"create the outline of the lives we aspire to"

The despair we’ve experienced as a result is not only our greatest tragedy, but one of humanity’s as well, in a most profound sense. While former generations may have experienced far more difficult times in terms of poverty, physical hardship, death & sickness, there was always, at the core, a notion of hope, of faith, and of conviction in the human race, and in the opportunities that the future might have held–if only they worked hard enough.

We, on the other hand, are not so naive anymore.

The 99'ers. Those close to reaching 99 weeks. There are too many folks in that realm.

I believe that faith still counts.

• Faith in oneself is where you can start. 
• Faith that you can do what is necessary. 
• Faith that your network can help you. 
• Faith that you do have something worthy to share and contribute. 

In order to free ourselves from the icy grips of the despair, we must learn to create–to invent, forge, hand-construct, and bring into existence–the road we wish to travel. And create our own forward locomotion down that road.

It is no longer a question of what you want to do, but rather, who do you want to become?

There is a difference

Viva la difference!

What are you going to do today to advance yourself?


You can read Ash's full post at the middle finger project here

Maybe it is not "so cold and lonely on the digital side"?

Anna Tarkov concludes a recent post by writing:

Perhaps it's not surprising that many journalists and writers of the techie persuasion are going to work for, well, tech start-ups or starting their own media companies or news websites. As Dave Winer (one of my favorite people writing online) noted: 

If you've created too complex a world, the next generation will just create a new one that's simpler. One that they understand and you don't.

The "complex world" is the current media landscape and the new one that's being created is all too often not inside established news organizations.

As a job seeker, you also have a 'complex world.'  One where the old way (business as usual) has gone out the door, likely to not return. Two where the new way has come about suddenly via some form of digital technology.



The harsh reality - cling to the old and you'll stay unemployed. Embrace the new and you will find something to leverage what you have experienced in the new world. It will be yours for the making!


Your choice!

You can read Anna's full posting here

Free Webinar for Job Searchers

Making Holiday Networking Work! A Guide for Job Seekers

Wednesday, 1 December 2010
1:00 pm (Eastern)

What is networking if not socializing with friends, colleagues, and family? And, what better time to network than with people who are joyous in the holiday season?  Make that holiday networking work for you! Presented by Laura Gassner Otting, this free webinar is one of the NonprofitWebinars.comWednesday Webinar series for nonprofit staff and board development.

There are twenty other free webinars in this listing focusing on the non-profit world

Thankfulness

Continuing the thanksgiving theme:

Thankfulness for Job Seekers

by admin

Insights on what a future leader will require

How to Lead in 2025

by Alexandra Levit

More on gratitude

Pinch Yourself

by Chris Garrett

What can you share today?

Thanksgiving Day

You will probably be spending time with family and friends today and this weekend.

• Be positive. 
• Use your elevator speech when necessary. 
• Be prepared to conduct an informational interview. 

Be prepared to share something you learned in a way that it will matter with whomever you are talking to. Don't just say, "I read this article..." Relate the article to something they do or care about.

And above all, give thanks. Thanks to your family, friends, relatives, and network for helping you during your job search.

Thank you - for your inspiration, your questions, your help in my own job search. I can not do this alone. Together we can help one another get where we deserve to be!

Take a chance, reach out and give thanks

Use of the internet in higher-income households http://bit.ly/i7Xv2v me: no real surprise here, those with more have more #the5

The interesting thing about this report is that the data came from three other collections and note one specifically for this topic. This shows a good re-use of data in the warehouse. What else can you do with the data in yours?

"changing the world through expressing gratitude" #EpicThanks launches again – with an epic message! http://bit.ly/gLTfad #the5

An appropriate topic as we get into Thanksgiving. There is so much I have to be thankful for.

10 Reasons Why People Follow On Twitter http://bit.ly/hOJa1i me: a good summary, with job search focus #the5

You are only as good as your network. Who knows what your skills and talents are? How do they know?

