Jeremy: I don't believe in limiting oneself to virtual contacts. If you look at someone face to face, you have a lot more clout.
Janice agrees. F2F is powerful.
A good way to meet hiring managers is by volunteering for charities like the United Way.
Don't go into a networking situation and pitch immediately, says @efficiencycoach
Bill: In a room of 100 there are only 10 you can do business with.
Jeremy: Out of 100 people you should target about 3 good conversations
Bill:
- How do you meet the people you have to meet?
- How do you make your first introduction?
- How do you find out if someone is worth investing time with?
(Bill asked this question about 8 times).
Jeremy: If you are going to a local professional association you know hiring managers are going to be there. You go up to them and strike up a conversation based on something you saw on their Linkedin profile. If it's at a social function you have to come up with something appropriate to the environment.
You do your research before the event. You go to the event with subjects to talk about. If it's an industry event I look thru the news or blogs and find something relevant to the audience.
You break the ice with a comment about the weather.
Then say, I've heard your name before in relation to X and I wd like to get your thoughts on this issue.
Janice: Its the same as a cold call. You need to know about who you are calling and how you can go in with what is going to be appealing to them to hear.
I say: "I know who you are and I'm really in awe of what you've done. I want you to know who I am". Then I'm quiet. If you ask what I do, I continue with other info.
Bill: How do you know who's in the room?
Janice: We know the individuals who attend a certain kind of organization in our own city. Or at least the type of people who are going to be there.
So you listen to conversations. There is always something you can eventually say. If you are there long enough, you can chime in.
"Oh really we are finding that too at my company."
Ease your way into conversations as a participant rather than taking over the conversation.
Many people don't know eachother at a networking event so you aren't intruding in a closed group of people. Just listen first so the 1st thing you say is something sensible.
Bill: Jeremy can you give a sample of an elevator pitch
Jeremy: We have short attention spans. You need something quick and biting that gets to the point. Say your name and your title, perhaps the industry.
Then: "I've noticed you on Linkedin or Twitter or some of the discussion boards and I know that you are very invovlved in this particular group or topic.
People love to hear themselves talk and you strike up a conversation that they have already indicated they are interested in, you will have a hard time shutting them down.
Bill: How do you research someone before an event?
Jeremy: Linkedin, their blog,
Janice: iphones and blackberries let you look up people on the spot at an event
Bill: How do you research who's going to be at an event before an event
Jeremy: They tell you in advance at a tweet up. Tho you don't know for sure if they are going to show.
Sometimes you can see it on their Linked in updates. I wd find that person using the picture on their profile then strike up a conversation.
Twitter Nice Guy, Jeremy gives free advice on 3 DMs then tells person to call in for paid advice
Janice: The more uncomfortable you are at networking events, the more you have to practice. Some people don't know themselves well enough to talk about themselves. Or they lack pride so they don't think they are worth talking to.
This means they need a coach to teach you how to talk. If you don't have a coach practice with someone else.
Jeremy: Someone who's been in a job for 20 years has forgotten how to build and nurture relationships. You can talk about sports or perhaps current political issues. Social media is just a conduit to traditional relationship building.
Janice: Our goal is visibility. People who post on Twitter or comment on blogs make themselves visible.
Janice: We don't always deliver our messages perfectly. But I teach my people that is okay because they will get it the next time.
Janice: I never go to an event without thanking the speaker or panelist. I even met a husband that way. First of all, it's polite to let them know they were appreciated. The second reason is to be able to hand over your card and say if there is ever anything I can do for you feel free to call.
Janice: My first attempt at visibility was writing letters to the editor. You can also speak at libraries. The unemployed guy at a library might have a wife who is a talent acquisition manager at a company you want into.
Careerboard.com is a regional job board. Janice is the expert there. On the last Wednesday of the month she does a free webinar between noon and one. She has had a recruiter, HR Mgr and a hiring mgr on telling people how to get a job.
Bill: How about turning off all technology and getting out and doing it?
Jeremy: It has to be a mix of contacts; you better be knocking on doors
Bill says he has to teach people to communicate because online communication had eroded the ability to hold a conversation.
ADVICE FOR RECRUITERS
Janice Worthington was an executive recruiter from 1973 - 1987.
Bill: You have to have enough face to face time that you understand the candidate beyond the piece of paper.
Jeremy's advice to recruiters: Things are not going to happen overnight. Relationship building takes timeJanice: One of the biggest failings of recruiters is that their candidates are not prepared for their clients. Many of the candidates who come to me have been sent out by recruiters and struck out because they do not know how to present themselves.
If you have worked to get a job order and a send-out you are stupid not to have a prepared candidate. It's the recruiter's responsibility.
If I don't know my client well enough, the state of the company, industry, the hiring authority, I can't advise my candidate about them
You have to know the points of pain in the employer and industry so you can teach the candidate.
Jeremy to recruiters: Everytime you approach a networking situation, you have to ask yourself: What do I want the the results of my presence here to be?
When a candidate sits down with a hiring manager she has to be talking about one of three things: solving problems, reducing costs or adding to their bottom line.
Bill: Share good news stories because that's what people want to hear