Archive for the ‘Networking’ Category
 You’ve attended the networking events, taken informational meetings, and maybe even built up a little following for yourself on various social networks, but still, no job. What are you doing wrong? You may just be following the first step of networking – connecting with people – and not the second step: putting your network to work!
Stay in touch. It doesn’t do any good to collect business cards like baseball cards. You need to use them! A simple way to keep your connection alive is to send a quick email every now and then to check in. It doesn’t have to be long, and you can use a special occasion as an excuse. Be sure to inquire about their life and offer a little about your current situation as well.
For example: “Happy Memorial Day! How was your trip back home? Did you get a chance to see everyone you wanted to? I’m still searching for an IT position, but I’ve started doing some volunteer work for a local charity that needed help with their email system. I’m enjoying it! I hope all is well with you.”
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 Networking has been quite a ‘hot’ topic recently and seems to be the ‘thing to do’. Everyone is doing it ! So many people come to Position Ignition to get help with their networking skills. It’s such an important skill that we each should harness that I decided to jot down a few of the most common mistakes that I’ve noticed people doing:
1. ‘Selling’ at a networking event
Ok, so when we ‘network’ –many of us have the underlying agenda where we are after something. Usually we want the people we meet to help us in some way. We are after a promotion, a new job, some insight and inspiration on what to do next and so on. We would like the people we meet to help us in our career and lives. This is fair enough - however, going to a networking event and spending all of your time trying to ‘sell’ yourself or whatever your company offers isn’t particularly useful. Don’t do it! Ask yourself how many people are there to ‘buy’? None! So don’t sell to them! Instead - get to know the people around you. Don’t shove your life story or current major problem or need in their faces. They don’t know you yet so they aren’t going to help you if you just ‘sell sell sell’. That isn’t what real networking is about. No-one likes a salesperson – so don’t be one.
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 The older you are, the longer it may take to get a job. According to the recent information from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics an average unemployed person over age 65 has been out of work about 70% longer than an average teenager.
There is age discrimination out there, but the good news is that more and more employers are recognizing the value of hiring experienced workers. There are benefits to being older, like having wisdom and common sense, a long work record of accomplishments, more experience and a perceived higher level of work ethic.
If you’re over 55 and unemployed, don’t despair. Here are a few tips that help you to get a job:
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 What is elevator pitch?
“Elevator Pitch” is an art of summarizing important information into a concise conversational speech and “selling it” it to someone in 30 seconds or less (during an elevator ride). Applied to job search, an elevator pitch is a tailored and benefit-focused description of your career background and qualifications that can be delivered to someone who has the potential of helping you land a job.
How can it help me get a job?
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who could help you land a great job but you felt you didn’t take the best out of that situation? Maybe the conversation didn’t work out or you failed to explain what’s so unique about you and how you would make a great asset?
The key to such situation is to concisely and effectively communicate who you are, what you want and why they should be interested in you. In social settings people tend to relax and their brains work “at lower power settings”, making lengthy and complicated explanations ineffective. This is why “elevator pitch” was invented as a highly valuable networking tool
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 In today’s economy many people found themselves looking for a job. Some of us who have been successfully employed for years are now going through job interviews again. And after the interview we often don’t know if we should write a Thank You Letter or not?
We asked LinkedIn professionals a question: “Should job seekers write a Thank You letter?” Here are the responses we’ve got:
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