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Networking…Evolved

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networking gearsNetworking is often described as the most important factor in getting a job, landing a promotion or even holding on to a desirable position.

Yet, people often hear the term and think it means they must attend functions where they must introduce themselves and hand out business cards, and ask strangers for job leads. If that’s what you are thinking, think again.

Networking has evolved into a process of building solid professional relationships that involve exchanging communication, ideas and information. It’s about creating ongoing dialogue with peers, associates, individuals in positions you may aspire to, and those with knowledge and insight into your profession – or a profession in which you may have interest.

Building a network
To make networking work for you, start by identifying people you already know. Those who know you, your background and your skills represent a key network foundation. From there, you can expand and develop your network both online and off. Consider these avenues:

  1. Online sources: Sites such as LinkedIn offer effective ways to get in touch with people with whom you have worked or know on a more casual or social basis. They, in turn, may be able to introduce you to other people you’d like to get to know. It pays to do more than just “connect” in these online groups. Take some time to learn how to use and leverage resources on the sites.
  2. Career and leads groups: In many locations, you’ll find groups that exist to share job leads and opportunities. Beyond finding out about specific positions, these groups can help you get a better idea of what organizations are hiring in your area. They also can be excellent sources of tips and advice on how to improve your presence in other networking situations, online and off.
  3. Professional groups: Almost every profession has an association or informal group, online or off, to further education and connections within the field. Do some research to identify the ones that best meet your goals, and become active in those.
  4. Community organizations: Whether it’s a neighborhood association, church committee, volunteer opportunity, hiking group or your Spanish language class, you often can effectively expand your network close to home. General business groups, such as Toastmasters and the local Better Business Bureau, can also be good resources.

Getting started
Networking is far less intimidating when you realize it’s really not all about you. Take the approach of learning something interesting about others. Start by asking questions about the person with whom you are talking. Learn about his or her business, career path and interests outside the workplace. Even in social situations, good conversation can easily include the chance to ask someone about what they do in their work and about their company.

Learn by listening – carefully. A good two-way conversation will almost always lead into the other person taking an interest in what you do and what you’d like to do.

As you expand your network, you’ll find that you will continue to meet more people and make more connections, receive valuable career advice and learn of job opportunities – often before those positions are openly posted. This means you can come to a company through a referral, which can be positive for both you and your referral source.

Through developing a network, you’ll likely learn about companies and organizations – of all sizes and types – whose names you may not immediately recognize, but that could open the door to new opportunities. You’ll gain input on interview preparation and may meet important role models and mentors.

Remember, too, that networking is not just a one-time activity to do while job-hunting. Developing a professional network is an ongoing activity throughout your career that will help you improve the quality of your work and increase job satisfaction.

Looking through the employer lens
Understanding the benefits networking accrues to employers also can help you understand the benefits of career-long networking.

Companies frequently fill jobs through trusted referrals, without posting the positions. They frequently find that referral employees are better performers, and create more engagement in the business when hired. Employees hired through referrals typically have longer retention periods. Many human resource executives consider referrals the “secret weapons” in building performance-driven organizations.

It may be time to update your definition of networking, and view the process as an ongoing way to meet and learn from new, interesting people. You will find doors opening to opportunities that very well might otherwise stay closed.

10/11/17 – Lost My Job, Now What

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Lost Your Job Now WhatWritten by Susan Lamphiear

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Henry Ford

No doubt about it. Losing a job– being in career transition—takes its place right up there with some of life’s most difficult challenges. At times it can feel like it’s literally sucking the breath from you. But it helps to realize that others, having traveled this particular part of the storm, have not only lived to tell about it, but have come through this particular storm stronger and ready to tell their story.  And ready to share what they’ve learned. Like the airplane, they’ve taken off against the wind.

Consider the message from the Broadway musical Wicked, Defying Gravity: “It’s time to try defying gravity. I think I’ll try defying gravity. And you can’t bring me down” as you consider our keynote’s personal story and her advice.

Keynote

Naomi Buckta has been in your shoes.  She feels your pain. She, too, has experienced job loss.  The good news is she came out stronger on the other side and shares her tips for getting through the storm.

Today she’s Vice President of sales & marketing for four related companies. Through her experiences she’s conducted seminars and workshops focusing on personal transition and social networking.

