kirkwood college march 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Kirkwood College
March 29, 2012
Margie Peskin, Search Forward
My background
What do you hope to learn?
Building relationships between people that can mutually benefit from knowing each other
Two way street
Information gathering
Long term investment
Professional and personal
Relevant across industries
Career mobility
Mentorship
Reputation – “brand building”
At least 60% of all jobs are found through networking (about.com)
34% of new hires brought in from outside an organization were due to employee referrals (CareerXRoad)
Family
Friends
Classmates – present and past
Faculty – present and past
University alumni
Professional Associations
Religious affiliations
Neighbors
Blogs
Think of 3 things true about you in high school
You will have 30 seconds to introduce yourself and then listen to your partner be introduced
Then switch name tags
Introduce your “new” self to another person
Switch name tags again
Introduce your “new new” self to another person
Then switch name tags and stop
If you can’t remember, make something up. You always need to introduce 3 things
What was this experience like for you?
What did you learn?
Initial introduction – in person ◦ Eye Contact
◦ Smile
◦ Handshake
◦ Listening
◦ Matching
Initial introduction – phone ◦ Smile
◦ Confirm
◦ Quiet location, good reception
Beyond the introduction
What are common topics when you first meet someone? ◦ Weather
◦ Sports
◦ Transportation / road conditions / traffic
◦ School – year, major, living situation
How well do you know that person now?
DON’T LEAVE IT AT THE WEATHER!
Create engaging conversation
Curious and interested ◦ What is important to them? What are they thinking
about?
Open ended questions
Informational interviewing ◦ Leave out the “interviewing”
◦ Always start with information
◦ No resume
◦ Respect the other person’s time
Phone or email?
Low to high
The 30-second commercial ◦ Rehearsed message prevents you from engaging
the other person
◦ Most people like to talk about themselves
Know your story ◦ Skills and what you’re good at
◦ Background that has led to current place
◦ Concise explanation of your needs and interests
The importance of follow up ◦ Do what you say!
◦ Send thank you notes
◦ Maintenance Career updates, articles, holiday cards
Organization is key!
◦ MS Excel template for networking/job search
Recommended Reading ◦ Ferrazzi, Keith. Never Eat Alone. www.keithferrazzi.com
