10 Ways to Power Up Your Networking Skills

10 Ways to Power Up Your Networking Skills Love it or loathe it, networking is a powerful way of learning, giving and relating to others. However sometimes people feel they just don’t know where to start. So here are ten top tips on ways that you can power up your networking skills: Know who you know â€" professionals would call this a database but that sounds very formal. Just know who it is that you know. Divide them into those you know well and would recommend you and those you know less well â€" how can you move one or two of those a month into the first list? Join a virtual network spend a couple of hours a month playing. See who you know and see who they know. Build some virtual connections. Find a group that is a proper forum and join the debate. Not every day in everyway, just see who you can help. Find a reason to get in touch doing charity events and needing sponsorship are great ways of enabling you to connect without talking about work at all! Join a professional association play an active role. Not only will you build a profile, extend the number of people you know but you will learn and develop yourself at the same time. No selling hang onto the fact that this is about relationships of trust not selling. Know know who you want to network with, know what you need to know about them and how you can help them. Be focused and targeted BUT never forget, it is who your network know that might be the critical link for you. So don’t be too focused! Create or rekindle a relationship When you go to an event â€" a conference or an association meeting, try to create at least one relationship/re-kindle an old one. You don’t have to have ambitions to meet everyone or leave a business card on every plate. But take your business cards and give them away. Get there early, that might sound like a nightmare, but you won’t have to walk into a room full of people and the others that are there early may also be looking for someone to talk to. Know how to leave If you are talking to someone and you feel you have had enough, turn your body about fifty degrees away from them, that opens up the pair and makes it possible for someone else to join you. Or if you want to leave make sure that they feel valued, offer to call them for a longer discussion or meet them before the next meeting. Be clear about who you are Sounds like a no-brainer, but you need to be able to sum up who you are and what you do. It may work if you have a really clear job title or a very high profile organisation but if you want to stick in someone’s mind, you may need to say more than ‘I’m an Assistant Director’. How much more impactful to be ‘the guy who makes sure you can drive your car through Watford at 8.30am on a Monday morning’ (traffic engineer) or I’m the woman who makes sure that the Board don’t go to gaol for setting illegal budgets.’ (accountant). You may need polite persistence  After you have met someone and got their number, if you need to go and see them, need them to give you information or recommend you, you may need to expect a few delays, cancellations or postponements. Don’t take it personally. Put yourself in their shoes and ask how high would you make it as a priority. But on the other hand don’t assume they will never help you. Most people like to help others. You need to persist. Have any of these tips helped power up your network? Let us know in the comment below. Image: Shutterstock

3 Creative Ways To Fund Your Side Hustle

3 Creative Ways To Fund Your Side Hustle So you have this killer idea for a side gig that youre really excited about.  And youve done a bit of research, so youre pretty sure it will pay off financially once its up and running.  But the problem is that your bank account never seems to have enough left over at the end of the month to make it possible.  What do you do? In todays world, your local bank wont even talk to you.  You really dont want to hit up Mom and Dad for a loan.  And the typical small loan businesses usually charge super high interest rates.  Its time to take a breath, step back, and come up with some creative ways to fund your side hustle.  Here are three you may not have thought of. Bartering This age-old way of creating money by not having to spend it isnt used as much as it once was.  But its a great way to get what you need by trading your product or service.  For example, suppose your idea is for a unique new sporting product.  You need professional photos or video so you can promote it.  Who knows, maybe thats your clincher for getting a spot on Shark Tank? You approach professional photographers or video professionals and offer a trade.  They provide what you need, and you give them product, now or when its in full production.  Alternatively, if you need a lot of work done, offer them one or two percent of your new venture.  This is your chance to practice that Shark Tank pitch! Downsizing We all know this ugly word.  Usually, its been bad news when a company decides to cut and trim expenses and jobs.  But you can use the concept to cut and trim and create funds out of your existing budget.  Of course, this means some sacrifice.  Just remember that sacrifice is a common theme to many highly successful entrepreneurs. So you may have to ditch the Starbucks.  And dinner might be rotating entrees of Mac and Cheese and Top Ramen.  But in the long term thats a small price to pay for making your dreams a reality.  And itll be part of your story:  When I was starting out . . . Selling Your Stuff I have too much stuff.  Most likely, you do, too.  Were creatures that sometimes act like little raccoons, gathering all our little shiny objects.  When I look around at all the s**t Ive gathered,  I frequently have urges to just sell it all and be free in a whole new way.  But thats another story. On a more realistic note, youve got things you just dont need or use.  Those skis you havent used in 4 years?  Theyre worth money.  Craigslist is a great way to find them a new home.  Got jewelry thats been sitting around and you never wear it?  Sell your jewelry and raise some serious cash.   When it comes to going after your passions and dreams, nothing should stand in your way.  So even that huge car payment could be traded for something that just gets you from point a to b. Find A Way To Fund Your Side Hustle I have my own stories of when I was just starting out.  They remind me of how far Ive come and that making a sacrifice is what got me here.  If youve got a dream, remember that its your future youre talking about.  Use a little creative thinking and find a way to make it happen. Images: Main  Alonzo