"We used to be bound by geography and circumstance" The Personal ROI of Social Media http://bit.ly/igIMlp #the5

Yes, we used to be bound by geography. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media tools, those days are gone. You can more easily find people who you would want to be with, who share common interests, who can help you!

"go above and beyond, and to give someone a chance" http://bit.ly/eQHW2J a new series to share good stories #the5

Once upon a time, one of my groups had an ABCD award. To recognize going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Do you have one? Maybe you should?

What can you share today?

This was cross posted with a different title on Steve's 2 Cents

Your elevator pitch should be good!

Pat Weber has a guest posting to summarize her tips on perfecting your elevator pitch. She writes:

Planning is second nature to an introvert while speaking, speaking, speaking usually puts an extrovert in the zone. Either style can speak an elevator pitch fluidly like this:

Keep your pitch to around 100 words. As you hone it, write it out and chop, chop if necessary. That’s short.

Once you’ve honed a statement of what you do for a particular type client, focus on the benefit. You can get this by asking a few of your clients if you find yourself getting long winded. They’ll keep your focus on what you do, for who, to help with a problem.

Along with your name, offer something gives them more than your pitch. Direct them to your website or offer to help them so they want to know more.

Read the full posting on Jeanette Paladino's sitte here

Focus and practice your pitch. The more you practice in different situations, the more comfortable you'll be. The more confidence you'll have when you deliver it to make it count!

Perception is reality

Let's just assume this is true for conversation sake. Put aside your doubts for a moment anyway.

Do first impressions really matter? If you say yes, then are you dressed on your job search for success?

Folks in Orange County, CA can turn to a great non-profit for help in this wardrobe area.

Working Wardrobes, an Orange County Charity Organization, empowers men, women and young adults in crises to confidently enter the workforce through career development and wardrobe services.

Each year we serve over 5,000 clients from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, including Welfare-to-Work, alcohol & substance abuse, domestic violence, transitional homelessness, catastrophic illness and other life crises.

Several things come to mind from this organization.

1. If you are in Orange County, this is a good place to turn to for help
2. If you want to contribute, this is a good and worthy cause
3. If you are not in Orange County, why not start something like this in your area? Let the fashion or fashionista side of you come out!
4. No matter where you are located, consider if you are properly dressed for success

Thanks to Tim's Strategy for pointing out this great site and prompting these ideas!

Where would you prefer to sit in your ‘Career Car’?

A guest post by Lenore Mewton on Tim's Strategy says:


Knowing yourself, fully, is key to navigating the present and future. While job search strategies are crucial, your greatest career strategy is self knowledge. A house without a foundation crumbles. A career strategy ‘house’, without a solid foundation of self knowledge, is vulnerable to all the elements.

Greater knowledge, e.g. strengths, motivators, what makes you ‘tick’, values, creates more choice, building career resilience.

Think about it this way—where would you prefer to sit in your ‘Career Car’:
- Driver (you’re at the controls)
- Passenger (helps driver, but has no controls)
- Kids in backseat (headsets and texting – just ‘along for the ride’), or last, but not least . . .
- Trunk (no vision, trapped, no choice).


I hope this resonates with you as much as it does with me.

Read the full guest post by Lenore http://timsstrategy.com/the-key-to-career-resilience-know-yourself/

Where do you want to sit in the car?

Gil Krispien - Hopkinton Networking Group

The Hopkinton Networking Group, an outgrowth of the Acton Networking Group, meets on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. They meet at St John the Evangelist Church Parish Center in Hopkinton from 10:00 AM to noon.

Here is Gil Krispien, one of the meeting coordinators:



The meetings follow an agenda and either feature a speaker or a workshop.

"our ability to find and be found by that audience"

7 Twitter Strategies for Growing a Great Following

from Social Media Examiner by Dino Dogan

How to build a Twitter audience in 8 steps

from Christopher S. Penn's Awaken Your Superhero by Christopher S Penn

Two different approaches attempting to get to the same goal. You can pick and choose from each to create your own hybrid way too!

