A lot of job seekers slog through their process with great anonymity. But there’s no joy in anonymity. It’s pretty much the worst way to network.
If nobody knows you, then no one is recommending you. Even worse, what if no one knows “of you” either? You are quietly pursuing a job. And you will find one. Eventually.
But what if you could find a few ways to stand out. To add value to your network. And become someone that people know? It would be like pulling yourself out of a burning building.
Well, I have a new idea for you.
Another way to build a high value network.
It came from a post by David Swinney. He writes a blog called Speaking of Social Media which covers topics such as social media, job search and personal branding. He wrote a post called 20 Ways To Network More Effectively which highlighted content from my two-part series called The 20 Habits Of Highly Effective Networkers.
David found value in what I wrote and decided to share it with a local group. He took my ideas and built his own presentation to share it with others. And he (thanks David) when out of his way to share my original links in the presentation and in his blog post. I saw his post, re-tweeted it and thanked him for sharing.
So David found a creative way to use my content to create a stronger name for himself. Although reading David’s blog tells me that he really didn’t need my content. He’s building a good content package on his own.
But here’s my idea for you based on David’s example.
Do the same thing.
Read my blog and find a post that really speaks to you. Content that you think others in your network would appreciate. And build a presentation on it. Once you are ready, approach the leaders of your local networking groups with a proposal to present at an upcoming event. Some of the list posts are really good for a quick and concise 30 minute presentation.
If you’d like, contact me and I will help you build one. Or you can go to my speaking page, pick one and ask me to create a custom version of it for you.
So what do you get for doing this?
You make a name for yourself.
You stand out. You become someone, that day and beyond, that people want to meet.
And that’s worth something.
You’ll be well on your way to becoming a person of influence in your local community.
If for some reason you are not comfortable presenting to your group. You can tell the leader of your networking group about this blog and about the presentation topics available. And maybe you gain a name by being the person who convinced me to come. And present it personally.
In the end, the result is the same. You build awareness for your personal brand. And I get to share my ideas with more people (I’ve been looking to get out of town anyway!).