Recruit Fans, NOT Candidates!

Recruit Fans, NOT Candidates! Should we stop advertising jobs to everyone and instead zoom in on the people who are our followers, fans and advocates? We speak to Steve Ward who has pioneered a new approach to talent attraction. Listen to the interview with Steve  below, keep reading for a summary and make sure you subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast. Tell us about yourself and what you do? For 10 years, I ran a recruitment agency called Cloud Nine, which was kind of noted for the fact that we were probably one of the first to use social media as our key form of recruiting. Since walking away from that 18 months ago, and its parent company, I now work with companies as a talent attraction strategist, I call it, to help companies attract and be a magnet to the right talent that they want through growth. So I work with businesses at different levels on being smart about how we engage and find the right candidates, and hopefully hire them. What do you mean by recruit fans, not candidates? So what I started to work out, and I suppose its something that Id already worked out over a number of years without necessarily really kind of giving it a succinct feel is the phrase recruit fans, not candidates. The idea really is that we have so much intelligence available to us now, it makes me scratch my head as to why we still do job board advertising, even why we do advertising on the whole, when through acute, smart content marketing, prospect identification, etc., we can build channels. Bring natural channels, not necessarily tech channels, but natural channels that identify the people who are already engaged with the organization youre hiring for and people who seem to have a degree of fanhood with the company concerned. And that surprises people, because sometimesokay, we all expect somebody like Nike or Adidas or Facebook to have what you would term fans. But smaller companies, the majority of companies, people havent heard of on the whole and dont have a big brand, and s o you often surprise people to find that they actually, generally do have fans. What it helps do is it narrows down the target audience of candidates towards people whod be quite excited about picking up the phone and being offered the opportunity to work with them. So thats kind of the essence of it, is trying to find the people who genuinely believe in your company and what you do and target those as potential employees, because it would seem to be the most logical way of building a business. Whats the step-by-step approach to recruiting fans? Lets use Velocity as a really good example, because Velocity Partners, which is a B2B concept marketing agency. So inside the doors, they have table tennis tables, they have pizza Mondays, they have great people, they have a lovely culture, three office dogs, all those things that are inside the building but dont actually make a difference as to why somebody would join a company or not. And so, I started the journey of kind of thinking, Well, okay. What are the drawing factors? What is the employer brand? What is the thing that sets them apart compared to other such agencies, etc.? Because particularly what we had to think about is one, this is not an agency that are inside the dead centre of London. Theyre in Richmond, so to draw people to come and work for Velocity, you needed people who genuinely were excited by the prospect of working there, to be able to draw them away from the obvious kind of big London agencies and the like. So there were factors like that that I had to consider in order to attract talent. The common response, as I referred to Velocity Partners, on a handful of occasions, was, Oh, Dougs company. Oh, what do you mean? Doug Kessler? Doug Kessler being the cofounder of Velocity Partners and kind of B2B content veteran. And it became quite apparent that Velocity, the company, is one thing, but actually, one of the primary draws of Velocity was Doug Kessler, as a human being, as a professional, as an individual. You know, he speaks around the world, hes regarded as one of the godfathers in this kind of area. And actually, people wanted to work with him. So he wrote a piece, and I packaged it and put it out there as the front of the recruitment campaign, that talked about B2B, it was very specific to the market and what they thought.  And it was just a blog. And it went out on LinkedIn, and it had the footnote at the bottom. Apart from a couple of guidelines through the content, you had a footnote at the bottom that said, Hey, look. Do you agree with Doug? If you do, you may want to come and work with Velocity, because were hiring, were growing, and we need more kind of like-minded Doug types. And we started to get the response from that. Now, what we got from that was great traction, great sharing, and obviously, clearly, the audience attached Dougs name to something. That very specific audience shared it and distributed it across their networks. But we got a cluster of applications from it. Not many, which is perfect. We didnt want many. We just wanted a very targeted cluster, and that targeted cluster were all fantastic. And we were able to interview 6 of those people, and as we stand, I think 4 of them have now been hired. Not for one role, but for four completely different roles within the organization. Head of copy and content, a copywriter, an account manager and I think a B2B planner guy in there somewhere as well. And one blog, and it focused on the fact that Doug was more of an attractive brand proposition to the talent audience out there than the agency was itself. He was the one drawing the fans. So and that was exciting, and then so from there onwards, we started to then build our content around the people in the organization and the things that made the agency individual to other agencies. Again, this goes back to voice. Voice is a very, very big important part of it. Something I learned a lot from Doug. When theres a million marketing agencies out there or a million technology companies or a million banks, how do you separate yourself? So voice is a big part of it, the tone that you carry. Follow Steve on Twitter @CloudNineRec and be sure to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast.