Do you have a preference?

Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) - Friday, Nov 19

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by our speaker, Joellyn Schwerdlin. The facilitator for this week will be William Lam. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. In the second hour, Joellyn will talk about "Overcoming Negative Self-Talk Which Sabotages Job Search Success."


"Overcoming Negative Self-Talk Which Sabotages Job Search Success"

Job search is a healthy balance of activities and attitude. “Activities” are creating resumes and cover letters, applying for jobs, networking, and interviewing. The “attitude” (or mindset) part is how well you handle poor responses to resumes you send out, why another candidate was chosen over you, or why you don’t hear back from interviewers when they said they would call.
If you have a positive mindset, you can quickly rebound from these setbacks. But if you have a negative mindset, comprised of negative beliefs and self-talk, this will project onto other people, prevent you from convincing hiring managers why you’re perfect for the job and keep you from continuing to move forward in your job search.

Joellyn will present a simple strategy for overcoming negative self talk and beliefs, to diminishing their power over you, so your job search can be productive and energetic. This tool, called “The Work,” was developed by Byron Katie, author of Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life. If time permits, Joellyn will offer a short coaching demo of “The Work” with a willing audience participant. She will also be raffling off a copy of Byron Katie’s book.

About Joellyn Schwerdlin:

Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin is a Certified Career Management Coach, who runs a private career coaching practice (located in Worcester, MA) serving executives, managers and professionals in career transition. She can work with anyone across the US by phone and web conferencing. Through her 8-module career coaching program and personal mentoring, Joellyn has helped countless clients find perfect career paths and land jobs they love much faster than they ever could on their own.

Prior to her work as a career coach, she earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign. After graduation, she moonlighted as a professional singer while holding administrative positions in the corporate world across various industry sectors, including: academia (medical school); business valuation; insurance (personal lines); manufacturing; and pharmaceuticals; as well as nearly two years in the HR department of a social service agency for developmentally disabled adults and children.

Joellyn earned her Certified Career Management Coach-CCMC (through Career Coach Academy), which is recognized by the International Coach Federation (ICF) as Accredited Coach Specific Training Hours (ACSTH). She also received a Job & Career Transition Coach-JCTC designation from the Career and Adult Development Network.

Her credentials also include a Certified Professional Resume Writer-CPRW designation. You'll find sample resumes, cover letters, and other contributions she’s written featured in: Cover Letters for Dummies (2009); Job Search Bloopers (2008); Gallery of Best Resumes, 4th Edition (2007); Best Resumes for College Graduates to Land $75,000+ Jobs (2004);Gallery of Best Resumes, 3rd Edition (2004); Gallery of Best Cover Letters, 2nd Edition (2004); Resume Maker Professional 11.0 (2003); America's Top Resumes for America's Top Jobs (2002); Gallery of Best Resumes (2001); Gallery of Best Resumes for People Without a Four-Year Degree (2000), Gallery of Best Cover Letters (1999) and others.

For more information, visit her website: www.career-success-coach.com/

Schedule for HNG Meetings:
December 3, 2010 William Lippincott
December 17, 2010 Workshop


General Information:
The networking group meets in Hopkinton, at St. John the Evangelist Church parish hall. The meeting occurs, from 10 to 12 noon, and will meet the first and third Friday of the month. The parish hall has a capacity for 250 people and there is plenty of parking spaces in the parking lot and on the street. Around the perimeter of the parish hall are rooms to allow us to have focused network groups or for any other purpose we need. We chose every other Friday to allow everyone to attend the Acton Networking Group or any other networking group, if they wanted, on the Friday we do not meet.

We will maintain our close affiliation with Acton Networkers by using the same list-server to share information between the groups. Any e-mails specific to the Hopkinton Networking Group (HNG) will be indicated in the subject line either by "Hopkinton Networking Group" or "HNG"; this way anyone attending these meetings will know the e-mail is intended for them.

