Career Fire » Networking

How to Network on an Airplane, and Get an Interview

Ethan Oblonsky — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:57:05 +0000

Writer’s note: Apologies for being M.I.A. for so long but I’m back on a regular schedule now. If you don’t see regular postings from me (at least one post every other week), email me on here and be the first to catch me. I’ll do one free resume consultation.

I may be exaggerating when I say a plane is a networking Mecca but with my recent travels I had to communicate a great place to network, the airport. The first time I was flown to a company to interview I was in business casual attire and being the middle of the week I was surrounded by business men and women flying to meet clients, go to different branches or have lost track why they’re going to God knows where. The whole trip from Detroit to Charlotte, I spoke to a gentleman about business, his family, my goals, my hobbies; almost like an interview.

I asked for a business card when we began our descent and low and behold he was a Global Vice President for one of the largest companies in the world. I gave him my resume and he even emailed me to see how my interview went as well as telling me he told his wife if he had half the energy of me, they’d be millionaires. Two weeks later I received a call from his organization about an interview. I didn’t end up working for them but in two hours I networked with a V.P. who travels the world making decisions for a Fortune 10 company and got an interview. All because I looked like somewhat of a business traveler and had the nerve to strike up a conversation. On the way back from this interview, I sat next to a buyer of Italian goods and spoke to her the whole way back.

I hate to sit here and talk about myself and my experience the whole time but it’s the only way I learned in college, being shown examples and real-life situations. This happened and has continued to happen every time I fly. Even if traveling for vacation, I wear a button down shirt and dress pants just in case. According to www.flightaware.com in the past 24 hours there were 43,746 arrivals! And www.bts.gov has a 2003 report that Americans make more than 405 million long-distance business trips per year. So next time you’re in a plane ready to swallow Dramamine, remember it’s more important now than ever to differentiate yourself and network like crazy. Here’s the main points:
•    When you travel, at least wear business casual clothes
•    Keep a resume` or business cards with you, get their email. You don’t have to be employed to have cards
•    Guts. Have you ever traveled in the daytime where it was completely quiet on a plane? No, because every business person is talking business with the person next to them. So do the same. It’s not an interview, you have nothing to lose
•    Get their information. Ask about possible employment, and be casual when conversing
•    Talk to the whole row!

Career Tips During The Holiday Season

Allison Dagilis — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:26:26 +0000

Even though many of us are going on break or taking a week off of work for the holidays, you should keep your mind on your career… and it’s easier to do than you think.

Network

Network! Again with the networking. That’s all I can say. This time of year you will probably be visiting family and going to many holiday parties – for work or with friends. Communicate with others to build your network. Find commonalities and make sure you have a business card (even if you are just a student or are unemployed!). Check Vistaprint.com for some great deals on business cards.

Volunteer

Your life might be a bit crazy in these months, but take some time to give back to others who are less fortunate than yourself. You might even learn something. You can try the local homeless shelters, Salvation Army, partner up with your church or school, or set up a can food drive with your neighborhood for the local food pantry. There are so many little ways you can give back to those in need. Plus volunteerism looks awesome on your resume! (BUT, don’t let that be the ONLY reason for doing it…).

Exercise

This season is filled with pastries, appetizers, and candies galore. Don’t let the weeks go by without getting off the sofa to work out. You can join a gym (around New Years many gyms offer great deals), you can buy a pair of weights or workout videos to do in your own home, or just start walking with a friend. Just get up and start somewhere. The winter is the time to get lazy and tired, beat that with the energy you will get from working out. You will definitely feel a difference at work, with more liveliness and less fatigue. Stay tuned for another article about how to keep off weight in the workplace. Eat everything, BUT only in moderation.

Read up

Lastly, curl up with a good book (or laptop) and catch up on some reading that you have been meaning to do all year long… Keep your brain fresh with new ideas! For example,

Books about the financial crisis
Books that have been great for 2008

Looks like you have lots of things to do this winter season! Happy Holidays!

The World Is Small, But Your Network Shouldn’t Be

Allison Dagilis — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:13:21 +0000

Now is the time to expand your network. It is a never ending process. You will need other people in your life at some time or another.

