Feature Article: Taking Networking to the Next Level: Getting Your Name Out There
Special Feature: Breaking The Myths About Career Networking
Bonus Feature: Career Networking Explained: Making Connections, Building Relationships
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
Q&A with a Career Expert: Maria Marsala
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search
Notes from the Editor: About this Issue...
We want to send apologies out to those subscribers who have received multiple
copies of our last couple of issues. A technical glitch led to subscribers with
e-mail addresses at certain points in the alphabet receiving as many as 10 copies.
We THINK we have addressed this technical glitch and no one will get multiple copies
again, but please let us know if you do.
More and more copies of QuintZine also have been blocked by junk-mail filters.
If you DON'T want to keep getting QuintZine it's easy to
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And if you DO want to keep receiving QuintZine, make
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This issue features several helpful features on networking. One effective networking technique
is to research companies in which you're interested in working to learn whether you
might have a connection on the inside of the company -- or if you know someone with a connection.
To find jobs and companies from which you may have a few degrees of separation,
check out our
job portal.
Finally, we wish all our U.S. subscribers a lovely Thanksgiving. We're thankful for all our readers.
--Katharine Hansen, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Electronic Career Coach,
and editor at
kathy@quintcareers.com
Feature Article: Networking to the Next Level
Taking Networking to the Next Level: Getting Your Name Out There
by Katharine Hansen
Have you ever Googled yourself?
You know... have you entered your name into the well-known Internet
Google search engine to see how many times your name appears on
the Web. To get a fairly accurate reading of how often your name appears,
place it in quotation marks in Google, e.g., "Katharine Hansen." If you
have a very common name, add some other identifying information,
such as the town you live in or your employer, e.g., "Katharine Hansen"
"DeLand, FL" "Quintessential Careers."
What does this little exercise have to do with networking? Even if you've
never Googled yourself, it's possible that an employer or recruiter has.
It's part of an emerging practice -- especially at senior and executive
levels -- to find out how visible a prospective employee is. The number
of citations or "hits" on Google is considered a reasonable gauge of
a candidate's visibility.
Networking has long been considered one of the most effective ways
to job-hunt, in part because of the old adage that it's not what you
know but who you know. But increasingly, in the Information Age,
success can spring not just from who you know -- but from who knows you.
Networking is often a misunderstood concept. The development of a strong network requires making connections that
will sustain more than a simple introduction. Those connections, and the support required to maintain them,
are the necessary ingredients to developing a network. An initial meeting or contact with someone does not
establish a connection unless there is followup of some kind. The followup must suggest a genuine interest
in developing a mutually supportive relationship.
Developing relationships (not just contacts) is key to having access to opportunities. Expecting people
to be eager to listen to a "sales job" about
your value is decidedly different from developing a
relationship based on mutual needs/interests. Contacts may be immediate, but a relationship can
be established and built only over time. Credibility and trust are much stronger cases to build a relationship
on than an instantaneous commercial. The potential to build begins with the first introduction and requires
the investment of time and energy for followup. The followup and continued contact is a prerequisite to
developing relationships that will support your desire to be remembered. Making "contacts" with no followup
or genuine interest will most likely lead to dead ends (and a large collection of worthless business cards).
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Are you thinking about engaging the services of a professional writer
for your resume, CV, cover letter, thank-you letter, or other career-marketing
correspondence? Before you take this step, consider how a professional resume writer
could benefit you.
Career Networking Explained: Making Connections, Building Relationships
by Kathy Condon
Each time I begin my networking seminars I ask the participants two questions:
What is your name?
Why did you decide to come to this seminar?
What is your name?
That’s pretty simple. Most people know their name. Though occasionally I
will have a participant who has recently been married and stumbles when she
is standing up before a group. Note that I said standing. Always stand when
you are introducing yourself. Even at a U-shaped table the people sitting at the
other end of your table cannot see you. The goal is to be remembered. In
addition, your voice is much clearer.
Keep in mind, our names are very important to all of us. If they are not wearing
nametags big enough to read, make a chart and write the first names of the people
who are standing. You will be amazed at how quickly you can build rapport
with a person when you start using his or her name.
Why did you decide to come to this seminar?
It is easy to predict what they will say:
"My job requires me to out in the public and meet people,
and I'm very uncomfortable doing it."
"I am an introvert, and I don’t know what to say or do."
"I go to events and I find them so boring and become so self-conscious."
"I'm great at talking with people at my church, yet there is something
about having to go do networking that strikes real fear for me."
This is perfect! Once again, they have set me up for my "little speech" on what networking is.
To learn more about what's in Kathy Condon's "little speech,"
see our full article.
BoardSeat, mentioned as a resource in our feature article on networking,
is a superb site if you're an executive, professional, or academic looking for a spot on a board of directors
or advisory board.
Client companies include start-ups, venture-backed companies, public companies, and non-profits.
From a BoardSeat press release: Early-stage companies now realize the importance
of building a well-qualified board of directors and advisory board to attract capital. Traditionally,
companies have tended to appoint board members from friends, family, and other personal contacts.
