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hi Linda hey Wow looks like you've got a
busy day who are all these people
friends contacts leads I've decided to
reactivate my career network why you've
got a job but you liked working at the
cafe oh yeah I'm happy to have the job
but I think I'm ready for a step up I'm
going to start reaching out to see if
there might be something on the
management side somewhere you're
thinking of changing jobs in this market
that's pretty gutsy of you I'm impressed
well you know I found my job through
Mindy my neighbor's daughter we were
just chatting one day and she mentioned
this opening gave me a few names to
contact and two months later I was hired
that reminds me of what my old sales
buddy Matt wants it every place he go
was a chance to meet someone and
everyone you meet is a chance to grow
your network I know Matt he's a great
salesman hey we should both give him a
call he knows everybody and if anybody's
hiring he'll know it sure but I know
sales guy I know I've got to sell myself
but I really should focus on getting my
resumes out well networking really helps
your other efforts
you know most jobs aren't formally
listed they're promoted from within or
through word-of-mouth connecting with
others can really open doors for you
down the road and just because someone
isn't in the same line of work doesn't
mean they should be overlooked they may
know of opportunities you'd never hear
about otherwise maybe I should take
another look at networking but something
tells me you're not talking about my
bowling night with a guy actually I am
those guys their families and friends
your family and friends see what I mean
yeah but how do I turn them into a
network well my friend Stacy suggested
making two lists a professional list and
a personal list in the first you list
the names of everyone from your work
world so whether you know them or not
your former colleagues acquaintances
from professional groups business
associates of family and friends even
people you read about in the news that's
a lot of names what about the second
list the personal one well in that one
list everyone else you know your
neighbors relatives people you do
business with people you know from
church or volunteering or community
activities like your bowling league
I could also reach out to some of my
school and service buddies I'm meeting
with my accountant next week I could
talk with him nobody has a lot of
clients what should I say I don't want
to ask flat out for a job well think
about how the people in your network can
help identify opportunities for you what
do they need to know well they need to
know I'm looking for a job of course but
I could tell them what type of work I'm
looking for maybe describe some of my
skills and experiences that's right you
want to paint a picture of yourself and
the job you're looking for what you've
just described is sometimes called an
elevator speech a quick 30-second
summary of who you are professionally
it's easy to remember easy to say and
it's easy to plant anywhere I like that
it's kind of reassuring to know that I
already know what I want to say about
myself that way I won't find myself
tongue-tied when I meet someone new
exactly even if you're just talking to
your neighbors the ideas and your
elevator speech could come in handy
you never know they could know somebody
that knows someone else with job leads
networking can happen anywhere and with
anyone okay
what about business cards I've heard
that it's good to have something to hand
out describing what I do oh definitely
always have your business cards with you
keep it simple though just your contact
information and briefly highlight your
most important skills or qualifications
then anywhere you are becomes a place to
plant that seed and network well I feel
a lot better about networking when I
think about it as staying in touch and
how do I keep them wiring up my welcome
well don't ask for a job outright
instead ask people for advice most
people are happy to share their
professional experiences and resources
if you ask them and that's when the job
opportunities can pop up hey that's a
great approach then when someone does
give me advice I have another reason to
follow up and say thanks maybe they'll
keep me in mind when a job does come
along you got it another thing if you
haven't done so already think about
joining a local job support group or
Club when you get together with people
who are in your situation there's a
rapport you can share tips and resources
give advice as well as get it good idea
you know what the job market the way it
is
I do get down sometimes it'd be good to
talk to people who understand what I'm
going through we could help expand each
other's networks to well speaking of
expanding networks have you gone online
and joined LinkedIn and
Facebook I've heard about these networks
but I don't know much about them should
I join well I did and I found them to be
a great way to expand my professional
and personal contacts Facebook helps me
stay in touch with friends and reconnect
with old ones and I use LinkedIn to keep
a foot in the professional world I can
show you my LinkedIn profile if you have
a minute I sure do
see I joined LinkedIn by setting up a
user account it was easy and free Wow it
looks like you have a lot of contacts
well it's taken some time to grow my
network but now I use it about every
other day to connect with new people who
share similar professional interests
I found training resources as well as
tips for negotiating a salary raise
another advice well join - looks like a
terrific resource and it's cheaper than
buying somebody lunch well social media
sites are great for maintaining and
growing your contact lists but David you
ought to remember nothing replaces
you're going out there into the real
world every time you can and meeting
people face-to-face
speaking of which I've got some
networking to do me too I've got a bunch
of people to tell about me and you for
more information about job searching at
50-plus visit aarp.org/denisse
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you