We will follow the following agenda items:
Welcome
Landings (with doughnuts)
Announcements
New member introductions
Needs and Leads
Speaker(s), Workshop, or Focus Group
Cleanup

For those new members who give their introductions, this is what we would like to know:
Name
Skills and Value Statement
Where have you been?
Where are you going?
Your title
Your target companies
Geography of search
Name and e-mail address

If anyone wants to join our team, please let one of us know; we could always use the extra help and input for ideas.

Directions:
Take Rt. 495 North/South and get off Exit 21A. Go through three traffic lights. Colella's Supermarket is on the right at the third traffic light. The first street after the third traffic light is Church Street, take a right turn. The church is on the right. Go around to the left of the parking lot and go into the side entrance of the parish hall.

Depending upon where you live, perhaps you may want to use Mapquest for a more direct route. The Address of the church is:
St. John the Evangelist
20 Church Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators:
Daren Canfield
Gil Krispien
William Lam
Mario Tardif

"mysteries are hidden in plain sight"

Jason is reading Dan Brown's latest book and shares this insight:

The stories are everywhere. The mysteries are hidden in plain sight.

This is his message, and it’s a great one. It makes for a well written book, and an even better philosophy for exploring life.

So go ahead: look something up. Think about something today you haven’t considered in a long time. Invent a backstory for a total stranger you see on the street.

Read the full posting by Jason Seiden here
http://jasonseiden.com/find-the-stories-hidden-everywhere/


What book are you reading?


I do hope you are reading a book! You need to keep the mind active and you can't spend every hour of the waking day directly on your job search. Note: I said "directly"! 


Part of the reason I recommend informational interviews is to gather information, put together the patterns and bingo! You'll have an insight you can use in your search.


So go pick up a book, do not pass Go, do not collect anything but your thoughts and gather yourself into a comfortable position to read for a bit.


You will find it rewarding.

"keep the bigger reward closely in mind"

Starting Is Easy- It’s Maintaining That’s Hard

by Chris Brogan

I couldn't agree more! And that is not due to the fact that Chris and I know each other and have worked together on the PodCamp Boston series. 

Many years ago I wrote:

The hardest thing
is the getting up
out of
the soft easy chair

walking to the hall
to reach for my
shirt and shorts

once that far
yesterday's lingering sweat
takes over

http://quietpoet.blogspot.com/2009/01/hardest-thing.html




The poem gets to the same point that Chris is making. You need to be able to maintain and that is the hard part. 


For me, maintaining my running schedule is hard. I don't like to run early in the morning. My body doesn't like that. It is dark. It is cold (especially now as we get closer to winter). 


But I do it because it is necessary, because it is the time I can do it to handle the remaining priorities of my day.


Yesterday's sweat, lingering on my running shirt and shorts, takes over as it reminds me of what goodness comes from running. And when I run, the rest of the worries of the world don't matter. The run happens in an 'other' world.


What big reward do you have in mind?


How are you going to get there?

"hedge your bets and make sure you don’t get stuck"

... in terms of interviewing and job satisfaction, there are few things as important as doing serious due diligence on a company’s culture before signing on the bottom line with them, especially if you've got a nagging suspicion something might be amiss.

Here are some tips for conducting this kind of research:

•  Pay close attention to how the company treats you during the “courtship” process; if they deal with you respectfully, show up to meetings on time, and get back to you like clockwork when they say they will, that’s a pretty good sign that the company has a healthy, employee-centered culture

•  Watch the body language and facial expressions of the receptionist and other people you encounter in the office.  Do they seem happy?  Busy?  Friendly?  Stressed out?  These non-verbal clues can’t usually be faked and will speak volumes about the work environment!

There are additional tips on the posting by Matt Youngquist, click through on the link below to check it out.

http://careerhorizons.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/culture-shock-companies-behaving-badly/

Pattern recognition

In today's dynamic world, I find one way to succeed is by observing. Yes, just looking around at what is happening. Occasionally, in the observation of what is happening you'll detect a pattern. Detecting patterns can be good. They could be the indication of something to explore further.

