Networking Best Practices: Learn From our Peers

Hello Everyone,
Happy New Year to All. Time for new beginnings and time to network again!

Now that we are in the winter months, if the Hopkinton schools are cancelled on the day of our meeting then we do not meet; however, if there is a delay, then we do meet.

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by a workshop. The facilitator for this week will be Diane Elhilow. 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, Diane will discuss how we will proceed with the workshop on "Networking Best Practices & Learn From our Peers."

Networking Best Practices & Learn From our Peers

Small intimate discussion with peers on what works and what is challenging about networking. Things to think about to share:
- Formal (i.e., HNG, WIND, Littleton Job Seekers, Westford Job Seekers, etc.)
- Informal (i.e., Meet-up groups, church, etc.)
- Other (LinkedIn, industry groups, etc.)

Other topics if time permits:
- Working with recruiters
- On-line search resources (i.e., Monster, LinkedIn, etc.)

Recap of HNG Meeting of December 21, 2012:
Our 90th meeting of HNG had 16 people, this is 16 less than the previous meeting and no one signed the New Member list. Barb McKee was our facilitator. There were no introduction speeches.

We had a speaker, Anne Crawford, who talked about "Elevator Speech: How to Get to the Next Level." This workshop covered the three essential steps to help you form a precise "Elevator Speech". Anne discussed your own personal strengths and helped compile a 30 second introduction that does not sound like a machine talking, but actually reflects who you are and hooks them in the process. The key to your success is in yourself.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:
January 18, 2013 Speaker assigned
February 1, 2013 Speaker assigned
February 15, 2013 TBD

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 the first and third 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:
Diane Elhilow delhilow@comcast.net
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com
Barbara McKee barb6635@comcast.net
Vincent Rocheleau vrocheleau@hotmail.com
Salpi Sarafian ssarafian@rcn.com