Naomi’s Tips After a Job Loss

  • Lost your job? Don’t panic. When you start to doubt yourself, make a list of your strengths. Go to your LinkedIn profile and read the great stuff people have written about you.

When Naomi Buckta was laid off in 2010, it caught her off guard even though she was part of the executive team. She had to remind herself what a rock star she is.

  • Assess yourself. Clean up your social profiles. Know what you really want and let your resume reflect that. Consider a career coach. And a mentor.
  • Don’t be resentful. Develop the habit of writing thank you notes. Don’t burn bridges.
  • Stay current in your field. This is the number one reason people lost their jobs in their organizations. Remember MOOCs. Say, what? You know MOOC–Massive Open Online Course. It’s those courses of study available on the internet and available without charge to large numbers of people. Make a section on your resume to document ones you’ve taken. It’s one more sign to potential employers that you’re staying current in your field.
  • Have a plan—Connect with people through NetworkingPhoenix.com, LinkedIn groups, church groups. Find out who knows who. Prepare your elevator speech.
  • Build your network whether you’re in job search or gainfully employed. Relationships matter. What do you know, what are your targeted companies, and what networking events are available to you? Find a mentor who among other things will be honest with you and even help you debrief after an interview.
  • Your resume—don’t sound like a zombie—aim to make your resume sound like a human voice. Make sure your resume reflects the exact job you’re looking for now. Put it on quality paper.
  • Is your portfolio up to date? Consider writing a 30/60/90 day plan and aim to work it into an interview.
  • The interview—Prepare questions to ask for every level of the organization. And be prepared to answer behavioral questions.
  • Speak positively about the company you just left NO MATTER WHAT.
  • Make your own opportunities while going through job transition. Consider contract work, consulting, teaching a class, working part-time to make ends meet. Or do something you’ve always wanted to do but never took time like planting an herb garden, organizing family photos, and taking a picnic lunch to the park.

Naomi summed up her thoughts, expressed in a quote, about getting through tough times like a job loss and career search.

Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.

M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist

Hiring Companies

Northcentral University

Bradley Dial, Talent Acquisition Specialist

Northcentral University, regionally accredited, features online education at a higher degree including degrees in education, technology, business, psychology, and marriage & family science.  Online degree programs allow students to learn in a one-to-one learning model from a 100% doctoral faculty.

One of the benefits includes free education.

Currently they are hiring for academics, administration, enrollment, information technology and student support services.

For more information or to apply, visit their website.

AB Staffing Solutions

James Gonzales, Recruiter

AB Staffing Solutions, a staffing and recruiting agency, is one of the fastest growing companies in the healthcare industry. They provide healthcare personnel at government and commercial medical facilities across the country.

Their company is casual, attracting employees who gladly roll up their sleeves to get the job done and who are not afraid to talk to people. AB Staffing hires medical staff for three to six month contracts, sometimes with the opportunity for permanent placement.

For more information or to apply, check their website or call. Many opportunities for healthcare workers, including recruiters, nurses, and doctors, are available in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California.

Vanguard

Renee Brown, Sr. Recruiter

Vanguard, a large client-owned investment company founded in 1975, is one of the world’s largest investment management companies, with 17 locations worldwide. Unique in its industry, as a client-owned company, they have no outside owners seeking profits. A stable company, they’ve had only three CEOs over their 42 years, with their fourth CEO Tim Buckley slated to become new CEO in January, 2018.

The company stresses integrity, a 37 ½ hour workday, and community service.

Perks or benefits include 18 days paid time off, 9 paid holidays;  up to 4 ½% 401K; onsite gym, dry cleaning, and wellness; health, dental, and vision benefits starting the first day; intramural sports leagues and more.

Currently the company offers positions ranging from entry level to management, including client relationship specialist, processing associates, financial advisors, compliance manager, and team leader roles. For more opportunities or to apply, visit their website.

Resources

Coder Camps

Jason Jones, Sr. Admissions Advisor

Coder Camps provides web development opportunities in data science. Increasing demand for this relatively new field of data science means there’s an ever-increasing demand for specialists who help companies make business decisions using the data.