For example, you over hear a conversation on a train about a book. Someone telling another person about this great book they just read. How amazing it was. You file the reference.

A day or so later, or maybe the same day. You see the book somewhere. Could be in a book store (yes, go figure!) or on a sign. Somewhere that catches your eye. You file the reference the second time.

Another day or so goes by, maybe a week or more, you hear on the radio someone reviewing the book. What they say adds to what you heard before, makes it sound all the more interesting. You file the reference but now since is the third time, you put it on your book wish list.

You can replay these steps with almost anything. When you have heard IT mentioned three times, you should move it to your to do, to read, to view, to 'something' listing.

It has become a pattern that not only have you recognized, you need to take action on!



If this pattern recognition catches your attention and you haven't read William Gibson's book Pattern Recognition, trust me - don't wait for two more confirmations, you're already there!

Recovery - a step at at time!

Via the Position Ignition Career blog, comes this good story of recovering from multiple layoffs.




It takes time, but you know, it takes only one step at a time.
Take that first step for yourself today!

Finding your target companies

Do you have a target or set of target companies?

If you don't I think you should.

One way to find companies to target is via search on LinkedIn.

1. Sign into LinkedIn
2. Go to Companies under "More"
3. Click on "more options" to expand the search options
4. Put in your target subject matter or keywords
5. Select the size of the company
6. Select the checkbox to show if the company is hiring on LinkedIn
7. Peruse the results, modify as necessary and repeat as necessary

In the additional search options, don't be afraid to click the "limit search to" option to only view your 1st and 2nd degree connections. Hey, this is supposed to be a target search right.

Another way is to review the local paper publication on Top Places to Work. The Boston Globe just published their listing. Search for a similar listing in your geographic area.

These listings are great. Not every company advertises or makes headlines. A whole lot of companies choose to fly 'under the radar' so to speak. Those that do really well end up getting picked up in this kind of a listing. They just might be a good place for you to target.

Filtering your LinkedIn updates

For the LinkedIn participants, I hope you have set up to take all your connections updates into your handy RSS reader.

What is RSS you say?
You can find out about RSS with this quick and excellent video from the folks at Common Craft

How do I set it up?
In the presentation here, look at pages 19-22, I show you how to set this up. The presentation continues with the reasons "why" you want this feed. If you haven't see it before, take the few minutes to review it.

There is also an audio version of this
http://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-on-linkedin-now-what-audio-p2.html

I have had this set up for myself for sometime and realized that the 'good' updates I really want to pay attention to are the ones where someone has updated their profile with a new picture, experience, job title, etc. Is there a way to filter the RSS Feed to just get those items? The answer is yes!

You need to play with a little code but it is mostly cut and paste.

1. Do you have a Yahoo account? You can set one up.
2. Go to Yahoo Pipes and copy this http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=76f5ee802b51215c8a27685d45eed71f
3. Edit my initial feed to replace it with your LinkedIn Feed.
4. Save it as your own.
5. Sit back and wait for the updates to get filtered out!

What is your ROI?

As someone who is under-employed or unemployed, your marketing budget is very much like a non-profit; little or nothing.

Does that stop the non-profit from marketing themselves? No, nor should it stop you.

Social media tools have a great entry point for both non-profits and the unemployed - most of them are free! With zero dollars down, the ROI (investment in this case) can be positive.

Listen to John Haydon talk about other ways to think of ROI in this brief (3 minutes or so) video.


John Haydon, Inbound Zombie from What Gives on Vimeo.


How can you use that info to help your job search?

How do you use your LinkedIn profile to create interest?
How do you use your activity in a LinkedIn group to create influence?


If you like this video of John, he has more advice for non-profits on his website that you can re-purpose for your job search. http://www.johnhaydon.com/

If you would like to to explore this further before you start 'mud wrestling' don't hesitate to ask me.

how to deal with "I think you are overqualified"

The folks at Jobfully have a video series on job search related topics. They are short, concise, informative and useful!

