My tips for the day

1. Get out and get noticed, a great local resource in Phoenix for networking events is networkingphoenix.com search the internet for local network groups for your own area
2. Set daily, weekly and monthly goals in your job search, make them realistic, not unattainable, you don’t want to set yourself up for defeat
3. Take constructive criticism gracefully.  I’ve learned from some very helpful people that if someone tells you something about how you handle an issue, that more than one person likely has seen the same thing, so don’t over-react.
   • These are more than likely people in your ‘inner-circle’ and noticed something, whatever it is.  Pause a moment and listen, they care and want to help you succeed in your life.
   • Use it to your advantage
   • Take time to reflect on it
   • Grow and learn from it
   • Thank the person for bringing it to your attention later
4. Find someone else who shares your story, and bounce ideas off each other.  Remember the saying, ‘there is no I in team’, and teamwork is something that will help out in the long run, so don’t try to go it alone, here are  some resources you can utilize:
   • Alumni association and/or career services office of colleges you attended
   • Your LinkedIn Network
   • People you previously worked with in your field

I came across the following message on twitter this morning from a buddy of mine who runs jobshouts.com, Mike Quale that was Retweeted from another couple of people.

So I had to go look at it, and just a quick overview of that article, I am doing 5 of these things, I will go over them here. The full article is located here if you don’t click on the short link above: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-experts-8_little_known_tricks_for_the_job_hunt-79

1. Add a signature to your outgoing email messages
   • While I have almost always included my name and email address, since I’ve been searching for a job and since starting this blog, I have added a bit of additional information to my email signature, to include name, email address, blog site and LinkedIn profile URL and I do recommend everyone not currently doing something like this to add one, most webmail providers also include an option to add a signature.
2. Include your LinkedIn profile URL in that signature
   • This is something I started doing once I had my LinkedIn profile up and running, my LinkedIn profile mirrors my resume for the most part, but still does need some tweaking
3. Use Twitter to keep your fans in the loop
   • I’m making a point to connect with people, and I send relevant messages, also letting people know when I’ve made a new post here so they can read it and follow what I’m doing, not only do I do that but I have my twitter feed pulled in to facebook, and I utilize the LinkedIn “What are you working on?” status update as well
4. Make your Facebook page work for you – not against you
   • This one is the one that I’m not doing, I just need to figure out how to work this, if there is anyone out there that can help me with this, I’d appreciate it
5. Add a qoute to your resume
   • This is another that I’m not doing, I can think of several things, but if anyone has a format or idea on where and how to place it on the resume, I’d like some suggestions
6. Get a Moo card
   • I have a ‘network’ card, listing my contact information, this Moo card idea is a bit different and something I will be looking into
7. Put a voice on your job search profile
   • This is one that I plan on implementing in a different way, currently my ‘voice’ was the short news interview I had on ABC15 which there are links to from my sidebar here on my site, but I need to expand on that a bit more in my own video or audio
8. Rewrite your resume so it sounds human
   • Currently working on my resume with Christian Kaijser of Career Evolutions to retool my resume and take it to the next level.

Happy Reading!

Martin

I attended a network meeting Friday afternoon that I found through a site called meetup.com and for those local to the Phoenix area, the link to the meetup group I am a member of is here: Business networking group

The hosts of the meeting are Kenneth von Hopf and Sandy Rogers I got there around 2, and while the schedule said it would be over by 4 I was actually there till almost 6 pm.

Here are a couple of pictures from the meetup, sorry if quality isn’t that great they were taken with my cell phone:

I met a couple of guys and one of the discussions I joined in on was how people don’t have a good follow through when you offer assistance or say ‘call me later’, I admit to being guilty of it myself at times but I’ve gotten better at calling or emailing back after making a contact. Michael Castillo was one of the guys who was talking about it, his business PostalMax is in the Scottsdale Airpark, and is a member of Associated Professionals Resource Organization

I had heard about APRO from a couple of other networking groups I’d been attending, and will follow up to find out more about that organization.

My story about follow through goes back to the job fair a week and a half ago.  I’d given out my ‘network’ card with my contact information on it to about 15-20 people while networking, telling them to call or email me later, and no one has followed up with me.

We also discussed social media, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.  Several people including myself had their laptops with them, and one of the guys remembered me from the news story on ABC15 from Wednesday night. I shared with them how I connected with Chris Sign and ended up getting contacted a week later to do the interview.

I met a photographer by the name of Darren Stevenson, and we struck up a conversation because my niece Kayleen is a photographer herself who has started her own business. His website is at www.stevenson-photography.com.

I also met a woman by the name of Annette Griswold, who is a life coach,  we sat for a while talking, and she mentioned that she was recently laid off, and was looking for some contacts for her business, she designs and prints affirmations on t-shirts, she showed me some of her work. The  business is called Affirm-a-Tees, etc.

She relayed a story to me about the starfish, I’d never heard it before until now but it was inspirational. Also a bit funny at one point, but if you want to know the whole story you will just have to ask her about it, the story she relayed to me was more than just ‘the starfish story’ but the how and why she came into the business she is in. I asked her if she’d mind sending a picture to include on my blog here, and she did send me one as shown below:

Annette Griswold

We were both curious and so we Googled ‘starfish story’ and up it came.  I was curious so just a few minutes ago I treid to find the author, as most of the references online were unattributed, but I came up with Loren Eiseley.

A version of that story is below:

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of
walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a child, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The child was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the child replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the child bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

I had to chuckle a little when she finished telling the story, but I was also thinking about the organizations I’d been involved with recently, including JobAngels, and their idea to have each person help one other person.  SJN, the non-profit I’ve started volunteering for.  The network groups I attend that are roundtable format, where people give their ‘elevator speech’ and people in the room respond with advice/contacts and other resources they may have available to help that person, and I know one person can make a difference in the life of another in a positive and powerful way.

Happy reading!

-Martin

Bill Austin passed that qoute along on Twitter yesterday, thanks @wbaustin!

I guess in some ways the quotes I come across, and people I’m meeting who have been an encouragement during this time for me, are all positive, as this quote is for me.

I know Bill personally and I’ve talked with him on a few occasions, most recently was about my blogging effort this past Tuesday after the Scottsdale Job Nework meeting.  I had set up but not started the blog here, but knew I just needed to jump in head first to get started.  This is a whole new world to me, and one which I will continue to explore and expand upon.

I have been following up on leads, and today is going to be another busy day for me.

I came across that qoute on a friend of a friend’s profile on Facebook, my connection on Facebook is Israel Class and his friends name is Jason Matthew Herrington

I met Israel at a meeting at SJN a couple of months ago and have exchanged a few emails with him about my job search, and he connected me with some recruiters I’ve now built relationships with in hopes of landing a new job.

I never spoke with Jason, but his tag on facebook profile is currently “will do whatever it takes!!” 

The other quotes on his profile are also a bit profound, but this one in particular caught my attention.   I know with social media and the internet, it is about creating yourself, getting yourself noticed, creating a brand, being in the right place at the right time, and building that network of support through a variety of channels.