Waking Up for Conferences and Speeches pt.3
I went to another important speech early this afternoon, which is still early for me to be up and ready to go on a weekend. The speech was titled, “Beyond MySpace and Facebook: the 411 of Effective Networking for Young Professionals.”
Jill Johnson is the president and founder of Johnson Consulting Services, a management consulting firm specializing in strategy development, demographics, and market research. Jill’s consulting work has impacted more than $2 billion worth of decisions. Jill Johnson has been a motivated and determined individual her whole life with a range of impressive accomplishments in the business world. I was particularly impressed by her drive and work ethic. She’s worked extremely hard to get where she is today and she has a lot of great advice because of it.
You often hear, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, it’s true. Networking is one of the most important tools you can have in almost any industry. Jill had a lot of great advice for students, here are some of her 15 Rules of Networking, which I found most helpful:
Show up to events. You never know who you’ll meet and what opportunities you could find. Plus, the more you show up, the more people will notice you.
Volunteer. “Volunteer for committees and extra work.” Opportunities to use and promote your area of expertise will build your skills beyond what you’re learning already. Do more and you will reap more benefits.
“Build relationships in small increments.” Don’t get too familiar with contacts too quickly or ask for too much all at once. Get to know the connection first and ask them for advice before you just start asking for what they can give you. Don’t forget about them either when you have an opportunity to help them out or give something back to them.
“Make time for networking.” “Networks take time to develop. Don’t forget about other people in your network if you know someone they might want to know. If you help others, they will be more inclined to help you. “Build your network before you need it.”
“Ask for what you want.” Be specific and sure of what you ask for from people.
Communication. “Make it personal.” Use the phone to keep in touch. “Hand written notes will make you stand out.” Send thank yous! Be thoughtful about how you are communicating.
Another important thing Jill Johnson mentioned was always doing your absolute best work. Do more than the minimum required. Do more than is expected.
I learned a lot from Jill and I hope you got something out of what I learned. These are important things to keep in mind as you get prepared for the highly competitive work world.
What a well-written post! You really captured the key points of what I wanted to share with all of you! So happy that you got up early to come and pleased to hear that it was of value to you! I enjoyed meeting you afterward too.
Jill Johnson
February 1, 2010