A Handshake & A Business Card

Networking these days means different things to different age groups.  Babyboomers still think of networking as the group of people at one location who were called together because of a common interest - like a chamber of commerce meeting, professional organization, a mixer, or a group of like-minded individuals.

Gen Y (born 1970 - 2000) thinks of networking as Facebook, LinkedIn, tweet-ups and all internet based forms of "networking".

Both are valid frames of reference, but let's for the sake of this blog article look at what you can do with a handshake and a business card.

After recently attending a face-to-face networking event, I returned to my office with a handful of business cards that I had personally spent a few minutes discussing the person's business with them.  I learned a bit about what they do, what their company does, where it is located, whether it is local or international, and what benefits my organization could provide for their organization.

They in turn found out about me, what I do, what my agency does, that we are locally based with "sister" organizations located nationally, and that we have programs that could benefit their company's human resource bottom line.

Using those business cards, I will see if I am able to make a connection through the social media networking paths I use.  This has afforded me the best of both worlds of networking - on-line connections and a handshake and business card.

This method is effective not only for business and sales efforts, but for those in the job hunt.  Seek out events where you can meet individuals from a company in which you are interested.  Ask about the organization, the corporate culture, they types of career paths available, how the person likes working for the company.  If they aren't the human resources person, they may know the person.  If you make the next step to linking with your new contact on an on-line professional network, you have just established an opportunity to reach out to the human resources person.

If you would like to read more about in-person networking link here.

What form of networking do you prefer and why?

14 square inches of space

How often do you see in the paper an event advertised that is taking place in your community where businesses will be represented.  If there is a small fee for admission or no cost for admission, you might want to make sure that you attend the event.  It is a perfect networking opportunity.

If, for example, the cost of admission is a business card, you should be prepared.  Just because you may not be currently employed, does not mean that you cannot have a business card.  In fact, it is a perfect opportunity to use 14 square inches of space to your advantage.

Office supply stores sell business card stock as do many discount retailers.  Software programs are available with templates for business cards, or you can create one very simply in Microsoft Word if you know some of the basics.  Use the front side of the card to provide your basic contact information that should include name, address, phone(s), email, website address (if you have one), and a link to any of the other social media sites you are using to network for your job search.  A job title that would normally appear on a corporate business card would be replaced with your area of expertise, for example, Marketing Coordinator as an exact title could become a simple switch to Marketing Professional or Social Media Specialist depending upon what direction you wish to pursue.

Use the back side of the card to list your skills in bullet format using action verbs where possible. For example using our Marketing Coordinator position and skill set:

• Instructor for social media formats
• Graphic designer in multiple formats
• Editor for e-news and blog
• Creative writing
• Editorial writing
• Photographer

If you have portfolio type items, include a link to an on-line portfolio where contacts you meet can view your work.  If you need additional assistance creating a resume, enlist the assistance of a Career Resource Professional at an Illinois workNet Center near you.  To find other resume resources, visit http://www.kcdee.org/

Use a Call to Action to Market Yourself

I just read a great blog post on Employment Digest about 4 great Tips for a Cover Letter.  It mentions a call to action.  I would like to explore this idea a bit further.

A call to action for those of you who are not in the marketing and sales industry is a statement in your letter or "advertisement" that makes a statement to cause the reader to want to act upon that statement.  A couple of examples are:  Call within the next 24 hours to save $.  Click here to print your coupon. Link here to read more tips to help you get back into the workforce.

When you are writing your cover letter the article on Employment Digest suggests that your call to action should be to ask for the interview. Asking for the interview is similar to car salesman or real estate agent asking if you are ready to make an offer on a car or property at which you have just been looking.

If you don't ask, they may not feel compelled to take any action at all.

Once you have had the interview and you are sending your thank you note, you may want to include a call to action that invites the interviewer(s) to view your website, read your blog or invite them to call you with the job offer!

Your thoughts?