There’s no entrance exam for the school. Instead, recruiters sit down and talk with potential students one-on-one. Coder camps take students where they are. The emphasis is training for developing projects—which is how students will get a job. Employers want to see their coders know how to develop projects. Universities these days connect with coder camps because the coder camps can keep up with the rapid changes inherent in web development.

Coder Camps are Coders for Life meaning since technology changes so fast, the school allows graduates of the coder camps to come back over and over at no additional cost. Coder Camps offer ongoing training and job placement for life.

Upcoming events include a free introduction, so contact the school to sign up for a free intro Wednesday, October 18, 2017,  from 5—7PM. And on Friday, October 20, 2017,  from noon-3PM please visit their big Demo Day.

For more information on applying or signing up for their events, visit their website or call.

Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the meeting and introduced breakout sessions. The breakout sessions include the opportunity to speak directly with hiring managers, LinkedIn and resume specialists, financial consultants, coaches, educational specialists, and a professional photographer for free business head shots.

Jessica thanked volunteers and our host facility  Highlands Church.

The next Career Connectors event is the Glendale launch,  featuring Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers, on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at 9AM at Calvary Church at 59th Avenue and Bell in Glendale. Topic of the keynote address will be You’ve Got This!: Real, No-Nonsense Ideas for Mentally Regrouping After a Layoff presented by Bridgett McGowen-Hawkins. The Glendale location will be held the third Thursday of each month.

The next meeting for the Scottsdale event will be Thursday, November 9, 2017, at 9 AM and features keynote speaker Cary Pfeffer on the topic of Telling Your Story.

To find specific location details, visit the events section of this website to register for any or all of the four locations.

7/13/17 – Seven Strategies for a Seamless Career Transition

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Carole ReddenWritten by Susan Lamphiear

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Aristotle. Or as Mark Twain said, “I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me they want.”

These quotes remind me of the oft-quoted message, too, that if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you’ve arrived?

Personally, I’d settle for having thought of any of these words of wisdom. But it’s certainly true that in life and in the job search and career transition, it helps to know who you are so you can decide where you’re headed. Our keynote speaker stressed that as she described her Seven Strategies for a Seamless Career Transition.

Keynote

Can you articulate your personal brand? In other words, what separates you from the other 100 candidates for the job? You can think of it as researching yourself, says keynote speaker Carole Redden, who has worked with students and professionals for over 18 years to manage their career transitions and develop their communication skills. Figure out what you can do to maximize your chances of success by knowing what you bring to the table and in what culture or environment you will thrive.

Assessing yourself (knowing your personal brand) is one of seven strategies for career transition Carole presented today at the Scottsdale event.

Seven Strategies for a Seamless Career Transition

  1. Assess yourself: Personal Branding — As part of researching yourself, get out there and meet people, including volunteering. Get back in touch with your passions: animals, veterans, horses? Along the way you may discover you don’t want to wear a suit anymore and other things that will help you target your next job or career. What kind of company or culture fits you? In 2008 when the economy dipped, Jean realized her volunteering helped keep her positive.
  2. Get Creative with Opportunities & Organizations: Take advantage of working with recruiters, use Indeed.com, post your resume with caution, track your job search, and request informational interviews (most people are willing to share information if it is limited in the time commitment—say 15 minutes).
  3. ReConnect: Proceed with the other person in mind. Ask what you can do for people you’re connecting with. Don’t forget about alumni associations, Career Services, LinkedIn Groups, Networking events. Don’t be afraid to ask for support. Too many people have trouble asking for help.
  4. Apply Yourself: The Application — Be clear, be thorough, and be positive. And don’t skip sections!! Yes, people have been known to do this when the process seems tedious. But it’s important. You don’t want to be screened out because you failed to complete the application.
  5. Re-Write History: Resume/Cover Letter — Look at your resume with new eyes. Consider eliminating information about skills or expertise you don’t want to offer. Both content and formatting are important. Unless you’re specifically told not to use a cover letter, keep sending the cover letter with your resume.
  6. Interview with Confidence: Remember your brand. If you’ve stated you give attention to detail, but the resume doesn’t reflect that, it’s a red flag. She also recommends you refer back to your resume during the interview as questions are asked–reminding them of your qualifications.
  7. Follow-Up to Stand Out: Personalize your thank you, send it hand written, and mail it right away. Even in this electronic age, you’ll stand out from the crowd if you take time to write a personalized note and put it in the mail box. Most people still fail to follow through with this. One employer was so impressed that even though the candidate didn’t get the job, they posted it on the bulletin board to remember the candidate for future openings.

Hiring Companies

 

Aetna

Le Nguyen, Director of Recruiting Operations

Aetna, a health care insurance provider, marketing company, consulting organization, and information technology enterprise, employs 50,000 people. Their goal is to make quality health care more affordable and more accessible by being the global leader in empowering people to live healthier lives. The company benefits include paid time off (PTO) and holidays, life insurance, short-term AND long-term disability, and employee work/life assistance program. Shared benefits include medical, dental, and vision plans. Incentive programs include 401K and annual bonuses, wellness/incentive programs, tuition assistance programs and student loan repayment (new in 2017).

Aetna recently entered a social compact which raised the minimum base hourly wage from $12 to $16/hour for its U.S. employees. The company also launched an enhanced medical benefits program in 2016 which lowered the out-of-pocket health care expenses for some of its U.S. employees. And starting in 2017, Aetna employees with student debt are about to get up to a $10,000 break.

A number of jobs are currently available including finance professionals, nurse consultants, network engineers, audit project manager, clinical care manager, administrative assistant, and claims reporting analyst. To apply visit their website.

G/O Digital

Stacie Lee, Technical Recruiter

G/O Digital is a digital marketing company backed by the TEGNA name — which recently purchased G/O Digital — and offering a full suite of digital solutions. Each month TEGNA reaches 50 million adults on-air and 32 million across their digital platforms.

TEGNA is a best-in-class operator with 46 television stations (including those serviced by TEGNA) in 38 markets from coast to coast. TEGNA is the largest owner of top four affiliates in the top 25 markets and reach an estimated 33% of all television households nationwide.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401K match up to 5%, and vacation days. Company perks include press coffee, snacks, strong work life balance, fun, and business casual which includes shorts in the summer. Jobs open include information technology, software engineer, customer service, marketing, general business, human resources, entry level software, and professional services. For more information, or to apply, visit their website.

Chase

Lekheythan Malone, Sr. Recruiting/Consulting Professional

Chase, the largest bank in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, prides itself as having a culture striving to help the community, and who is looking for leaders who want to grow with the company. The company will soon open another new center in Chandler. Chase works with individual customers, small businesses, corporations, financial institutions, non-profits and governments. Because the organization is large, it provides employees with amazing job opportunities, including over 17 job areas across six lines of business.

Diversity at Chase is not just a saying. Diversity and inclusion are core values including how they work, how they interact with each other, how they deliver the products and services and how they make decisions to support the customer and community.

The entire company is founded on making a real difference in the community and doing what’s right for their customers.

Open roles include business analysts, customer service and collections throughout the Phoenix area. Benefit offerings include health care and insurance plans, wellness program, and savings programs. For more information and to apply, visit their website.

Vanguard

Michael Marchese, Sr. Talent Acquisition Consultant

Vanguard is a unique investment company, founded in 1975, which is neither public nor private. Instead, it’s owned by the clients who are also their investors. The company maintains a very low turnover rate among its executives. Not driven by commissions, the company’s core belief is doing the right thing.

Benefits include a 37 ½ hour work week and anything above 40 hours becomes overtime, with the company paying 86% of the cost of employee health benefits. Promotions are primarily driven from within with different movement tracks. During the full three-month training, employees receive full compensation. People at different levels are hired but the primary emphasis is leadership skills, no matter what the position. Most people have no prior background in finance but for anyone with licenses, they have positions for those individuals, too. Across the board, the company emphasizes coaching and development of everyone they hire. Data analytics is a critical skill set too for the company.

Vanguard employs 3000 people at their Scottsdale facility at Raintree and the 101, employing  entry level to management level in several areas including processing associate, retirement plan services representatives, financial advisors, and team leaders.  Recently 800 positions were filled for client relationship specialists. For more information and to apply, visit their website.

Resources

Goodwill of Central & Northern AZ

Carter Ellis, Professional Career Advisor

Goodwill of Central & Northern AZ is a non-profit organization whose main focus is to eliminate unemployment. They provide on-site career development via Goodwill Career centers and connect local talent with Valley employers including Prescott and Yuma. Goodwill and Career Connectors have formed a community partnership and provide ongoing support during the job search.  Of every dollar, 90 cents goes back into the community.

For job seekers open to constructive criticism, on-site centers provide free career coaching, resume critiquing, and mock interviewing. And Goodwill is not just about retail positions. Management positions are also available. Goodwill works with employers all over the Valley, offering a variety of positions. If you require technical skills not offered by Goodwill, they can put you in touch with an organization that does. All services at Goodwill are free to both job seekers and to employers. Connect with them through employment events, talent sourcing, and the Goodwill job board which includes internal leads.  Services are available daily 9-5 throughout the Valley except for the Scottsdale Pavilions site which is open only Fridays. You can also find them at their website.

Coder Camps

Jason Jones, Sr. Admissions Advisor

Coder Camps train through on-site immersion or structured online programs with the aim of helping to fill the needs gap. Currently coders are needed all across the country and the positions go unfilled because there’s a shortage. Since 2010, salaries of software developers across-the-board have increased around the world.  Training onsite takes 12 weeks, the online a little longer at 24 weeks because it allows students to work at a flexible pace.

Coder. For. Life. Assures graduates can return to Coder Camps to take any courses for FREE. Graduates can also update their skills or learn a new language and then benefit from lifetime job placement assistance to advance their careers.  This lifetime benefit is exclusively offered only at Coder Camps.

For more information or to apply, visit their website.

Closing

Sheila Coulam, Director of Programs for Career Connectors, closed the formal meeting, thanking volunteers and Highlands Church for providing the beautiful facility. During breakout sessions attendees are welcome to meet with hiring companies, have free professional headshots taken, and receive help with LinkedIn and resume writing.

The next Scottsdale event will be held Thursday, August 10, 2017, in Scottsdale and will feature Jennifer Rojas giving the keynote entitled Become a Jedi Communicator in Your Job Search. The next two events are scheduled in Gilbert for Tuesday, July 25, 2017 and in Phoenix for Wednesday, August 2, 2017. Click here for specifics — including locations and speakers– for all three upcoming meetings.

2/9/17 – How to Work a Job Fair

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How to Work a Job FairWritten by Susan Lamphiear

“Always wear cute pajamas as you never know who you’ll meet in your dreams” — not sure who said that first — but I kind of wish I’d thought to coin the phrase. Anyway, the topic is careers, so obviously you won’t see anyone on the job or at a job fair wearing slippers and pajamas except in a Dilbert comic strip. I’m thinking of all those celebrities, pictured  looking drowsy because they stepped out for some mundane reason.

Most of us, fortunately, can still take an ordinary trip to fill up the car with gas or buy groceries without being judged like a celebrity.  We’re still not recommending hair curlers (does anyone even use those these days?) or fluffy slippers, though.

Keynote

Dressing the part, while important in the job search, is only one important part of showing up prepared for a job fair, says keynote speaker Andy Ridley. Andy coaches individuals, groups and corporations towards reaching their goals and Becoming Ideal. He’s also trainer for Arizona@Work, Maricopa County (Formerly Workforce Connections).

Andy transitioned into his current career after spending many years in education. But his most lucrative job got its start indirectly via a job fair. He had applied for a job in a nearby school district, but imagine his surprise when someone at the job fair said, “You’re THE Andy Ridley?” Months before he’d applied for a job but hadn’t even received an interview.  But for some reason that application gave him name recognition. Voila. One of Andy’s most important pieces of advice—you never know who you might meet at a job fair.

Know why you came to the job fair

  • To Learn — What jobs are available, hours, what is the job, who is the employer, who else is looking for work?
  • To Meet – What employers are there? Meet them or their representatives. Meet other job seekers.
  • To Impress – Dress appropriately, and shake hands by matching the other person’s grip, leaving a good impression.

Know why employers attended the job fair

  • Not to hire on the spot
  • To learn what potential employees are available, how many hours they’re available and what tasks they’re willing to do
  • To meet people who are looking for new employment. Maybe they’re the right people for the positions available
  • To impress you, the potential employee, with what they have to offer, showing only the best side of their business

Based on his years of experience, Andy tells us to have a game plan but to remain flexible.

Making the most of the job fair

  • Figure out what you want.
  • Be proactive. Find out who’s attending — what employers will be there?
  • Create a short list of booths to visit.
  • Research your short list (Make your prep notes right on your short list).
  • Get to the event early, before it even starts (you can probably leave early when everyone starts packing up to go home).

Prepare

  • Have a resume and several copies even though most companies won’t take a paper copy.
  • Use sticky notes to separate the resumes according to various skills for various job opportunities.
  • Be prepared with questions to ask recruiters.
  • Dress as a professional. Andy suggests dressing one step above the position you want.

Be Nimble

  • To allow yourself to shake hands and not be weighted down, carry a notebook-size portfolio—make it serve as your wallet. In the wallet keep several type business cards that highlight your best qualifications, your name and contact information. Vistaprint offers affordable cards online. Put your car keys in there, too.
  • Pass up the bags and chip clips they might give out. It bogs you down. Concentrate on meeting people so you can get a job and buy your own chip clips!

Poise

Be confident, be  mature, smile, make eye contact, and be professional (put that cell phone away!)

Make a Connection

  • Briefly introduce yourself (elevator speech).
  • Tell them your name last (or first and last).
  • Offer a copy of your resume.
  • Shake hands, matching their grip.

Engage them by making a statement about the company

  • Listen and take notes.
  • Market yourself. Be positive. No negativity.
  • Be a good listener.
  • Take notes.

Watch your time

  • Limit time at each booth.
  • Walk away from booths if you know you will not be interested in working there.

Tricks

  • Introduce yourself to other candidates and to a booth rep that you feel may benefit from knowing the job seeker. It gives you another opportunity to present yourself to the company.
  • Carry blank thank you cards. Return later and offer the card with another hand shake. Put your name/contact information/ and thank them for their time.

Follow up

Go home and email the best prospects. Remember every meeting and connection is a form of an interview. And your day was a success if you met one new connection. You win if you go because you’re bound to learn at least one new thing, meet at least one new person and possibly impress one contact.

Hiring Companies

Discover

Amy Aubey, Talent Acquisition Leader

Discover offers credit cards, consumer banking, and a global network. Their mission? To help people spend smarter, manage debt better and save more so they achieve a brighter financial future.

Located at approximately 101 and I-17 (2402 W Beardsley Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85027), the company currently employs 3000 people and has 200 job openings including home equity-loan processors, bankers; full time customer service agents; full time collections agents; consumer lending and banking operations including personal loan agents, student loan agents, and deposit product agents; and full time fraud agents. Benefits are included Day 1 including 401ak, fitness center, cafe, parking, and tuition assistance up to $5000 per year.

To learn more about the company or to apply, visit their website.

VIXXO

Heather Kitsko, Talent Acquisition Team Lead

VIXXO, a full-service asset management and maintenance solutions company employs 1000 associates across the US and Canada, and serves brands including Starbucks, PetSmart, and 7-Eleven. It’s been named INC 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies for over eight years.

A team of doers, the company’s strength lies in their diverse backgrounds and experiences, thriving in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. Open positions include director of product development, director of software engineering, lead generation specialist, senior accountant, coffee technician, customer service representatives, change management consultant, and data warehouse developer. For more information or to apply, go to their website.

Express Employment Professionals

Denzel Mason, Business Developer

Express Employment Professionals is a locally-owned and operated staffing company located in Tempe. The top three benefits of the company include job resources, flexibility, immediate eligibility for medical benefits including medical, dental, vision, short term disability, life insurance and holiday and vacation pay.

The company, a member of both the Tempe and Mesa Chambers of Commerce, provides skills assessment, connections to local employers, and proactive marketing of candidates. A one stop shop, they offer resume review, interview advice and wage negotiations. Positions open include part-time, full-time and contract work.

Current openings include staff accountant, full charge bookkeeper, customer account supervisor, bilingual Spanish content editor, Special Education Teacher (Casa Grande), art process technician, P&C licensed sales rep and CSR, enrolled agent/office manager (Cave Creek), CPA/Tax Reviewer. Internal at local Express Office needs outside sales/business developer; bilingual front office coordinator; and part-time contract recruiter. For more information, check out their website.