What more can you ask for?



Consider subscribing to their blog

Consider subscribing to their YouTube channel

If you have a Twitter account, you can follow them on Twitter.

"Sometimes, we just need someone to cut us a break"

Truth:

Most people are overwhelmed by fear, and will make some of the worst choices of their lives because of it. Greatness evolves from trust–in yourself, in your ideas, and in your ability to know, deep down, what’s best for YOU. We must not betray that trust, because the moment we do, we betray our own potential.

Truth:

Most people will do exactly as they are told to do, won’t ever question the rules, and will believe that by doing so, they’ll get farther in life. While this may have once been the case, in a time when assembly lines were hip, the exact opposite is true now. In the age of technology, success awaits only those who are willing to break the rules, stand out from the crowd, and be daringly, unflinchingly, unapologetically DIFFERENT.

As one who advocates for being distinct to stand out from the crowd, in a good way of course, this resonates with me.

Read more about the new book coming

Consider subscribing to the Middle Finger Project

It has enough good info and pizazz to keep you going!

Who is in your network?

These days, no matter what field a person works in, the primary ingredient to success (as stated earlier) involves the building, managing, and maintenance of a vibrant web of personal supporters. You need to get known. You need to be somebody worth knowing. And ultimately, for best results, you need to assemble an army of folks you can count on to spread the good word about you when you’re looking for a new employment opportunity — just as you’ll do for them, in return, should they become “free agents” at some point in time.

The force that’s going to bind this diverse, powerful universe of people together in a cohesive way? Guess what, it’s YOU! You’ll accomplish this step by taking it seriously, making it a priority, thinking reciprocally, and pumping focused effort each week into keeping all of these folks in happy win/win orbit around yourself.

Click through to read the full post by Matt Youngquist

With yourself at the center, who will you work to bring into your circle?

Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) - Friday, Nov 5

Hello Everyone,

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by our speaker, Bill Bean. The facilitator for this week will be Daren Canfield. We will devote the first hour, from 10 to 11 AM to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Please arrive early, so we can make every effort to start on time. In the second hour, Bill will talk about "Reinventing Your Career in the Green Economy."

"Reinventing Your Career in the Green Economy"
The recent economic collapse has caused untold numbers of mid-career professionals in their 40's, 50's and 60's to lose not only their jobs, but their careers and their confidence. In a search to find a new professional path many have targeted the "green economy". It is one of the few market sectors that exhibit growth, energy, hope and opportunity, and even offering a further bonus in the personal satisfaction of doing the right thing for society and the planet.
This presentation outlines the breadth of potential opportunities in the green space but focuses on 1) how to chose the right niche for you, 2) how to decide between working for others and starting your own entrepreneurial venture and 3) the importance and process of creating a plan to increase the likelihood of focus, action and results in either of those choices.

This will be a highly interactive session with ample time for Q&A and the content is applicable to non-green career planning as well.

About Bill Bean:

Bill Bean is a Strategic Business Consultant in the Green space. As President of Green Planning & Coaching (GP&C) he helps companies and individuals “Capture the vision for their Green careers and business initiatives and build better plans faster to achieve them”.

Bill began business planning in 1975 in the Strategic Planning department of International Paper Company’s Wood Products Division at their corporate headquarters in Manhattan. He then gained over 16 years of field experience in territory sales, sales management, and a $150,000,000 responsibility in division management in the US and Canada with Trus Joist Corporation (now iLevel, a division of Weyerhaeuser). That was followed in 2000 by 5 years in the tech sector and over 4 years in independent business consulting with for profit and nonprofit organizations focused in the green and sustainability space (planning, coaching, training and speaking). His work includes building strategic business plans with entrepreneurs and green businesses, and professional coaching with mid-career professionals, displaced in the recent economic downturn, who are working to reinvent their careers in the “green” economy. In 2010 GP&C added an offering for sustainability planning for companies that have a CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) or other designated “green” champion who has the responsibility for developing a sustainability plan but without the planning tools or experience to do so.

