Tag Archive for 'networking'

tip of the week: optimize your internship

Published on May 13, 2009 in Interns and Tip of the Week. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Are you interning this summer? Are you going to be doing regular intern work plus the work of a recently laid off employee (i.e. assistant)? Here are some tips for turning your internship into a full time job:

  • Treat your internship like a three month long job interview. If the company is hiring, or will be around the time your internship is over, you should use your internship period as a time to show off your skills, make friends and contacts in the office, and otherwise impress the same people who might hire you someday.
  • Collect contact info from employees you want to use as references or contacts later on. Remember that when your internship is over, you won’t have your Outlook account anymore, so be sure to get contact info for anyone you’d like to keep in touch with personally or professionally. Plus, if anyone would make a good reference for you, be sure that you a) have phone and email contact info for them, and b) they are familiar enough with you and your work to have something positive to say.
  • Send thank-you notes. Are you one of 30 interns? Make sure everyone remembers who you are by having good workplace manners. If someone’s been super helpful showing you the ropes or training you on the phone system, write them notes when your internship is over. Make sure the notes include your contact info so that they can follow up.

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get your facebook business card

Published on May 4, 2009 in Junk Drawer. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

If you’re unemployed, self-employed, or otherwise don’t have a business card for whatever reason, you can now get some of the Facebook business cards designed by Jean-Baptiste Gouraud. The card, which looks like the top part of someone’s profile (or the little box that pops up when you click on a person’s name but don’t have access to view their profile), is a good way to remind people of your name and also encourage them to add you as a friend on Facebook. If you really use your profile to network with people and not just to post embarrassing drunken photos or figure out which Grey’s Anatomy character you are, this is a great way to get the process going and also give people a cute momento to remember you by.

talking to your friends about unemployment

Published on April 14, 2009 in Survival Guide. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Being unemployed has many upsides – free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns – but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment:

  • If someone offers to help, let them. Your friends are your friends because they like you. And when someone says they want to help, they usually mean it. However, they may have no idea how to help. So if there’s something specific they can do – proofreading your resume, giving you some contact info for that job recruiter they worked with last summer, just being there when you need to vent – say what it is, and let them do it.
  • Be straightforward about your finances. If you’re too broke to keep going out to fancy restaurants, you need to be upfront about it. Don’t sound like you’re blaming your friend, though – instead of simply declining invites or waiting until the bill comes to fight over whose half comes out to more, maybe suggest cheaper alternatives or recommend another activity that you would both enjoy but costs less, such as a free day at a museum or cooking dinner at your place while you watch American Idol.

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can you find a job on twitter?

Published on March 31, 2009 in Survival Guide. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

If you’re unemployed, it seems far more fun to sit around all day constantly updating Twitter than scouring the job ads yet again. Well, Mashable (the folks behind Twitter) wants you to be able to do both at once. Check out their tips for using microblogging as a way to find a job:

  • Write about your job search. Some people who follow you may not know you personally and therefore might not know that you’re looking for work. Updating your followers about your job search might encourage someone to send you a link or connect you to a person they know, and every little bit counts.
  • Include a link to your bio/resume/LinkedIn page on your Twitter profile.
  • Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want a job recruiter or potential boss to see. If you’re applying for a job, most employers know they have to Google you. Remember that if they find your Twitter, they’re going to go through it, so you might want to reconsider liveblogging your bikini wax or using Twitter to talk shit about your ex.
  • Use a picture of yourself as your avatar. That way people will know it’s your actual Twitter.
  • Consider getting a second account. If you simply can’t resist using Twitter to update people about your sex life or how much you love Rock of Love, maybe you should get a second friends-only account that requires people who want to follow you to ask permission.

tips for networking while laid off

Published on March 19, 2009 in Tip of the Week. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

There are a lot of ways that being laid off is awesome: you have free time to sleep late and watch Judge Judy reruns, for example. But there are a lot of ways that being laid off sucks, and one of them is figuring out how to find a new job and dance around explaining that you left your last job because you were laid off. Here are some tips for networking while you’re unemployed:

  • Update your social networking pages – and your blog if you have one – to look professional or at least not embarrassing. Remove the lolcats and the pictures of you shotgunning beers with your friends. You want people who might Google you to find things that make them want to hire you.
  • Remember that there is a world of difference between being laid off and being fired. Being laid off is not your fault – it’s a company’s financial decision and almost always has nothing to do with your job performance. Don’t forget that.
  • Have a backup plan. When someone asks what you’re doing now, you should be honest and admit that you were laid off. However, you should also be able to say you’re working part time, volunteering somewhere, going back to school, finally writing your novel, or something else. You want to have something else to talk about besides your layoff, and you’ll show that you have lots of other things going on in your life besides working – or lying on the couch watching TV.
  • Use your twitter, blog, or other public social networking site to talk about your skills and your job search. Be subtle about it – avoid talking about how much of an expert you are or how much companies are begging to work with you.

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do you need a career coach?

Published on July 9, 2008 in Junk Drawer. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

It seems like “life coaching” is one of those fad professions that’s not going anywhere for the time being. (Remember Terrence, Paris’ life coach on Gilmore Girls? God, I loved that show.) Now, some life coaches are specifically focusing on careers, combining motivational speaking and corporate strategizing. “The coach’s job is to see things about you that you may be blind to yourself,” says career coach Fred Horowitz. An interesting side note: Horowitz was apparently ‘certified’ at a place called Coach University. Is that like when McDonald’s managers have to go to Hamburger U?

If you’re an assistant, you probably can’t afford a career coach, and you’re probably also the person who needs one the most. So what can you do instead? Get some type-A friends who can support and motivate you. You might be able to find a mentor either on your own or through your company who can give you advice specific to your industry and also give you a heads up about advancement opportunities. Search criagslist or a social networking site for your field and see if they have meetups, networking events, or other social functions.

Or, you could just call Terrence, even though he’s a fictional character.