I’ll publish them on my Google Calendar, which you can subscribe to for easy reference. I’ll tweet buy Schock them also. Hashtag triad is #Geoff #Seattle #networking

The point is to bring more people together, and to reduce the social anxiety of attending events where you may not know anyone.

I love networking, and networking with buddies makes it easier to meet more people.

Know of an upcoming event that I haven’t listed? Add it to the comments, and thanks for sharing.

Remember: Pay It Forward

The List – Attending

GPiS Facebook Group, November 5

SAM Remix

Extract divx

at Seattle Art Museum, November 6

Seattle Lunch 2.0 @Gist, November 13

Thankful for Your Network, November 19

Additional Events – Suggested
Building Brand with Social Media: How Starbucks Does It and What They’ll Do Next (PSAMA, November 11

Marketing Careers in Transition (PSAMA, November 13

Seattle Job Social at Twist, November 19

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/11/03/networking-in-seattle-for-november-2009/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/10/18/networks-too-big-for-their-own-good-nytimes-com/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/10/18/networks-too-big-for-their-own-good-nytimes-com/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:32:07 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=373 Networks Too Big for Their Own Good – NYTimes.com

Interesting article with a great concluding sentence:

“…they may be overlooking extremely talented individuals whose only weakness is that they don’t have the right name to drop.”

This piquant statement expresses frustration that I felt along the way in my job search.

I have fixed this by networking a LOT, and uncovering many, many 2nd degree connections. I use those all the time to make introductions for others and myself as well.

Also, I now have great respect for the added “something special” that knowing a name brings to you – and knowing how to get introduced to that name.

My standard: Keep networking, keep talking to people, keep building relationships and don’t blindly accept invites unless you feel the person is someone you can help along the way.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/10/18/networks-too-big-for-their-own-good-nytimes-com/feed/ 1 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/16/accentuating-the-positive-after-a-layoff-nytimes-com/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/16/accentuating-the-positive-after-a-layoff-nytimes-com/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:37:30 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=364 The Search – Accentuating the Positive After a Layoff – NYTimes.com

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/16/accentuating-the-positive-after-a-layoff-nytimes-com/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/05/freelance-listing-for-copywriters/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/05/freelance-listing-for-copywriters/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:29:38 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/05/freelance-listing-for-copywriters/ We operate a number of consumer-oriented websites, and we’re looking for someone who can create web copy that sparkles. If you’d like to write for audiences as diverse as moms, business travelers, college students and sports fans, then you’ll love working with us.

We need someone who can start right away, can accept ongoing project requests on relatively short notice, and who is comfortable working within our budgetary constraints. Most of all we need someone with great copywriting skills and the flexibility to adapt to different project requirements. We have lots of opportunity for ongoing work if your talents fit our needs.

Email: Dave Sampson dsampson@gmi-mr.com

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/08/05/freelance-listing-for-copywriters/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/11/cindy-pain-with-linkedin-how-to-at-seattle-school-for-visual-concepts/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/11/cindy-pain-with-linkedin-how-to-at-seattle-school-for-visual-concepts/#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:08:37 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=185 Through networking, I met some marketing and advertising people who started the Stuart Smalley Society, a networking and job search buddy meeting, on Facebook. The people organizing the SSS are doing a great job.

On April 9, Cindy Pain presented how to get the most out of LinkedIn at the School for Visual Concepts (SVC is offering limited seating at 50% off for all classes for folks unemployed in the last six months. Call 206-623-1560). Cindy is VP, Career Management Consultant / VP, Career Coach at Lee Hecht Harrison.

I began using LinkedIn in 2005. Since 2007, I have focused on growing my network and refining my profile. I’ve read many how-to’s, tips and secrets, including Rita Ashley’s handy and smart LinkedIn to Power Job Search. Definitely get your free copy of that jewel

I recruited two friends to attend with me, and I wanted to learn what I haven’t yet found out. While the session was geared toward newbies, it’s always good to revisit the basics. Now I know what’s on my profile maintenance list!

Below are my notes from the session. These assume a basic working knowledge of the site but post a comment with any questions. I will respond.