This approach, often leads to boards that lack independence and are short on the perspective, skills,
and contacts necessary to take the company forward to the next level.
BoardSeat's online matching service is aimed at smaller companies and organizations that do not
have the resources for retained searches. The matching service allows companies to create detailed online
profiles for director and advisor positions using BoardSeat's online tool. Position profiles are compared
against the database of members and a matching algorithm produces an anonymous list of members whose skills, contacts
and experience provide the closest match.
Potential candidates include executives, academics and other professionals with appropriate experience
who are interested in serving on the boards of companies or nonprofits. Use of the service is currently offered
at no charge to candidates. The site also offers a healthy collection of articles
and FAQs, such as "Questions To Ask Before Joining Your Next Board"
and numerous articles aimed at organizations looking to form a board.
Have you read the Quint Careers Weblog (Blog)?
It consists of career and job-search news, trends,
and scoops for job-seekers, compiled by the staff
of Quintessential Careers.
The blog is a great way to stay posted on the most
recent events occurring in the career and employment fields.
Maria Marsala of Maria's Place: Coaching, Consulting & Courses
When it come to the job search, "two-thirds of the day should be spent on
networking activities of some sort -- that's about five hours daily, five days weekly,"
says Maria Marsala in the Q&A interview we did with her.
Read more of Marsala's advice in
our full Q&A with her,
including her recommended mix of networking venues,
the importance of cold-calling employers, and her special list of job-hunting tips, at:
Phil writes: "I am simply having no luck in job-hunting. I know you say networking is important, but I have no
network to speak of -- and no idea of what to do about it. Why is networking really so important -- and how can
I improve my network?"
Jerry writes: "Our company office party is coming up next week and I am seeking some advice so as not to
experience the same problems I had at last year's holiday party. I thought the idea was for everybody to have fun
and blow off some steam, but after I did just that last year, my boss had me in the doghouse for quite some
time. What's proper and what's not?"
Randle writes: "How heavily do prospective employers consider the fact that you have been fired? I have asked
others whether I should I remove this place of employment from my resume, and most have said no because it will leave
an unexplainable gap in my employment. I was employed there for only six months and was terminated because I didn't fit in.
I was told there was no room there for me anymore and they were going to hire someone else."
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
The Elevator Pitch, a 30-second or so description of you, your Unique Selling Proposition,
and the type of job you seek, is a well-known networking tool. Here, courtesy
of Career Masters Institute, are several sites and articles that outline how to develop
this key piece of communication:
The very savvy Nick Corcodolios of
Ask the Headhunter fame recently stated
that "the real purpose of a thank-you note is networking." While a post-interview thank-you note CAN
influence a hiring decision in the here-and-now, Corcodilos points out that these notes are especially useful for laying
the groundwork for staying in touch with important future contacts.
"Think about it," writes Corcodilos. "You just met an insider with whom you have shared ideas and who has given you a look
at his business. You've just initiated a professional relationship with a manager who knows other managers and good people
in your field and in other companies. You have opened the door to a new mentor; to a
new network of great contacts; and to new help and advice."
Corcodilos goes on to say: "Consider that most jobs (70 percent or more) are found and filled through personal contacts.
Consider that it's tough enough to get an interview or to find a qualified job candidate, and that every interview represents a
highly-filtered, highly-qualified personal contact. If you lose touch with that person, you've squandered
a resource that you simply cannot buy. Nowadays we all worry so much about filling a job or getting an offer that
it's easy to lose sight of what really matters when we meet others in business: new friendships."
"Large corporations use referral programs to encourage employees to submit names of people they know for open positions,"
notes Kevin Donlin of Guaranteed Resumes.
Pointing out that companies are willing to pay $500, $1,000, or more to employees who refer new hires,
Donlin suggests that "it pays to start making friends at big companies you want to work for."
Continues Donlin: "The best way to learn about employee referral programs is to strike up a relationship with
someone at your target company -- and ask. A simple email will do. Then, keep in touch. Your contact
may end up walking your resume into a hiring manager's office. You get hired and
your 'advocate' gets a cash award -- win-win!"
It's time for our annual reminder that the holidays -- contrary to some conceptions -- can be a great time
for networking and job-hunting in general. In a
Net-Temps article
Joe Hodowanes reminds readers (among other things) that "During the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's,
many inexperienced or less motivated executives drop out of the market for various reasons. What this means is
less competition! Those who step up their activity in December are more likely to gain the competitive advantage."
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QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Dining etiquette
* Career Focus Quiz
* Pre-Employment Testing
* Exude Confidence in Interviews
* Pros and Cons of Nontraditional Careers
* Nontraditional Career Paths for Men and Women
* Internet Jobhunting Annual Report
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
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Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
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The Elevator Pitch, a 30-second or so description of you, your Unique Selling Proposition,
and the type of job you seek, is a well-known networking tool. Here, courtesy
of Career Masters Institute, are several sites and articles that outline how to develop
this key piece of communication:
