Posts Tagged ‘Introductions’

Job fair attendance across the country has increased dramatically over the last year.  With job fairs usually offering a handful of jobs to hundreds or even thousands of attendees (depending on where you are) you may ask yourself, why bother? Well don’t be so quick to dismiss the oversaturated job fair scene.

First and foremost, you never know. Armed with some good looking resumes, a few references (many people at job fairs don’t bring these along, so set yourself apart by having some handy) and the right attitude you just maybe walking into a great opportunity. And that doesn’t necessarily mean the companies who are there looking for a few new hires.

One of the greatest things about a job fair, especially ones with a lot of people, is it gives you a chance to network with other people looking work, in your field in particular. Today’s job hunter could be tomorrow’s hiring manager.

As mentioned in this week’s earlier post, Avoiding the Black Hole When Job Hunting, a good way to open doors is by working together with friends and colleagues who are also looking for work.

Follow up with contacts you make at a local job fair. Ask them about what kind of work they’re looking for and tell them that you’ll them to a list of other contacts looking for work and that you’ll be sure to send them any job leads you find that may be w2ell suited to them. Ask them to do the same.

Soon you could find yourself with a great circle of contacts all working together to find work.

And hey, you never know! You could find yourself being wooed by any one of the companies hosting a booth at the local job fair too.

Be sure to check with your local paper or Chamber of Commerce for job fairs in your area. You can also visit sites such as, EmploymentGuide.com to find job fairs near you.

It seems you can’t go anywhere online without reading about the importance of your online network. And while that is important, especially when trying to establish a network to build a career, change careers or even to find a job, it’s just as important to maintain your real life network.

A lot can be said for a strong and extensive online network. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other sites throughout the web give us incredible opportunities to connect and network with people across the globe. But many of these sites offer you the chance to connect with people local to you as well.

Take some time to explore ways to connect your online network to your real life network and you could open up a whole new set of opportunities.

• Twitter Lists: A few months back Twitter introduced a great new feature that allows you to create a list of Twitter users based on whatever category you’d like. A great way to localize your twitter stream is to use the Twitter search function to search your town or surrounding area. Add the people you find to a list you create and start interacting and Networking with people in your area.
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• Attend a Tweetup: Tweetups are meetups put together so that people who interact online via twitter can meet in person. These are usually great ways to network and to bring your online network offline and into your real life. Once you’ve started following folks in your area start asking around to see is anyone is putting something together.
• Organize a Tweetup: If no one in your area is taking the initiative to schedule a local tweetup, do it yourself! If you have connected with people locally g for it and start planting the seed. Here are some great tips for organizing a great Tweetup.
• Facebook Fan Pages: Many cities are creating fan pages for the city itself or institutions within the city. The local library, community center, Parks & recreation District and chamber of commerce in your area all may have active fan pages. Become a fan so that you not only connect with other locals who are fans but to stay abreast of any networking events or job fairs in your hometown. This is truly becoming a great way to stay connected locally and build a network of people nearby.
• The Local Paper: You don’t have to have the paperboy deliver the hard copy to your door anymore to take advantage of all that a local paper has to offer. If you have a local paper, chances are they are online and you can subscribe via email, usually for free. Many groups and local clubs still religiously list their events with the local paper.  This is another great way to network locally.

Hopefully these tips will just be the tip of the iceberg for you when it comes to making your online network grow and become a part of your local network. You never know what new job and career opportunities may await at your next local Tweetup.

One more reminder: When you do attend local events to meet up with online friends always remember your business card! Have a number, email, website address and of course your Twitter handle on a card ready to hand out at all times.

Good luck!

Planning Your Job Search: Think outside the Box Before you go Job Hunting

Today’s job market is one of the most volatile we’ve seen since the early 1980s or possibly even since the Great Depression. The number of people searching for work continues to grow each day, while the amount of jobs available continues to shrink.

The unfortunate reality is that even though there has been a small drop in overall unemployment, according to a recent article from Time.com, the more serious issue of long-term employment shows no signs of stopping. According to the article long-term unemployment (unemployed for 27 weeks or more) increased from 4.4 million to 4.9 million from June to July. One in three unemployed workers have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more. The most disturbing statistics is that one-quarter of long-term unemployed people; never return to the work force. This leaves the possibility of an almost permanent recession in the United States.

Given all this, competition is ruthless and salaries are shrinking. That doesn’t mean the right job isn’t out there for you. It just means you have to step outside the box a little to find it. Here are some tips to help make your job search work for you. Use these tips to figure where you should be living and looking for work.

• Where are jobs and who is hiring – what is happening
• What Professions are in demand
• Where are the safest and most affordable cities to live in?
• What Cities are the best places to live if your single?
• Consider how far are your friends & relatives

Once you picked a city or two that looks like the right place for you to find your next job, here is what you do next:

• Summarize the salaries.
• Visit some online resources that enable you to look for jobs at national level for the areas you have in mind.
• Online resources to gather neighborhood information on the neighborhood you’re thinking about moving too.

And don’t forget the most precious resource you have, a list of who you know. Former colleagues, friends, and associates. And of them may have the right connection to get you your next job. Don’t forget to spread the word that you’re looking, the right introduction may just be the one that leads you to your future.

You can also reach out beyond your Network here at Ntroduction.com – simply ask for introduction and achieve your career goal(s).

Good luck!

Would I introduce my buddy at Ntroduction?

Would I introduce my close buddy  at Ntroduction to a seeker?

That is a judgment call I have to make – I may not necessarily introduce my close buddy, the buddy of my ‘inner circle’.

Let me define who is my  “close buddy” or “the buddy of my inner circle”?  If my buddy watches out for my interest and I watch out for him/her, then I would treat such buddy as buddy of my inner circle or close buddy.

Ntroduction : Who would you introduce at Ntroduction.com?

I may not necessarily introduce my close buddy, the buddy of my ‘inner circle’  -  However, I would provide introduction to somebody who I know professionally and I am not very close to him or her – my buddy in my ‘outer circle’. I would also be upfront and tell him/her that I am getting paid for the introduction.

For example, while working as part of Finance department,  say, I came across Tom, a Sales Director who is looking for a sales person to hire.  Would I introduce Tom at Ntroduction to a member seeking for a sales job? Yes – it would depend if he is part of my ‘buddy of my inner circle’. If Tom is not part of my ‘inner circle’,  I will reach out to Tom, the Sales Director and inform that I may get paid if  he ends up hiring the candidate I introduced.

Needless to say, I will review the candidate’s resume, possibly meet him/her and obtain comfort that this person comes across as a Sales person, is personable and has general qualities of a sales person

However if Tom was really my close buddy, my buddy in my inner circle, that would be a judgment call. If my close buddy Tom reached out to me and said “I really  really need to find this Sales person as soon as possible,  please let me know if you know somebody that fits my requirement“, then I will probably think about helping Tom with the referral – I would probably ask Tom “I may get paid from this candidate for investing my time qualifying this person, is that OK?“  If Tom agrees, then I will probably proceed.

How about you?

Can Swine Flu turn professional world chaotic?

With flu’s favorite chilly weather fast approaching, get ready for the  Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu).  Media has been speaking about how bad it can be and looks like 1 in 5 would be affected by swine flu.

Nobody knows what might happen but the better news :

• Even with no vaccine, winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere without as much havoc as doctors had feared, a heavy season that started early but not an overwhelming one.
• The strain that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu isn’t any deadlier than typical winter flu so far. Most people recover without treatment; many become only mildly ill.
• Importantly, careful genetic tracking shows no sign yet that the virus is mutating into a harsher strain.

Only this week do U.S. researchers start blood tests to answer a critical question: How many doses of swine flu vaccine does it take to protect? The answer will determine whether many people need to line up for two flu shots – one against swine flu and one against the regular flu – or three.

As if we have life less complicated, when  the vaccine becomes available by mid October, there could be scarcity of vaccines so, there would be preference to  – pregnant women, young kid’s and young adults who have breathing problems – over others.

Alright! – What would happen to the professional world?

What if 1 in 5 in critical departments gets sick? Can this drive chaotic?

Typically Corporations have two plans – business continuity plan (BCP) and disaster recovery plan(DR) drafted and tested (mostly dry drills) that is executed when a crisis such as earth-quake or some action of god hits.

Can these plans be executed to avoid chaotic professional world?  Depends – It is designed for a situation to avoid losing business except that the assumption here is,  personnel who are responsible in executing the above plans should be mindful and healthy to execute the BCP.

You see where this is going?