Your title: Modify the title to be YOU – not a job title. (“Marketing Communications Manager” not “MarCom Specialist Level II”)

It is good to post your picture when trying to bypass HR to reach the hiring manager. This puts a face with a name, and offers an opportunity to let the hiring manager identify with you. (“He looks like a nice guy, someone I’d enjoy talking to.”)

Modify the profile URL to have your name in it. If your name is already taken, add your middle initial or middle name. When a person searches for you on LinkedIn, the geographical constraints will reduce the search results enough to make you easy to find. When Googled (and you will be), your profile will now appear in Google search results.

Privacy settings: turn these to “no” when making major updates. Leaving it to “yes” means every time you change even one letter in a word, your contacts are notified that your profile has been updated – but it doesn’t say what you did. Make all your updates in one session, then turn privacy back off so people will see only your fully revised profile. You don’t want to fatigue your contacts with excessive updates about you that aren’t really updates.

Be a lifetime learner, always reading, always learning. Be a trendspotter. Focus on employability, not job titles. The days of lifetime employment are dead and mostly a myth of the manufacturing economy. Your career is yours to manage and own. Focus on bringing value to your role, not just skills.

Profile Summary: Do not write this as dry as a resume is. Give the reader more to read. If you are in a creative profession, be creative because you are expected to be. This is the time and place to demonstrate your character and qualities. Look at Cindy’s profile as an example. Show personality, show enthusiasm, make yourself stand out from cookie cutter profiles.

Read other people’s profiles for ideas of what to write about yourself. If writing isn’t your strong suit, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Read profiles of people in your field, at your level, and find the ones who say it well. Then copy, put your own spin on it, and paste.

Be authentically you in what you say. If the words you say feel fake to you, imagine how they sound to the person listening.

I loved this metaphor: “Social networks are how we have a front porch since we are now so transient.” Using online social networks are how we keep up with everyone. This is called “ambient awareness” by social media experts.

Your resume is a reason to get someone to call you. When they ask about your experiences, don’t tell them how you did it. Tell them what you did and the results. Tease them. Make them want more. If you tell them the how, you solved their problem (by giving them the answer), and now they can do it on their own. And you got bupkuss for it.

Understand your market and your audience so you talk to them how they expect. If talking to marketers, use a marketer’s language. If talking to a recruiter, use language that she can follow. Remember: a recruiter fills many positions so they don’t necessarily know every industry’s jargon.

Get Recommendations! Reciprocate always. Talk about the person’s work, talk about him as a person. Pay it forward.

Connect with LinkedIn Open Networkers (LIONs) to generate many 3rd degree connections. You may never meet the LION, but the 3rd degree connection opens up pathways to many more people. LIONs are good to move your message forward when requested. Again, pay it forward and reciprocate.

Write a recommendation even if you only know a little bit about the person. Speak to the qualities you have seen and experienced.

Searching techniques:

• Use Boolean searches. Put search terms in double quotes to constrain search results. Modify by using AND, OR and NOT (in all caps) between search terms. For example, “John Doe” AND Starbucks.

Join Groups. Similar to connecting with LIONs, having a group in common lets you easily connect with others on your own. Also, groups are a great way to network online and in person. They range from your location, to your industry, to diversity groups and more.

Search for points of affinity when searching for people. For example, search for people from your university alma mater, from companies where you worked, or by job titles. If you want to connect with accounting supervisors in your city, search by job titles in your area to find them. Then use 3rd degree connections through groups or LIONs to network with them.

That’s the sum of 90 minutes of excellent presentation by Cindy. Please comment your thoughts below.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/11/cindy-pain-with-linkedin-how-to-at-seattle-school-for-visual-concepts/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/01/getting-easier-every-day-twitterjobsearchcom/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/01/getting-easier-every-day-twitterjobsearchcom/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:42:00 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=174 Try out Twitter Job Search to find listings in your area. I am finding that there are jobs posted on Twitter that never make it to job boards of any kind.

Why?

• Twitter has a smaller audience than job boards
• Twitter is usually a more technically sophisticated group
• Twitter is social media
• Twitter’s free

TwitterJobSearch.com – Twitter Job Search Engine.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/04/01/getting-easier-every-day-twitterjobsearchcom/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/23/recruitment-a-broken-and-degrading-process-that-needs-to-change-%c2%ab-ceo-ideas/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/23/recruitment-a-broken-and-degrading-process-that-needs-to-change-%c2%ab-ceo-ideas/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:27:22 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=166 Recruitment: A broken and degrading process that needs to change « CEO Ideas
An intro to what sounds like a promising change in how to conduct your job search.

The entry has one thing right: submitting resumes to “Careers@Company.com” is the same as tossing them into a blackhole. There are too many others going that route, so you have to find alternative paths to get noticed.

Read on, fellow seekers.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/23/recruitment-a-broken-and-degrading-process-that-needs-to-change-%c2%ab-ceo-ideas/feed/ 1 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/15/abc-news-coverage-of-recession-effects-in-seattle/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/15/abc-news-coverage-of-recession-effects-in-seattle/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:35:05 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=161 Last month, a reporter with ABC News out of Los Angeles contacted Seattle Job Social for help in finding a family to follow who had been impacted by the layoffs around town. Through social media, we were able to connect her with a family willing to let a reporter follow them around for a week with a camera. A few seconds of the footage is at the February Seattle Job Social.

This link takes you to the written story and video.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/15/abc-news-coverage-of-recession-effects-in-seattle/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/08/interview-coaching-with-lewis-lin-in-seattle/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/08/interview-coaching-with-lewis-lin-in-seattle/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:45:47 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=145 On March 5, I spoke with Lewis Lin who is an interview coach in Seattle. Brushing up on skills is one of those basics we need to revisit periodically. That’s how I first came across him.

In a terrific half-hour consultation, he gave me three great approaches to use in presenting myself:

When the most common question, “Tell me about yourself” is asked, don’t talk about your most recent situation first. Start in the past and work forward. This lets you illustrate how your responsibilities have grown, your experience has expanded, and how you have receiving increasingly higher levels of responsibility. For me, this means starting with when I finished university and briefly describing (in order) my roles since.

Focus on three traits that really define you. This gives you a package that is easy to condense into memorable comments for the interviewer. Tailor these for the job you are interviewing for as well.

When it’s your turn to ask questions, focus on having the interviewer fully divulge how this role integrates with the overall organization, and how the hiring manager sees you contributing in this role. Inevitably, job descriptions omit elements that are less tangible than which software you know how to use. In my experience, it’s smart to ask what personality traits they think the ideal candidate should possess in order to be successful. What you know how to do is only half the equation; how well you get along with others in doing it is the other half.

Lewis is very friendly, easy to talk to, objective without being abrasive. When you’re job searching, it’s easy to feel down about yourself, to feel like you’ve done something wrong that landed you in this predicament. We forget there are over 12 million OTHER people unemployed right now because we sit in front of a computer all day – alone – looking for a job. Nevermind we sometimes forget to network with people in person as much as we should.

I highly recommend contacting Lewis for a consultation and to sign up for his services. His suggestions helped me re-align my focus and delivery so that I feel in control of my interviews once again. We need more services like his to be mandatory with unemployment benefits, in my opinion.

]]> http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/08/interview-coaching-with-lewis-lin-in-seattle/feed/ 0 http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/01/5-ways-to-battle-job-search-rejection/ http://blog.geofftucker.com/2009/03/01/5-ways-to-battle-job-search-rejection/#comments Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:16:02 +0000 Geoff Tucker http://blog.geofftucker.com/?p=143 MSN Careers – 5 Ways to Battle Job-Search Rejection
With the abundance of articles and tips series on which sites to use to find a job, how to use LinkedIn or Twitter, being a better networker and all the other advice columns, this article on dealing with rejection was a welcome change.

We are each facing challenges we thought we had long overcome, or circumstances we would never encounter. We didn’t think the world could be THIS bad ever again. Such extremes were relegated to history. And, yet, history does repeat itself.

As you move forward in your job search, the rejection letter is that sting you didn’t need. However, you have to remind yourself you didn’t get the job for a reason. Perhaps they thought your style wasn’t a fit with their company’s culture, that your experience didn’t quite align with what they wanted (nevermind how your resume compares to the job description), or other unknowns.

Like the recruiter quoted in this says: don’t EVER sound as desperate. Even in these horrible times, desperation gives off horrible vibes that will turn people off no matter how sympathetic they are otherwise.

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