Networking Not Working Perhaps You Are Undesirable. - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Networking Not Working Perhaps You Are Undesirable. - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career There are people that others are sincerely delighted to see. And, there are people who are avoided. The undesirables. You’ve seen it at a networking event.   Everyone’s eyes suddenly become busy gazing at the dip, pictures on the wall or anything that will prevent them from making eye contact with that person. Or, if they are caught in a conversation with them they’ll quickly make an excuse to leave. The avoided person can literally part the crowd as they approach. In order to make sure, you’re not the person that people would least like to network with you need to understand the undesirable traits. The Pity Partier Who wants to network with someone who’s wallowing in their own self-pity?   You’ve heard them. Their job sucks, the boss is mean, life’s unfair, they aren’t paid enough, the rents too high, etc.   All they do is moan and complain.   At every turn in the conversation, they find a way to share what’s awful in their life. There are even people who have had real tragedy in their life that continue to allow that tragedy to define them and to dominate their every conversation and interaction.   In fact, that tragedy is the filter which affects how they see everything in their window into “life” and, all too often, they define what others are saying through that filter. Action Step:     According to Jack Canfield, author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, we say over 250 negative things to our self each and every day.   Instead of focusing on all that’s negative in your life, make a daily list of what’s positive and what you’re grateful for.       Whatever you focus on, you actually begin to notice more of in your life. Focus on the positive to be that positive person that attracts others.   Even negative people repel other negative people. In the case of a real tragedy, seek professional help. A networking event is not time for group therapy. If you try that, even subconsciously, you could end up burning bridges because you’re seeing things through a strained filter.   It’s better to find someone who is trained and equipped to help you heal. The Diva In the movie, Beaches, Bette Midler said a statement that embodies this well when she said, But enough about  me, lets talk about  you. What do  you  think of  me? The Diva is stuck on one note â€" me, me, me, me! They talk about their trip, their job, their money, their clothes, their spring break, their car, etc.   They barely come up for enough air to continue sharing their adventures let alone let someone else speak at a networking event. Action Step:   Observe during your next networking interaction, who’s speaking the most?   Who’s dominating the conversation?   If it’s you, then you’re the diva. To be a great networker, ask questions and let others speak.   