Written by Jim McBride
Keynote: The Networking Brief: Increase Your Influence
How you activate the “process” and truly benefit from networking during your career transition and beyond, is an absolute necessity in today’s business climate. Consider Career Connectors founder and today’s keynote speaker Jessica Pierce and her transformation into a networking expert.
It’s very likely that Jessica is the most networked career transition expert in the state of Arizona. However, she’s quick to reveal that she has frequently experienced the trepidation and anxiety of showing up for meetings, events or parties and having to initiate conversations with people.
Addressing a spirited Career Connectors audience, Jessica said networking is forging new friendships and her firm belief is that even the most introverted person can learn to confidently network by simply committing to the process.
Companies strongly prefer hiring people they actually like. Which makes sense, right? People tend to do business with people they know and like. External job postings tend to draw enormous piles of applications that drain resources and cost money. Companies would rather hire somebody they already know. Savvy networking is the gateway into the hidden job market.
When you think of networking as a process model, it provides clarity on how to leverage the people you already know — along with the people you don’t know yet — to help you land that first interview at your next gig.
To become a successful networker, it requires a continuous call to action on these networking process “chunks” — assess, identify, connect and create value.
ASSESS – Who’s on “your team?” How strong are your relationships? How many new people do you talk to each day? How effective are you at networking right now? These are questions to answer when assessing your personal networking readiness. To get started, follow this link to a Networking Tool Self-Assessment:
IDENTIFY – Once you’ve assessed your readiness, then identify your “developmental” network of relatives, friends, former colleagues, supervisors, employees, college professors, alumni, club members, neighbors and religious organizations. You’ll find that people want to help. Make a list and ask these contacts, “who do you know?”
Your developmental network can then introduce you to the people you don’t know, which builds up your “strategic” network. These are the people you will need to know. Industry-specific contacts, members of associations or chambers and special business events.
Follow through and do the work to increase your exposure. Show up at networking events. Arrive early. Stay late. Meet people. Be brave and ask questions. Make friends. Volunteer.
CONNECT – Reach out, use LinkedIn, and share your story with the people in your network to let them know what’s going on in your life. Find a mentor or coach. Don’t go through the job search journey alone. Ask for advice and guidance, but do not ask anyone for a job. Be specific about your job search goals and know what you want. And here’s an important point: it will deepen the relationship if you ask your network contact what you can do to assist them.
Again, it’s crucial to state your specific job search end-goal when you’re having networking conversations. The more purposeful and straightforward the goal, the easier it will be to strategize with people who may be able to facilitate an introduction on your behalf. Follow the link to this Networking Brief template, a very useful tool to put your goals, personal branding statement, transferable skills, desirable job titles and target industries/companies down on paper:
Hiring Companies
Deloitte
Matthew Harrison – Chief of Staff, US Delivery Center
Deloitte’s US Delivery Center (USDC) help’s clients achieve a higher level of service in operational efficiency and business value. The USDC leverages scale, talent, and a center delivery model to provide high quality, cost-effective service with standardized processes and procedures. See the “explore your fit” link on the website.
Open Positions:
- Risk & Financial Advisory
- Audit & Assurance
- Consulting
- Technology
Vertical Move
Ian Freeman – Business Development Manager
Our formula starts with understanding our clientele and all the technical aspects of their business and overall industry. We retain the most knowledgeable and experienced technical headhunting professionals from our own industry whom are blind to keywords and who search within the depths of a resume for actual experience and interview at levels that most cannot. We are located in Scottsdale, our recruiters are subject matter experts and we match candidates with niche roles.
Open Positions:
- Data Engineer
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Senior Business Analyst
- Software Developer
- Senior Architect
- Media Analyst
- Sr. and Mid-level JavaScript Engineer
- Sr. Backend Engineer
Optima Tax Relief
Ben Simpson – Vice President, Phoenix Operations
The Optima Tax Relief team has had one vision since inception – to help Americans nationwide deal with the aggressive collection policies of the State/IRS tax agencies.
Optima details:
- Founded 2011
- 100 employees by end of 2019
- No tax knowledge required to get hired
- Promote from within
- Hiring leaders as operation grows
- Team environment – “mischievous fun”
Open Positions:
- Administrative Assistant
- Facilities Coordinator
- Jr. Systems Administrator
- HR Manager
- Resolution Support Representative – Customer Service
- Help Desk Technician Support
- Tax Prep – Trainer
- Inside Sales
Resources
Career Connectors Academy Training Program
Steven Hatch – Director of Admissions
Brighton College is about creating the ultimate learning experience and driving employability skills for the working/non-working and the underserved.
We are proud to launch this new partnership with Career Connectors to offer the support of both organizations from enrollment to employed.
We believe this starts by identifying your natural talents through behavioral and skill-based surveys and assessments. With this knowledge we help you identify a customized learning pathway, then leverage innovative technology to deliver these in-demand courses and programs that lead to improved employability skills:
- Technical Support
- Programming
- Cyber Security
- Medical Billing and Coding
- Pharmacy Technician
- Web & Graphic Design
- Computer Aided Drafting & Design (CADD)
- Short-term Allied Health Certificate Programs
- Short-term IT Certificate Programs
Student and Career Services Support you in your journey. Career Connectors discount of 30%.
Closing
Sheila Coulam thanked the many partners and volunteers for their contributions to the Career Connectors event. Job seekers were encouraged to utilize the many transition resources – professional resume writers, career coaches, LinkedIn coaches and take the free DISC assessment. Next event: The Future of Work…at Least for 2020, Wednesday November 6th, 2019 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm in Phoenix. Stay tuned for weekly emails and LinkedIn posts.