So, let’s talk about how you can try to avoid getting affected:

• Make sure that it is a policy in your kids school to send sick kids home that shows the symptoms of flu (coughing, sneezing) – No disrespect intended to anyone. Same policy should be instilled within the corporate wall too.
• Take a lot of Vitamin-C and such, that can strengthen your immunity
• As soon as you and kids get home, no matter how tired you/they are, take a shower – Water vapor can help keep the lungs clean while body gets sanitized
• Avoid going to crowded places if you can
• Make sure you wipe your hands with anti-bacterial sanitizer as soon as you come from bathroom or from kitchen or meetings
• If you happen to catch  flu,  email the team to take leave and most importantly,  take the medication within one day, worst two (The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or Relenza (zanamivir) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses)

Let’s hope that the majority of people infected with the virus make a full recovery without requiring medical attention or antiviral drugs

Am I stupid?

I know many of you got a good review, hoping to see teeny-weeny bit of a hike or a small bonus  or a promotion.

Heck… your boss walks up to you and indicates that you are not getting promoted this year and you need to be thankful for your paycheck.

Then, your boss sends a meeting invite that is scheduled in an hour along with a HR person into a conference room ‘Mount Fuji’.   Your blood pressure begins to build.

That moment comes – Your boss is not looking at you eye to eye but introduces the HR and excuses himself.

Now comes the ’striking moment’ – HR personnel slowly speaks about how good you have done, your recent ratings etc which you don’t really care as, all you want is, to hear the catch!

You are about to scream – “Get to the point! – Show me my money!”

The HR personnel slowly and smoothly talks about how the economy is affecting the company revenues and in fact corporate executives are doing everything they can to avoid laying off employees.

Sure! Fair enough! – “Get to the point!”

Now comes the Kamikaze that knocks you down – Management has decided to instead, rescale the salary on case-by-case basis. You realize that is why he is here to talk to you.Then he tells you, your salary is rescaled to go down by 20% starting this week.

Huh…? What…?

You now need, more than any other time – a hug, a caring person who can patiently hear you and say ‘honey, don’t worry, I will take care of your shortcoming salary’.  You wish!

You walk out of the conference room with a silent nod to HR person. He says  ‘ I totally understand this is a bomb blast and if you want to take the rest of the day off, please feel free to do so’ .

But there is a all-hands meeting in the afternoon. So, you want to stick around.

Alright! – The week started with aspirations on Salary Hike, a tiny bonus and  perhaps promotion – all of these got promoted to the dreamland!

Then the CIO speaks at the all-hands meeting in the afternoon – ‘You have to be flexible to do anything needed- sometimes my controller of finance fetches me coffee and that’s how flexible we ought to be’.

Everyone giggles without energy.

You walk out of the corporate building slowly towards the parking garage thinking – you got a great review, a good rating and everyone in cross-functional departments raved your last year performance  – So.., “Am I stupid?”

Recession Recovery? Where..? When? How..?

I do not know about you but I keep hearing  more and more bad news about the economy on all of the different media channels.  What we need is some good news, irrespective of how minute impact it does to this economy.

I don’t want to rant about more bad news here but let’s look outside of US.  China is doing great. India is not doing badly. Japan is back in shape and UK is seemingly showing progress in its economy.

I was speaking to a senior member of the Church of Scientology who, just came back from a Asia and Europe tour. I was picking his brain on his experiences on the street (Part of his job is to ’spread the word’ and  enroll needy members into the Church).  He had visited in Nov 2008 and this visit was totally different. This visit was lot better in terms of donations to church and he saw a lot more friendly smiles.

So, what is it that we are missing? My friend then turned his conversation  ‘American greed’. He had heard this mentioned by the non-US members of his church.  It was clear to everyone outside of US that American corporations are greedy and that it is self-destructing jobs and hence economy recovery is far away if not impossible.

I am not sure if I agree with them but  lets say assume that American corporations are greedy.

So what?

We should  not look at the Government to fix anything that happens but we got to put some kind of mitigating process in place

• Rather than expecting President to do something, ask the corporations to give back  -  when you came to our cities, we supported you with jobs, real-estate and such. Now its your responsibility to give back
• The jobs that are eliminated should be sent to Job  elimination monitoring committee  (JEMC – OK, I made this up!) which should decide on a case-by-case basis and recommend the corporation to hold-off or go ahead.  Corporations should prove that  Job elimination is not just for monetary reasons but for lack of talent, etc (If H1-Visa requires some mandate that the petitioning company need to prove lack of talent in USA, why not JEMC? )

These are some of  my suggestions and I  think the US should consider getting  unemployment below 6% as the top priority for the economy to grow positive.

