Published on: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
It’s About Giving, Not About Getting
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Unless you have been in a time capsule, when it comes to managing a successful job search, everyone knows that the most effective strategy is networking. Saying the word reminds me of the conversations I used to have in a former life around the subject of performance appraisals. We all agreed that it was needed, but nobody liked them. On the other hand, nobody has come up with something better either.
For over the 23 years
ExecuNet has been around, 70 percent of the members we have talked to who have made a change say it was networking that was the key for them. People sometimes think that since we are always trying to drive home this message that somehow we have a plug and play answer on making it work for them, and preferably making it work like yesterday! Would that we could!
What we do try to do, however, is not just talk about it, but put all sorts of resources together to not only show them how, but also try to provide them (both online and off) with the ways and means to implement a plan effectively.
One of the key components of the "how" is to try to get people to buy into the idea that if they really want networking to work for them, they need both a mindset and real belief that to be effective they need to be focused on giving, not getting. As
Karen Armon who hosts
ExecuNet meetings in the Denver area likes to say: "Give first and results will follow."
To that point, I came across a video the other day from a site called
Simple Truths. It runs just over three and a half minutes. Title:
The Power of Kindness.
Check it out. If you are in a job search, maybe the way this notion is expressed in the video will have a different impact than hearing it from me or others.
Dave Opton
Dave Opton founded ExecuNet in 1988 to provide a trusted environment where senior-level executives could build career opportunities by facilitating connections to other executives, experts and key market insights. Dave has drawn upon his 35 years of experience in human resources to develop and grow what has become the leading business and career membership network for executives and senior managers. A widely recognized executive career management expert, Dave is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Fast Company, and other leading business publications. Mr. Opton received his BA from Indiana University. Dave blogs at Six Figure Learnings
Lessons learned from and about six-figure leadership and executive career management