In fact, the person who is truly in control of the conversation and the direction of that conversation is the person asking the questions. If you’ll listen to the responses, people will tell you everything that you need to know about them, who they are and often what motivates them. The Entitled A close cousin to the diva, the entitled are people who exhibit that they are someone who are owed something or deserve something â€" always. Quite demanding they can often come across snobbish in real life interactions asking questions like, “why isn’t there coffee” or “isn’t someone going to get me a pen” or “is it me or does it just seem they’re not prepared for me?” Online, the entitled are those folks that tweet out to the Twitterverse a complaint or a rant about an interaction or transaction. Or, you’ll see them write on Facebook pages or even event pages on Facebook their demand. For example, at a recent event a mom bought her son a used game on the exhibit hall.   He couldn’t get it to work, at first. She immediately went to the Facebook page of the event and posted that the game didn’t work and said she bought it from a group of vendors that were in the middle of the exhibit hall and she needed someone with the event to respond to her immediately.   (Why wouldn’t she just call the card of the vendor who sold it to her or the information on the receipt?) This same person, in a networking event, will rush into a group having a conversation and say “let me steal this person away because I need to talk to her about this” or “stop talking, I need to take some selfies with you guys”. Or, their late for an event (all their fault) and they blame the ushers for not seating them or not letting them in. If you find yourself blaming everyone for you’re being late (i.e. saying something like “they couldn’t keep the breakfast out just a minute longer?”) and expecting others to work around your lateness that is a sign that you could be “an entitled”. Jeff Hayden provides a great description of this behavior in his article, 10 Ways to Lose Friends and Irritate People. Action Step:   Suspecting that you could be the entitled? Take a look at Jeff’s article and then make some changes to address each of those items. Set a deadline of when you’ll start working on that and start documenting so you’ll focus on that. You’re changing a behavior and that takes time.   In this case, admitting that you are “an entitled” and realizing what you’ve done to earn that title is a lot of the battle. The User Every interaction is seen as a “sale”.   They want to sell you, convince you, know who you know and not have a conversation or business relationship with you â€" they want to use you. Action Step:   Read the book “The Go-Giver”.   In the book, The Go-Giver, The Law of Influence says, Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. The fastest way to develop know, like and trust in any relationship is to shift your focus from an “I” focus to an “other” focus. Bob Burg, in his book Adversaries into Allies, says:   Most people don’t commit to things; they commit to people. And they typically commit to people who they believe care about them. The Clueless No idea of personal space, or hygiene or an ounce of modesty, the clueless person makes other people feel uncomfortable around them. They are clueless that their dress, behavior, smell is off-putting to others. Action Step:   Prevention Magazine put out a list of items that could help you ascertain if you’re this person.   The only items I would add to the list are if you have a dog or smoke to take extra precaution.   These are odors that you may personally be used to and not be able to even smell or detect anymore. And, ask someone you know, like and trust in a private setting.   A close friend might let you know if you let them know that you really do want to know.