Resources

Goodwill of Central Arizona

Carter Ellis, Professional Career Advisor

Goodwill of Central Arizona is a non-profit organization working as a positive catalyst for eliminating unemployment. They also transform gently used donated goods into services to help thousands of Arizonans. They provide on-site career development via Goodwill Career Centers and connect local talent with Valley employers including Prescott and Yuma.

Serving the community, Goodwill partners with employers and collaborates with community resources. Goodwill provides career coaching, resume critiquing, and mock interviewing.  They provide on-site services. You may connect with them through employment events, talent sourcing and Goodwill Job Board. In holding job fairs, Goodwill is more interested in quality than quantity – They like to match what job seekers are looking for with what companies need.

To learn more about Goodwill, and details of what they offer, visit their website.

Closing

Closing the formal part of the meeting, Sheila Coulam, Director of Operations for Career Connectors, thanked everyone, including volunteers and our host, Highlands Church. She reminded everyone of the Career Connectors website which has lots of resources such as the new career advice blog which includes a blog on how to transition from the military to civilian jobs.

Sheila pointed out the resources on hand after the formal meeting — the opportunity to talk with hiring companies, to consult with LinkedIn and resume preparation experts, and to meet the professional photographer to take free business heat shots.

She pointed out that the next Scottsdale meeting is the third Thursday of the month in March , March 16 (NOT the usual second Thursday).

For other upcoming Career Connectors events, more details, and to register, click here.

 

 

 

The Real Value of LinkedIn: Cultivating Physical Networks from Electronic Contacts

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Real Value of LinkedInWritten by: Carl Forkner
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

Because LinkedIn is the premier global platform for professional networking, it is likely that you will be able to develop a number of contacts through the site (after all, you need 50 or more to be an “All Star” level user). But developing an electronic network is not the endpoint—it is the beginning—if you are expecting to cultivate an effective, enduring relationship. To accomplish a true relationship, you need to translate your electronic connections into real-world, physical networks. No, it is not always possible, especially with global enterprise businesses, but it is absolutely vital to networking among small and medium businesses (SMB). So, how do you go about cultivating that network?

First, of course, is gaining connections. There are numerous ways to accomplish this, but the key is to remain active with connections after making the link. For example, you will see people with the acronym “LION” on their profile—these people openly invite anyone to connect with them, and often have thousands of connections; however, it is literally impossible for them to develop a meaningful relationship with that many connections; LinkedIn connection counts in your profile header are capped at 500+. It does not matter how many connections you make, what matters is how many you can keep and make meaningful. The real benefit is not just from your first level connections (the ones directly connected to you); rather, the true benefit of LinkedIn connections is your second level—those people connected to the person with whom you have a direct connection. Don’t forget to examine your connections’ connections to see if there are professionals who may best suit your networking needs … and you may suit theirs (remember, networking is a two-way street).

Much like the “real world,” LinkedIn presents opportunities to gather and exchange information, opinions, and professional information. These opportunities present themselves in four useful options—sharing updates and media, sharing posts (the LinkedIn Blog feature), commenting and responding to updates and posts, and participating in LinkedIn groups. While the first three methods are also available on platforms like Facebook and Google+, what makes LinkedIn powerful for professionals is the “Groups” feature that brings together professionals with common industries, interests, and goals into an electronic venue that resembles a meeting room, but with asynchronous participation.

Sharing Information and Media. In order to keep from being “invisible” on LinkedIn, you need to be posting something at least once every week. This puts your name up on the news feeds of all your contacts regularly, so you keep yourself visible to them. Sharing is a brief (character-limited) posting to present ideas, links to articles or other meaningful material about which you discuss, or an image for which you provide a brief description or commentary.

Posts. The “Publish an Article” feature is the integrated Blog capability of LinkedIn. This allows you to share extensive discussion on a topic, including an image that helps accentuate your “Blog” post. This is a great way to elicit comments or start a discussion, whether in general (on your wall and your connections’ news feeds) or within a LinkedIn group.