Maybe you have read the book; The World is Flat, By Thomas Friedman. If you haven’t, you should. He does a great job explaining how much closer the world is today than a few hundreds years ago, because of technologies such as cell phones and the internet, then comparing countries education and job opportunities. But I think that the world is also small. Not in a geographical way, but in an “Everyone knows everyone” way. I have a few real life examples of how this proves to be true in my life and in the business world.

Example #1: The City

I was sitting outside in a café in Munich, Germany this past summer enjoying dinner. A college aged guy walks past me with an “Akron” shirt. This is where I am originally from. Of course, I had to ask him if he was from Akron too, and we ended up having a bunch of the same friends. All the way over in Germany, I met someone who was from my small hometown, and still keep in contact with him today.

Example #2: The Family

Before I studied abroad (something that is a great experience, but that’s for another post) I spoke with one of my professors. His son had gone to Germany a few summers before and stayed with a family. After exchanging contact information, I sent the family an email. While I was studying, the family invited me to stay with them for a weekend. They ended up being Sister City delegates and we continued to keep in contact even after my return to the states. Two semesters later and after endless hours of searching for an internship abroad, I came up with no results. It was because of this family and the people they know, that I was able to work abroad this past summer. In addition, they let me stay at their house and included me as a part of their family. I ended up getting a job offer at the German firm I worked for this summer. It was only because of them and my professor that I was given this opportunity.

Example #3: The Reference

The interview for my current place of employment was also a small world incident. My interviewer had seen my resume and saw where I had previously worked. He ended up knowing someone at that office and called her to get information on me. She was not listed as a reference, nor would I have used her as one. Thankfully my reputation was good and she had good things to say about me to him. It was his first impression of me, and I realized how important reputation can be. Then the night after the interview I was at a dinner party, and met a woman who works with the guy I interviewed with. She was going to see him the next day, and told me she would drop my name to him. I ended up receiving this job, and really have enjoyed it so far.

It’s like that Disney song, “It’s a small world after all…” and my advice to you:

Gain a good reputation; it is so much easier to keep a good reputation than to rebuild a bad one.
Continue to meet new people, be the one to extend your hand first and take a genuine interest in their life.
Build relationships with professors, even after college.
Never stop expanding your network. You never know where you will be and who you might need to know.

LinkedIn: 5 Reasons Why You Should Be On This Site NOW

Dave Rigotti — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Facebook and Myspace are often times the only social networks that come to most peoples mind when asked where they can be friended at, but there are many other options. One main alternative is LinkedIn, a professional social networking site. Unlike Facebook or Myspace, LinkedIn feels more like an online resume and focuses on professional contacts, user recommendations, and education, rather photos, updates, and wall posts. LinkedIn is great if you don’t want your boss to see you chugging that beer or with the cheerleaders at a basketball game. So, without further ado, here are 5 reasons you should join LinkedIn.

Network with industry professionals. With LinkedIn you can send any user a request to be a contact – from a company’s CEO to that lost friend from high school, it doesn’t matter. Add me here.
Join industry groups. In addition to connecting with industry individuals, you can officially associate yourself with industry groups, which can make connection discovery a breeze. We even have a group for Career Fire here.
Get “recommended” by others. One of the best features, recommendations are public and allow you flaunt them to possible employers. In fact, I copied the top 5 recommendations and included them on a second page in my resume. Lot’s of people can talk about themselves in an interview, but can most job condidates have so many other people talk about them?
Questions and Answers. Much like Yahoo! Answers, LinkedIn Q&A allows users to answer and post questions to not only their network, but the entire LinkedIn population as well. Be picked as the best answer for a particular question and receive a special badge for your profile.
Hunt for jobs through your network. The job search engine, powered by SimplyHired, also includes connection information from LinkedIn. This allows searchers to leverage their networks and contacts to facilitate the job search and hiring process. Below you’ll see a some search results for marketing jobs in the Seattle area.

Bonus: Be found in search engines
Having a profile can greatly help your personal SEO and visibility on the ‘net.