Employed or unemployed? - Look who is hiring/buying at Ntroduction

Based on national statistics, for every 20 people in this country today, 3 of them are unemployed on an average.  In this world of social networking and all, how do I know who can help me in my job search and who cannot?  Here are some of my thoughts.

I observed a large number of professionals are unemployed but show themselves as employed. Reason?  The kind of look you get when you tell someone that you are looking for a job is way-out-of-whack.  So, professionals project themselves as employed  (you can observe on linkedin about several D-Levels/C-Level professionals who have been off-loaded from their positions long ago but the linkedin profile seems to show that as current)

Well, what does this mean to you? If you are looking for a customer or looking to connect with a hiring manager, that’s misleading information.

However if you are just trying to network with them, then its awesome.  I like Linkedin for the same reason that I can grow my network, find where my colleagues are  – whether its of use right this minute or not. The only gripe about this is it could be outdated or they may not be ready to buy / hire. Right?

Now, where can I find professionals who are ready to buy product/services or even hire? You can browse  for introductions sought or introductions provided to get a clear idea of professionals ready to buy or hire.

Job losses - How Ntroduction can help

I was yawning  at the San Jose airport waiting for my friend who I had not seen for over 14 years (limited to email, phone calls) and  news Flash on the TV monitor in front of me, shook me – CA has 14% unemployment.

Man! – That might be a bit exaggertated. I would say perhaps 12% would be near to reality. I opened my iphone to check emails and my friend had sent me this link which is related to CA job situation.
Lets not feel happy comparing to the last year’s July planned job cuts as that’s not a happy news but overall, Say I am walking on a street of 20 people, 3 of them are without job in CA – Scary isn’t it?

These  are lost jobs to outsourcing or corporate greed or stockholders pressure or M&A. Whatever the reasons are, most of the jobs are ‘Gone Baby Gone’. What happenned to the promise by President that companies sending jobs would be taxed more?

I was talking to a friend, Director of IT in leading storage company and he agreed with me that IT jobs are now outsourced every second as we speak. So, , my advice to future employment force is to stay away from IT and look for something that is core to the business and that would be essential to keep it within corporate.  I would suggest you to browse professional introductions Seeked and provided and you will get an idea of what seems to be in demand.

Do I know you?

During 1999/2000, when the market was booming,  I played a role of Director of Business Development for about 6 months. I was part of several organizations where I would meet people, handshake and exchange business cards.

In one such event, I happened to exchange a business card with a Director of Marketing at Siebel. I called the gentleman next day or two and introduced myself on the phone. He immediately says “Do I know you….? Are you introduced to me by anybody?”.

Fair enough. We just met in an event and it is a two way street – he may need our product/service – but let’s put ourselves in his shoes – maybe, he had a bad day or it is his policy to speak to people that are introduced to him only.

But after years , I realize – I have been in both places – Buyer or a Seller and I have learnt to ask the same question “Do I know you…? Are you introduced to me by anybody?”.  If we have met in an event, I will simply answer the call with “Please send me an email – if I have budget, I will let you know”.

However, if I had been introduced first hand by somebody, it would have made a difference – he would probably have said “You know, I have a very bad day and I do not have budget. Can we discuss this on phone a month or two later?”.

We recently did a poll of our existing members (for those who answered our poll, THANK YOU!) and the question was simple:  “Top few things you do not know about yourself”

We gave these answers to choose from and users could pick more than one answer.

Question: Top few things you do not know about yourself

Multiple Choice Answers:

a. I know people but do not know how to leverage them

b. I surprise myself sometimes but don’t know how to convert from sometimes to almost always

c. I know what I don’t know but I don’t know what I know.

d. I believe I know enough about my self and I am content with it.

The poll were answered by 412  members and answers are captured below:

Question: Top few things you do not know about yourself

a. Know people but do not know how to leverage them :  63%

b. I surprise myself sometimes but don’t know how to convert from sometimes to almost always : 43%

c. I know what I don’t know but I don’t know what I know : 27%

d. I believe I know enough about my self and I am content with it : 19%

Well,  the top most thing we do not know about ourselves – we know people and we do not know what to do with them. Now, there is Ntroduction for your help.  “Better an ounce of luck than an ounce of gold” – find this luck with introductions at Ntroduction.

