Networking around the Grille

This is probably my 16th posting on networking since I started blogging. Why? Because it’s very important. So, it’s summertime; people are barbequing in the back yard, picnicking and Networking!!! Let’s look at networking again this time... networking at parties, cookouts and picnics.

   Remember the old Nat King Cole song, Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer... but summer is no time to be lazy when you’re looking for a promotion or a new job. It’s really a great time to connect with new people in a pleasant atmosphere. People are feeling good, having a beverage to drink and some good comfort food.

   It’s a great time to connect, but!!! Yes, what do you say to folks? (Well I’m going out on a limb here, against stuff a lot of people before me have told you.) What do you say, not your elevator speech. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. My friend and management guru Joe Takash is quoted as saying:

   Most 'elevator speeches' make the listener want to take the stairs. If you struggle, (which most of us do), in swiftly describing what you do and the value you provide, practice and get feedback.

    Take the pressure off yourself and go the the party, picnic or cookout to have fun. Instead of looking for opportunities to give your elevator speech, look for opportunities to say hi. I like to hang out near the drink cooler or keg. “Hi, can I buy you a beer? By the way, I’m Thomas, here you go.” (I only offer beer or wine to persons over 21 years of age with appropriate identification.) It’s a great way to meet everyone at a party. And by introducing myself, people tend to introduce themselves.

   At many cookouts the “guys” hang around the grill. It’s a guy thing. My wife says that the only reason why men will cook food on a grill is because there is an element of danger. That may be true, or it may be because our ancient ancestors cooked their fresh kills over an open fire and it is in our DNA and it just feels right. Regardless, it’s a safe place to hangout and listen and talk to the fellas.

   At those parties, the ladies congregate with one another over a number of different activities. Sadly, I really don’t have any idea what the women are doing, because I’m a guy and I’m hanging out near the dangerous Weber Grill. But, this is also a great place to say hi, meet new people and connect. It’s been reported to me that women are far more likely to talk and share than men do and I pretty much believe that to be true.

   It doesn’t matter which group you are in, just meet new people and then connect with them. Ask if they are on LinkedIn or Facebook or Pinterest or Google+ or any social media. Then follow up, invite them to join your network, friends, follow your pins or join your circles. Then follow up again and invite them for coffee and there you can share your elevator speech.

Facebook: You looking at me?

I posed this question today during a breakout session... Does the benefits of Facebook and all its power, reach and opportunities out weigh the risks of viruses, scams, and loss of privacy?

In a group of 40 or more job seekers, most were 50 plus in age, we had a spirited debate about the pros and cons of using Facebook as a tool for people in transition doing a serious job search. The title of the breakout session was: "FACEBOOK: You lookin' at me?"

What do you think? How do you use Facebook? Do you use it for marketing yourself? Would you use Facebook for job searching? What about companies vetting candidates, checking out Facebook pages for insight into their candidates; is it fair? Tell me what you think?

What do people see as the risks of using Facebook as social media while conducting a job search, building a business or marketing themselves or their business?


Maybe it's more simple than that... maybe social media is far too open to risk anything as important as finding and landing your next job. Maybe all the noise Facebook presents in terms of people's rants, inane commentary on the world or their lives, makes Facebook not an appropriate professional networking or marketing tool. Is LinkedIn the only professional social networking environment to utilize?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts, suggestions or comments you have on the subject.  Remember that networking is not easy to do well, but it is essential in moving forward in your career.

Transition & Social Networking

   If networking is an active and dynamic process of building mutually beneficial relationships, social networking is a means to growing, maintaining and add to those relationships in an effective and simplified manner. This is true for everyone and even more so for the person in transition.

   Social media tools are meant to aid in your job search and get you through transition more quickly, but they are not meant to waste time, brain power or energy. Warning: Don’t allow your valuable time to be twittered away! That goes for Facebook, LinkedIn and the Internet as a whole. Social networking can be a critical part of your job hunting or marketing strategy. Regardless of which tools you use – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, you need to:

• Connect with other people
• Build relationships 
• Get exposure and provide help to others

   In the spirit of full disclosure, I was not so quick to jump on the Twitter bandwagon and I was reluctant to get a Facebook account. However, I found Facebook invaluable keeping up to date with family and friends when I was travelling 90% of the time. Yet, as a professional tool I was adverse until my clients started finding me and asking to connect on Facebook in addition to LinkedIn.

   On the other hand, I’ve been using LinkedIn for years and know it is a professional tool that works well. What I have learned about Twitter like Facebook: people started connecting to me once I was out there; in fact, Twitters’ whole model is designed to save time and energy. I recommend The Twitter Job Search Guide: Find a Job and Advance Your Career in Just 15 Minutes a Day by Susan Britton Whitcomb, Chandlee Bryan & Deb Dib.

   I have a friend and colleague Bruce Bixler  @brucebixler49 or http://www.linkedin.com/in/brucebixler49 who is an expert in using social media for fun and profit. Besides Bruce there are many, many opportunities to attend workshops and webinars that are free or very reasonable.

   Networking is here to stay and hopefully you will continue to network after you’ve landed your next job. Likewise, you’ll want to continue to use social media as a way to save time as you stay connected while on the job.

   If you don’t use Facebook or Twitter I suggest you start looking into their benefits and how they can keep you up to date in your industry as well as posted on important data and breaking news concerning your job search. Get an account and start using the tools and soon you’ll be connected to people you need to know.