The days of handing out a business card to the right person in the moment he needs what you offer are quickly slipping to the wayside. We are rapidly evolving into a networked world that can provide real-time targeted data on nearly anything and anyone you want to meet, whether across the world or two streets down. How does this change our perception of networking as an asset in a job hunt? Do we approach it with the same old routines and tag lines? For more information please visit: http://www.GreenCollarVets.org

2. The days of handing out a business card to the
right person in the moment he needs what you
offer are quickly slipping to the wayside.
We are rapidly evolving into a networked world
that can provide real-time targeted data on
nearly anything and anyone you want to
meet, whether across the world or two streets
down. How does this change our perception of
networking as an asset in a job hunt? Do we
approach it with the same old routines and tag
lines?
www.GreenCollarVets.org

3. What sort of research do we engage in
before meeting these individuals and how
much is too much to know about a person of
interest?
With the ability to dig deeper than ever into
another person's life via online social media
information it begs the question, is it still
important to meet a person face-to-face and
shake their hand?
www.GreenCollarVets.org

4. The average person on Facebook has 130
friends, each of these friends also has an
average of 130 friends, and going just two
levels from yourself you are intimately
connected to almost 17,000 people.
The sphere of influence we all have in terms of
the distance our words are capable of
traveling is growing quickly and as a function
of your job search it must be factored in.
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5. Imagine if your request for a position was
blasted out to 10,000 targeted Twitter
followers, some of which re-tweeted it to their
followers and so on.
This compounding effect not only allows you
to reassess your message on a constant basis
and update, improve and rework every last
detail until it is most effective.
www.GreenCollarVets.org

6. But also allows you to be whispering in all the
right ears without annoying those people who
really aren't interested in what you are
offering but feel a social obligation to stand
there and listen as their mind wanders to
whether the donuts are gluten-free.
Let's start with the old way of networking, let's
put on a suit and tie, grab our business cards
and practice our elevator speech.
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7. Let's check out meetup.com and find the
local meeting the most closely resembles the
type of people we want to meet and then
head over to a 7pm meeting.
Now let's say that you are a good "people
person" and you work your way around the
room shaking hands, asking good questions
and genuinely wanting to learn about people
that comprise this networking event.
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8. Perhaps out of the 20-30 people in
attendance you find 3-4 who are in alignment
with your goals and both of you can mutually
benefit by connecting and communicating
further.
If you are like me you return home that
night, jump on the computer and send a
quick follow-up email to those individuals who
handed you their card.
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9. "John it was a pleasure meeting you tonight
and I'm interested to hear more about your
work with Lebanese hanging plants. ~Justin"
Now you may email back and forth a few
times, you may even connect in person for
coffee or drinks to further discuss your
overlapping interests, hours of time and a
small relationship may come forth from this
which hopefully will result in each of you
progressing further toward some goal.
www.GreenCollarVets.org

10. Here is a new thought on networking, one
that doesn't involve you getting out of your
chair for the time being. You still focus on
many of the same key fundamentals (your
appearance, message and market) however
this time it is in the form of a profile
page, headline and search criteria.
You build a Facebook fan page and describe
in revisable detail what you do, why you rock
at it and who you are looking to connect
with.
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11. You have a Twitter handle and push out
interesting thoughts and ice breakers to
generate an online "conversation".
Finally you build a professional LinkedIn
account and you build links to those
individuals you already know and work with
knowing that they know people who they
may not have even thought to introduce you
to as it wasn't their focus or they didn't know
exactly what it was you needed.
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12. Now the work and effort is totally in your
hands, the quality of your connections in regard
to what you are doing, which you can help and
what groups you need to participate with are all
just a few clicks away vice a hope and wish that
those people drove across town to attend a
meeting for the free coffee.
Now you can listen in on the conversations being
had and learn about your audience without it
being awkward that you are standing behind
them and not talking.
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13. You can skip from group to group and
determine which ones are most ideal for
connecting with before spending the
time, energy and money on gas.
Now online social media will never fully
replace the need for a face-to-face meeting
but with online tools you can have a face-to-
face Gotomeeting/Skype connection with
someone who is the ultimate connection for
you yet across the country or the world.
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14. Never would you have met this person using
traditional networking approaches. The online
component of networking allows you to focus
your efforts, maximize your efficiency and
generally start the process a few steps ahead of
the traditional networker.
One resource that we all lack to some degree or
another is time, having the ability to spend that
time directly on what will produce the most result
for yourself and those you serve, is the ideal use of
social media and online networking in the pursuit
to increase one's connections.
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15. If we combine the elements of traditional
networking that have been proven to be
effective, building a relationship, maintaining a
conversation that is two-sided and genuine and
incorporating recommendations from friends and
colleagues.
With the exponential and viral power of websites
such as
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr and
others we can find that our "ask" reaches tens
and hundreds of thousands where it used to only
be heard by 50-100 with ten times the effort.
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16. The best part of all this is the cost reduction, think
of how many fewer miles you will drive if you only
attend live networking events that most closely
are in alignment with your work and goals, how
many fewer business cards, flyers and
promotional materials you'll have to have printed
and how very free the social media sites are that
you will be utilizing to expand your reach.
This is a very broad look at a strategy to
incorporate social media into a productive
networking approach for a job search, business
development or even just to meet new people in
a new city.
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17. For more information on this subject in regard
to job transitions and transitioning from the
military to civilian careers
Please visit our site www.GreenCollarVets.org
www.GreenCollarVets.org