As of today, here is a quick statistics on Ntroduction

The following introductions are being exchanged :

• 40% of the introductions are exchanged for Director level
• 16% of introductions are exchanged for C-level
• 20% of introductions are exchanged for specialized ‘hard to find people’
• Rest are for Solo contributors, Investors, Company Founders etc.

The following introductions are being searched:

• 36% of searches are performed for C-level
• 20% of searches are performed for Managers
• 11% of searches are performed for Directors
• Rest of searches are others

We will update this statistics maybe again in about 3 months. Please let us know if you would like to see any other statistics.

On  one afternoon in this month, July we decided to go for a drive together on Tesla.

If there is one thing that gets you excited in life, that is Tesla driving. I have driven Hummer, driven muscle cars before but the thrill in this is different

a. As you can see in the pictures, its shorter than Prius.

b. The leg space and the comfort is unbeatable

c. the design, the mold the details – awesome!

See below for the pictures – I will soon upload video to show interior and comfy!

Our friend Darrell waited for 8 months or probably more to get it.  He chose the colors about 4 months ago – Orange and Silver – superb combination.  You got to appreciate the sleek front slope and the design.

Initially I thought when I sat inside, I thought it is a new experience – as though I am sitting in a Japanese restaurant – you know what I am talking. The seat is low and almost the floor and with your legs stretched out.

But when we drove out to the street, it is the race car experience on a main stream street. We took a mini-van driver for a surprise that we overtook him just before he got into the highway ramp. We parked next to our office and people who came to TOGO’s there pretty much forgot what they came for. One of them got so embroiled that we had to push him aside, politely of course and get out of the place.

We drive on 101, 237 and 880 – and every time we got into circular ramps on these high ways, it was like a roller coaster ride. Although the height is low, the shock absorbers are amazingly jitter free and makes a very comfortable drive.

Anyway, I will let you check out the photos and if you get a chance, check it out at Tesla Auto dealer stores  near you.

Life is worth it when you own one!

Dear Ntroduction.com reader

Recently, a friend of mine (who reported to me before at Symantec) requested that I circulate her resume around. She was working with Symantec and is now looking for a new job.

I simply forwarded her email to several of my friends. As you may have guessed, in the current market condition, such emails do not get sufficient attention due to inbox flooded with similar emails. Then I posted this at ntroduction.com – I said, I will introduce her to you for $750. I explained my title, my previous experience and titles held and why this person is important.

In the past few weeks, I have 2 offers to get her introduced. The key here is: People value your track record and if  it has worked for you, it will work for them too. Of course, I will make sure to know before I make the introduction to my friend.
Introductions has always worked before. If you need to find a job quickly, find a person who can vouch for you to make an introduction at Ntroduction.com.

The choice is yours – either keep responding to your resumes online/networking online or quickly get introduced to a hiring manager at Ntroduction.com.

Dear Ntroduction.com visitor

I was a Manager at a company for about 8 months and got introduced to yet another company’s CIO. My testimonials/references was so good that CIO placed the offer to me for Senior Manager’s position with a raise. This is not uncommon and probably you have gone through one of these!

Rather than waiting at a company for 3 or more years to be promoted, it is probably a little known way (a secret) – Get introduced to a C-level person at another company.

Furthermore, because you were referred at that high level, you will push yourself and your team to achieve the best sales numbers or best job results.  You add more track record to your career.

Without such introductions, you will have to grow organically and wait 3+ years for every promotion.  You can request for introductions at ntroduction.com

Dear Ntroduction.com visitor

I happen to know Sales Whizs working at Hitachi, Oracle, Salesforce.com  etc. who owns Teslas and the sorts.  I have tried to observe successful Sales people around me. They build a strong network who back each other with introductions during good times and bad times.

The keyword here is ‘introductions’.  Think about it for a moment: These introductions enable them to invite the introduced person for lunch/dinner/golf/game. They can speak with introduced person on a first name basis, discus their family, vacations, favorite spots etc. They can peek into the organizational pains, issues, concerns and ask what is their budget and when will they be able to spend it. Knowing these, they will be able to tailor the offerings to bag the deal.

Bottom line, after following these successful people, I figured  ‘Introduction’ is key. That is what makes them have a successful sales career.You can too with ntroduction.com

Granted, you have to have a successful track record or urge to achieve. When you request introductions at Ntroduction.com, make sure you demonstrate your track record and/or impress them with your knowledge, experience, foresights.  You belong in that club – good luck!