’s no denying that job hunting in today’s environment is more challenging than when the economy was booming. You can’t change historical facts, but you can change your future reality.

If you are passing an unemployment milestone, say six months or more, maybe it is time to take stock of your accomplishments to date.

Have you:

• Sought advice from friends and experts?
• Lined up your references?
• Had your resume professionally critiqued?
• Regularly updated your online profile?
• Networked at every opportunity?
• Followed up on leads given to you by friends and former colleagues?
• Shared job leads with fellow jobseekers?
• Developed or participated in a support network?
• Contacted recruiters?
• Attended workshops and seminars to keep your skills up?
• Enrolled with temporary agencies?
• Kept in touch with your contacts?
• Volunteered anywhere?
• Joined Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn groups?
• Conducted informational interviews?
• Updated your portfolio?
• Started a blog or your own website?

While these are great steps to take, especially if you have done them all, you might respond, “Yeah, but,” because so far they haven’t landed you a permanent job. However, at this juncture in your quest for re-employment, it’s okay to congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished…for a moment…and then move forward.

Rather than sagging into the dumps, now is the time to try new angles and ramp up your efforts. Instead of losing steam because of the time passed, energize yourself and get going.

Portfolios for Creative Non-Creative Job Hunters

You may not design beautiful brochures or websites, but I’ll bet you have put together a report or two, maybe with graphs or charts. Maybe you wrote a portion or all of an investor report or contributed to last year’s annual report. Can you show critical path and milestones for a project you managed in a Gantt chart? How about SOPs you wrote or an executive summary?

There are lots of creative ways to demonstrate your abilities with visual effects even if your work itself is not in the creative arts. Portfolios are not just for writers or graphic designers. When you walk into an interview, it creates more impact if you have something visual that you can show while you discuss your role and the outcomes of your contribution.

Fill a portfolio with your best recent examples, including PDFs, web pages or other documents (printed in color) that graphically demonstrate your business skills (without divulging proprietary or confidential information) in developing such initiatives as:

• proposals


• plans


• programs


• policies


• profits


• problem solving


• positive results
  

When the interviewer says, “So, tell me about yourself,” you’ll be ready to talk about your accomplishments in a novel way. In today’s highly competitive market, it should make you a standout candidate who will get the job.