Bill has a BBA and MS (Wood Technology) degree from UMass, Amherst and has combined that formal education with “green” designations of “LEED AP” from the USGBC and “Green Consultant” from the Green Business League. He has also successfully completed a “Green Auditor” certification program and a CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) Master Class through Strategic Sustainability Consulting. Bill has professional certifications in Executive Coaching, Career Coaching and Retirement Career Coaching and is an Adjunct Professor in the Green Building program at UMass Amherst, teaching students the process of “Building a quick convincing plan for your green business initiative”

A Massachusetts native, Bill works throughout North America and lives with his family in the Berkshires of western MA and in Palmetto, FL.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

November 19, 2010 Joellyn Schwerdlin "Overcoming Negative Self-Talk Which Sabotages Job Search Success"
December 3, 2010 William Lippincott
December 17, 2010 Workshop


General Information:

The networking group meets in Hopkinton, at St. John the Evangelist Church parish hall. The meeting occurs, from 10 to 12 noon, and will meet the first and third Friday of the month. The parish hall has a capacity for 250 people and there is plenty of parking spaces in the parking lot and on the street. Around the perimeter of the parish hall are rooms to allow us to have focused network groups or for any other purpose we need. We chose every other Friday to allow everyone to attend the Acton Networking Group or any other networking group, if they wanted, on the Friday we do not meet.

We will maintain our close affiliation with Acton Networkers by using the same list-server to share information between the groups. Any e-mails specific to the Hopkinton Networking Group (HNG) will be indicated in the subject line either by "Hopkinton Networking Group" or "HNG"; this way anyone attending these meetings will know the e-mail is intended for them.

We will follow the following agenda items:
Welcome
Landings (with doughnuts)
Announcements
New member introductions
Needs and Leads
Speaker(s), Workshop, or Focus Group
Cleanup

For those new members who give their introductions, this is what we would like to know:
Name
Skills and Value Statement
Where have you been?
Where are you going?
Your title
Your target companies
Geography of search
Name and e-mail address

If anyone wants to join our team, please let one of us know; we could always use the extra help and input for ideas.

Directions:
Take Rt. 495 North/South and get off Exit 21A. Go through three traffic lights. Colella's Supermarket is on the right at the third traffic light. The first street after the third traffic light is Church Street, take a right turn. The church is on the right. Go around to the left of the parking lot and go into the side entrance of the parish hall.

Depending upon where you live, perhaps you may want to use Mapquest for a more direct route. The address of the church is:
St. John the Evangelist
20 Church Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators:
Daren Canfield
Patricia Centola
Gil Krispien
William Lam
Mario Tardif

Andrea Haber (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Christine Hurley (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Marilyn Johnson (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Laura Nelson (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Del Richmond (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)
Diane Shelley (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Steve Sherlock (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; he is employed now)
Nancy Spadorcia (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Qing Ye (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)
Denise Zazzera (HNG Coordinator Emeritus; she is employed now)

Escape the abyss

When we’re kids, parents and friends to have the strongest impact on the models we create, as we yield to the pronouncements and guidance of our parents and cave to peer pressure. We fold in our own observations and experiences, but with exceptions, of course, our models tend to conform largely to what we’re told they should look like.

But, as we move deeper into the world and start to gather our own facts and validate our own intuition (if we really pay attention), we start to test whether those models hold up. We value our own experiences, insights. We gather our own data. At least, that’s the way it should work. I mean, logically.

But, we’re not logical beasts. We hate change, love to grasp onto the past, mental models and all.

And, oddly enough, this is especially true if you’re in a place where all seems wrong with the world.

We just don’t want to let go to the constructs and frames that delivered us into a place that we readily admit is sucking the life out of us. Because to shatter our current mental models means wading into the abyss of uncertainty. And, for most people, living with uncertainty, even bundled with the opportunity to redefine, reframe and rebuild, is more terrifying than living in knowable, certain pain.

