MOST LOGICAL TIME OF THE YEAR December is the most logical time of the year to reconnect with people in your network, but it gets so crazy that sometimes we just say ‘no’, when we can say ‘yes’, and still get everything else done. (We give you a tip on how to do this in […]
100 Place to Network– some may surprise you! When thinking of places to network the first thing that springs to mind is a chamber or board of trade event. Yes, chambers and boards of trades are actually great places to network. You meet a diverse group of people, and the bonus is they often have […]
After reaching our 500th networking tip (Free Positive Networking® Tip+) we figured we should ask our readers what challenges they have when it comes to networking. These were their biggest challenges: Top Ten Networking Challenges Being shy or introverted Getting up the nerve to speak to strangers Breaking into a group Small talk Awkward […]
SEEN AND BE SEEN EVENTS If your company or organization is somewhat engaged in the community (or better yet, really engaged) and if you personally have a pretty good profile and get out to events, then you must not overlook the Seen & Be Seen Events. For example, Richard Branson came to town and everyone […]
Jen Schaeffers (Chief Connector of Networking in Vancouver, the city’s go-to site for cool networking events) article on going solo to a Black Tie Gala is a must-read for anyone attending any networking event. All the tips are great, but what is most significant about Jen’s article is that she knew to ‘take it up […]
Summer is a time to chill out and networking isn’t on most people’s radar. Dressing up, standing around a windowless hotel meeting room, doing something that you already find kind of stressful—who wants to do that when you could be at the beach or on a bike ride after work? But networking during the summer […]
For many years I frequented to a corner grocery store called Sunshine Market. I probably visited at least four times a week, and then one day it dawned on me that these people never recognized me, nor acknowledged me as a ‘regular’. I didn’t expect that they would fawn all over me, or even know […]
We teach the skills of networking and connecting—everything from face-to-face connecting to conversation and social intelligence—and we think this story offers some of the best ‘mom’ advice out there. The Problem Peter Bregman, in an excellent article Getting Past a Communication Impasse, shares an incident where a colleague snaps at him and later offers a […]
Vancouver has a reputation for being an unfriendly place, but is it just some kind of bad urban legend? In the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics the organizers thought we needed some help in this department. They were busy giving speeches encouraging us ‘to smile’ and ‘give the world a hug.’ Smile? Hug? Are […]
What do you do when you and a hoard of other job seekers are all competing for the good jobs in your field? Do you steer clear of the competition, or do you embrace them? A recent article by Daniel Ransom, an avid cyclist and young professional (library science), Breaking Away: Networking like a Cyclist, […]
Now that we have got your attention: We teach a lot of students and young professionals the skills of networking and invariably this question comes up from one of the young women in the class, “It seems that when I act friendly to a man I meet at a networking event-and it may be nothing […]
We are losing the skills of social intelligence and the ability to communicate face-to-face. We talk in 24 character sound bites and would rather email someone than talk to them in person. Research says that we are becoming ‘socially inept.’ A headline in the Vancouver Sun read, “Plugged In but Socially Awkward.” A poll by […]
What are you going to do differently this year when it comes to networking (besides attending our January 24 Panel Event)? Check out networking experts from Work the Pond! and their 10 Top Things to Do When Networking in 2012. www.workthpond.com From the authors of Work the Pond! (Prentice Hall) Darcy Rezac, Judy Thomson and […]
As counterintuitive as it may seem there is an undeniable reason to network with strangers and it’s called The Strength of Weak Ties. This famous paper, of the same name, was written over thirty years by Mark Granovetter at Johns Hopkins University, and now at Stanford. The Strength of Weak Ties has been described as […]
We want to congratulate Jen Schaeffers (AWWW, thanks ladies!) for starting this website. What she has done has become a Connector. If you have read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (highly recommend!) you’ll understand the power of becoming a connector. “Connectors are social glue.” Gladwell says that you want to know them, or better […]
