1. Kirkwood College
March 29, 2012
Margie Peskin, Search Forward

2.  My background
 What do you hope to learn?

3.  Building relationships between people that
can mutually benefit from knowing each other
 Two way street
 Information gathering
 Long term investment
 Professional and personal

4.  Relevant across industries
 Career mobility
 Mentorship
 Reputation – “brand building”

5.  At least 60% of all jobs are found through
networking (about.com)
 34% of new hires brought in from outside an
organization were due to employee referrals
(CareerXRoad)

6.  Family
 Friends
 Classmates – present and past
 Faculty – present and past
 University alumni
 Professional Associations
 Religious affiliations
 Neighbors

7.  Facebook
 LinkedIn
 Twitter
 Blogs

8.  Think of 3 things true about you in high school
 You will have 30 seconds to introduce yourself and
then listen to your partner be introduced
 Then switch name tags
 Introduce your “new” self to another person
 Switch name tags again
 Introduce your “new new” self to another person
 Then switch name tags and stop
 If you can’t remember, make something up. You
always need to introduce 3 things

9.  What was this experience like for you?
 What did you learn?

10.  Initial introduction – in person
◦ Eye Contact
◦ Smile
◦ Handshake
◦ Listening
◦ Matching

11.  Initial introduction – phone
◦ Smile
◦ Confirm
◦ Quiet location, good reception

12. Beyond the introduction
 What are common topics when you first meet
someone?
◦ Weather
◦ Sports
◦ Transportation / road conditions / traffic
◦ School – year, major, living situation
 How well do you know that person now?

13.  DON’T LEAVE IT AT THE WEATHER!
 Create engaging conversation
 Curious and interested
◦ What is important to them? What are they thinking
about?
 Open ended questions

14.  Informational interviewing
◦ Leave out the “interviewing”
◦ Always start with information
◦ No resume
◦ Respect the other person’s time
 Phone or email?
 Low to high

15.  The 30-second commercial
◦ Rehearsed message prevents you from engaging
the other person
◦ Most people like to talk about themselves
 Know your story
◦ Skills and what you’re good at
◦ Background that has led to current place
◦ Concise explanation of your needs and interests

16.  The importance of follow up
◦ Do what you say!
◦ Send thank you notes
◦ Maintenance
 Career updates, articles, holiday cards
 Organization is key!
◦ MS Excel template for networking/job search

17. Recommended Reading
◦ Ferrazzi, Keith. Never Eat Alone.
www.keithferrazzi.com

18. Margie Peskin
Search Forward
319-621-9316
margie@search-forward.com
www.search-forward.com