Jonathan goes on to ask the read to step into the abyss to help look at where we are and how we can realize that we are living in a 'mental model'.

If you have been laid off, reduced in force, etc - we are already in the abyss.

How we approach the abyss is key to how we are going to get out!

There is no such thing as 'business as usual' anymore. Are you learning something everyday? Are you sharing what you learn as you network? Then I think you will find some meaningful work.

----


You can read Jonathan's full posting 
http://myescapevelocity.com/escaping-the-mind-that-binds

Just pick one and start!

The information available can be overwhelming. For example, I am working on a social media campaign for the Franklin Food Pantry and looking for best practices. Just yesterday there were three good posts that came across my radar.

(1) "people are applying the ideas in the book" - Networked Nonprofit Update: November http://bit.ly/cBxZO3 #the5

(2) "Nonprofits and Social Media: It Ain't Optional" - 10 Highly Successful Social Media Habits for Nonprofits http://bit.ly/aImKOF #the5

(3) 21 Ways Non-Profits Can Leverage Social Media http://bit.ly/92phNO 


Looking for information on how to conduct your job search can bring just as many resources to you.

So what are you really supposed to do?

1. Pick one that you are most comfortable with. 
2. Start using it. 
3. Measure your activity. 
4. Monitor your results. 
5. If your results are good, keep going. 
6. If your results are not good, make a change and keep at it

Don't waste time in choosing amongst the hundreds if not thousands of resources. Pick one and start!

Inside #the5 Tuesday

Practicing what I advocate; learning something new each day (I just did), sharing it in a way that is meaningful to someone (you reading this!) and having a laugh (hopefully sometime today!)

good morning, time for #the5 - Fig Card seeks to make it super-simple to pay merchants with a mobile phone http://bit.ly/aHBbEi

I see mobile applications as a good part of the future. If you are a developer, why not explore creating a mobile application? Look around at what you do daily that it would be nice if could be done differently, or better, or with a mobile app?

"It’s all about power, plain and simple; policy is merely a tool to get it" Today’s Vote http://bit.ly/dbJdQX #the5

Jason Seiden shares his insights on the political scene. No matter what your view is, please get out an cast an informed vote today!

"we all can do something that can make a difference" Difference Making http://bit.ly/bQ4arJ #the5

At the end of the day, isn't this what really matters - making a difference? What will you do to make a difference for someone today?

"people are applying the ideas in the book" - Networked Nonprofit Update: November http://bit.ly/cBxZO3 #the5

Pick up a book, maybe one you have just finished reading. Is there something to take action on to make it real?

"What we need most is what we let slip away" @chrisbrogan writes What We Let Slip Away http://bit.ly/bftjOX #the5

Above all keep your network alive and healthy. In the giganomics view of the world that I am developing, we will move from gig to gig. Our network, our virtual team will be needed more and more. Someday, it would be nice (great even) to have the killer idea so that the virtual team can come together around a project to make it happen. Look around the group you are part of, you probably have enough of the key folks to make it happen! All we need is the idea.

What are you thinking of?

"work on focus, clear goals and a well-matched target"

... with job search, a huge target is not the best way to assure success. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Selling yourself as “I can do anything” makes you look like a dabbler who has done lots of things but is not deeply competent in any one
• Selling yourself as “I’m willing to do anything”  makes you look desperate rather than appealing
• Lack of clarity around your strengths makes you less memorable
• People in your network find it hard to help if you are not clear what you’re looking for
• Lack of focus makes you less credible
• Pursuing jobs outside your area of expertise or well below your level is likely to leave you frustrated
• Applying for anything and everything, even jobs that are not a good fit, wastes your time and energy, taking away focus on finding jobs for which you are truly a match

Continue reading the insights on why you need to focus your job search. The proper size target, not too big, not too small is what will help make you successful!