10 Tips for Building a Productive Virtual Office Team - CareerMetis.com

10 Tips for Building a Productive Virtual Office Team Source : Pexels.comNew software programs, internet technology, and mobile devices have opened doors to an entirely new world of possibilities for many entrepreneurs. And the most important among these inventions is the virtual office.A virtual office reduces the burden of a fixed office and gives you the flexibility to move around the globe.So, are you interested in taking the advantages of this new invention?evalGetting a virtual office for your business is just the starting point. Going virtual can help your company in increasing profits, saving cash, and expanding its reach. But for that, you need to have a cohesive strategy in order to stay organized with your off-site team members.Here are 10 tips for building a productive off-site team.1) Start with the PhonesThe first and foremost tip for building a productive off-site team is that your phone system must be linked and should support all the remote locations in order to project the image of a single company.Since many companies rely on contact via telephones, this is a great place to operate a business while sitting in different locations.There are ample amounts of communication tools available to help you stay on track, such as Skype, which is a convenient and cost-effective way to keep you in touch with all of your team members.2) Hire a Virtual ReceptionistAs a matter of fact, when you are a solopreneur or small business owner, your phone system may be your lifeblood. It all depends on how you communicate with your clients and make sales, but this may cost you if you can’t answer every call as they come in.And by hiring the best virtual receptionist in order to answer your calls, ensure that every call is answered promptly and professionally.evalYour Virtual receptionist can handle requests, answering questions, scheduling tasks, taking messages from the clients and much more.In this way, you can free yourself from continually scrambling to answer every call, so that you can focus on more big-picture strategies, such as growing your business.3) Build an IntranetAs soon as you are done with the hiring of a receptionist for your virtual office, the next step is to use an intranet in order to build a productive off-site team. As your employees don’t all go to work at a single location, you need to foster communication and instill in them the sense that they’re still part of a team.Try sending out valuable information through your company’s intranet for company-wide announcements. It can connect your virtual team and make it easier to share information with them.evalMost intranets have social features such as comments, @ mentions, and secure document sharing. Using these methods will allow you to bring the right people at the right time to contribute to work, and in keeping all the feedback and contributions contextual.4) Hire the Best Talent for Your Virtual Office TeamHiring the most talented freelancers or employees for your virtual office team is one of the most significa nt parts of having a productive off-site team. To find the best-suited people for your virtual office team to support you and help your business grow.5) Communicate with Your New Team MembersOnce you are done with the hiring of contractors or employees for your virtual office, you need to maintain a substantial leadership role to lead your virtual team.You need a plan to collaborate with your team members in order to share and comment on your work.There is an ample number of cloud-based project management programs in the market that can quickly make your business operate in a much better way, without the need to be in the same room.For instance- Wrike, Basecamp, and Asana all give you the ability to assign tasks and provide feedback on each other’s projects with your team members.6) Professional AppearanceEven though you may be working from home, your customers don’t have to know that you work from your desk, bedroom or couch. Instead of letting them know, you can create your pr ofessional image by developing a website for your virtual office.Include the biographies of all your team members, accomplishments as a team, description of your services, existing clients to reach you and the other members of your team.evalDeveloping a website for your virtual office not only helps you in creating a professional image but also in building a productive off-site team.7) Handle PayrollThe next tip for building a productive virtual office team is to treat payroll precisely as you would do in a traditional office with mailed paychecks or direct deposit.There are a lot of payroll services are available in the market that allows you to automate salary payments and compensations with creating any legal system problems.8) Organize Team-building EventsTeam-building events are essential to reminding your employees that they’re not alone in the company. These events are a great way to reward your freelancers or contractors and keep them working hard for you.These in-person e vents can be as simple as a professionally administered training programs or lunch at your house. It will also help you in ensuring the right quality of your employees by improving the productivity of the work.eval9. Set up a Meeting RhythmIn order to build a productive off-site team, you need to have a meeting rhythm. To put it simply, a regular meeting within each team and an “all hands” meeting for the entire company.These weekly meetings are the best way to store up issues and minimize the back and forth email that takes place during the week and can be handled all in one session.10) Take Your Marketing and Public Relations SeriouslyA reliable and appealing brand image is critical to the success of every business project. Without a productive off-site team, you cannot be able to do the marketing of your business.You are required to manage the team in order to convey to the customers that you offer the best solution to the challenges they are facing. So, do as much as you can to get them adjusted to your company and to learn how to perform in their role.ConclusionBy following these simple tips for building a productive off-site team, you should be able to position yourself and your business to meet your goals, whether it’s to hire more freelancers and contractors, increasing sales or doubling your customer base.

Become A Go-To Resource aka Job Magnet

Become A Go-To Resource aka Job Magnet Dont you want to be a job magnet rather than a job chaser? People who are job magnets are known for their expertise, knowledge, skills or ability to connect to relevant resources. Are you any of these? You may have the expertise, but only people who have seen you in action know about it. And I think its a shame that only a handful of people know about you- dont you want to fix this?! When you are recognized inside and outside of your company, youll notice that people will begin seeking you out to pick your brain, ask for your opinion or help, or, best-case scenario, opportunities may magically appear. Just ask anyone who is well-respected how many inquiries they get from people they dont know. Heres How Inbound Marketing Works I read a lot about how to grow your business, and I think this is  exactly the same as trying to grow your career and reputation! Ever hear of the sales funnel? Inbound marketing draws potential lead to you and it  works  like this (image credit HubSpot). Attract With Content In the world of inbound marketing, youll see the term content curation. To learn more about what content curation is, you can  read these 19 definitions of content curation on Heidi Cohens site. Companies use  blogs/content to answer customers questions, help solve problems and serve as a trouble-shooting, go-to resource.  You may not be publishing your own content yet, but you probably already read  articles, publications, books, etc., for your own professional development, so technically, youre collecting content, you just arent sharing it. Learn about the sources I use a lot to uncover relevant articles in this article Get Your News. Finding content is step one. You Can (and should be) A  Publisher Step two is to share the good stuff you discover! Make it easy for people to learn what you know! Share the content you round up as social updates on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. Heres the logic. People who see the content you write and share begin to recognize you as a valuable source of information. One easy way to become a publisher is to use LinkedIns long post Publishing function (blogging platform). Its free and available to anyone with a LinkedIn profile. Learn how to use LinkedIn to blog here. It Worked For Me These are the exact steps I took when I started. I found and shared great articles written by experts, started blogging myself, met a lot of really cool, influential people and now Im flattered when Im asked to contribute my thoughts on CNBC, Money, and other media outlets! Next, learn how to get what you share more visibility:   Build Your Brand By Sharing Content.

Benefits of Writing and Communication Skills in the Workplace

Benefits of Writing and Communication Skills in the WorkplaceIt is crucial to develop effective communication and writing skills if you want to land a job. Yet many individuals shy away from such skills as they are often perceived as unimportant and a non-conformist. However, the truth is that effective communication skills can greatly improve your career opportunities. Here are some of the most powerful reasons why:One of the biggest and most visible signs of improved career opportunities is an increased recognition and appreciation for your individual, unique contribution to a company or organization. By highlighting your own personal style and talents, you can actually increase your career opportunities to such an extent that you no longer have to fill out an identical resume for every position you apply for. Your personal style, therefore, gets spotlighted and is considered an advantage when applying for a variety of positions.One of the most overlooked benefits of having good co mmunication skills is in being able to more effectively address a wide range of professional issues. A well-written and well-researched resume is considered by many employers as an essential tool in helping them make a decision regarding whether or not to hire an applicant. A poorly written and ill-conceived resume could end up hurting the chances of the applicant for future employment opportunities. Therefore, while it is important to be polite, considerate, and empathetic, having an excellent skill in this area can actually help greatly in helping land a great job.Another of the most important benefits of having strong communication skills, is in being able to establish and maintain good relationships with employees, clients, and other employers. Communication skills are so vital when dealing with all types of individuals and they are vital to retaining existing clients. On the other hand, they can also play a role in improving a prospective client's interest in obtaining the serv ices of the individual. Therefore, developing these skills can ensure that an employee is able to create a lasting relationship with a potential client.The benefits of having effective communication skills are many. However, for people with this ability, the benefit is always tied in the fact that having this skill set will help in creating a better work experience for everyone involved.Another of the most noticeable benefits of having these communication skills, is that it will improve an individual's self-esteem. Because of a higher level of self-esteem, people have a much better mental image about themselves and are more positive in regards to their own abilities. People who have a good sense of self-worth and confidence are generally more successful. This is why companies offer extra incentives for those employees who demonstrate self-respect in the workplace.One final major benefit of having effective communication skills in the workplace is the fact that it makes people more a ble to stand up for themselves. In a world where people are becoming increasingly vulnerable to lawsuits due to their poor attitude or actions, having a solid sense of self-respect and encouragement as well as an awareness of personal boundaries is one of the best ways to ensure that you are able to assert yourself and your rights. And once you do this, you are significantly more likely to receive a fair settlement from a negligent lawsuit.The benefits of having good communication skills in the workplace are obvious. However, it is also very beneficial to an employer that does not necessarily possess these abilities. This is why having a good resume is so essential.