Comment and Respond. Again, you must approach this LinkedIn environment with the perspective of it being a two-way street. If you see an interesting discussion or media shared by a connection, take the time to write a meaningful comment—people feel good about themselves when they notice that others are actually paying attention and reading what they take the time to share. This may have the effect of starting a discussion among connections relative to the shared material. Likewise, when someone comments on your material, take the time to continue the conversation by responding with a substantive, or at least professional, reply. When people see that you value their interaction, they are more likely to continue interacting. In both these cases—commenting and responding—starting and continuing the conversation may lead to an ongoing or more in-depth professional relationship.

Groups. This is the key function that sets LinkedIn apart from other social media platforms. The Groups feature provides a segmented networking area for professionals with complementary industry, interests, and goals to have asynchronous collaboration among colleagues. Groups may be either public (anyone may join in) or private (the group moderator approves those who request to join). Especially germane to the private group function, this feature provides an environment to start and continue conversations within a focused area of interest or business. It is within groups that the realization of meaningful relationship may be cultivated with the professionals best suited to your networking goals.

Once you make local area connections, take the opportunity to nurture the relationship, learn more about each other as professionals, and then invite your connection to meet. This can be over a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop, a venue of mutual interest, or even visit each other’s office to learn more about what each of you does—similar to the career-seeker who requests an informational interview with a company in which they have an interest. With technology driving so much of what we do, we often forget that human interaction is comprised of 80% nonverbal messages—something that comes out in person-to-person meetings.

Finding Networking Opportunities in the Phoenix Area

Another way to translate electronic contacts into physical relationships is through networking groups in your local area. In the Phoenix metro area, there are myriad opportunities each week to attend networking groups. The following represent a sample of the most common venues for networking in the Phoenix metro area.

Chambers of Commerce. The various Chambers of Commerce sponsor networking or leads groups throughout their purview to facilitate bringing professionals from Chamber member companies and organizations together regularly in small groups. Typically, these groups have rules, most of them allowing only one professional from each type of business to be a group member (this keeps from having direct competition within the group). The groups provide an environment where you may present your business, share leads, and even set up outside meetings to get to know another professional in the group better. The hitch? You need to be a Chamber member company or organization to participate in these groups.

Networking Events. Each day there are networking events happening throughout the Central Valley. These events range from wide open events to which professionals from any industry or organization may attend and participate, to focused groups based on industry, gender, ethnicity, location, and career level. Some opportunities are free of charge, while others may charge a nominal fee—in other words, they want you to “have skin in the game.” Some of the most prominent ones are listed below:

Networking Phoenix (www.networkingphoenix.com). Advertised as Phoenix’s leading resource for free comprehensive information on business networking events and professional networking groups in the Greater Phoenix  area.

Meetup (http://professional-networking.meetup.com/cities/us/az/phoenix/). Meetup is one of the easiest platforms to use to find networking groups parsed out by specific criteria. It contains both free and paid networking groups and events. Adaptable to many cities from the website.

Network After Work (http://www.networkafterwork.com/city/phoenix). This program includes regularly scheduled paid ($12-$15) events for professionals, holding events in the evening so that they are outside most normal business working hours. Adaptable to many cities from the website.

Phoenix Business Journal Events (http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/calendar/). This site lists, in chronological order, events around the Central Valley. Adaptable to many cities from the website.

Referral 101 Network (http://101referralnetwork.com/). This is a paid membership group designed to facilitate the passing of referrals for business between member professionals. It spans many locations around the Loop 101 freeway.

Executives Network (https://www.executivesnetwork.com/). This paid attendance group meets in Scottsdale twice monthly. It is designed to promote leads for professionals in the Director or above level of management. It is pure networking and leads—not socializing as some other events may include. The networking group is led by Molly Wendell and George Fleming, spanning not only Phoenix but other major metro areas in the US as well.

Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com/d/az–phoenix/networking/). Eventbrite has listings of many networking events in the Phoenix metro area, as well as nationwide. By substituting the name of another city for the word “phoenix” in the URL, you can find events in specific locations. Events listed there include both free and paid opportunities.

In Closing

Networking encompasses many different options, from electronic to physical relationships, from C2B, B2C, and B2B objectives and goals, and from open to focused opportunities. In the end, the most important principles are the same across the board:

  • Start the conversation
  • Make meaningful connections
  • Nurture your connections
  • Continue the conversation
  • Mutual support—not a one-way street
  • Follow through
  • Make networking a priority

Finally, the most important criterion for effective networking: Get up, get out, get going!