Social Business Success

Tuesday night’s networking event put on by Network2NewWork was inspiring.

The event started out with 30 minutes of networking.  The program for the evening was a panel discussion of success stories.  All of the six panelists were unemployed within the last 18 months.  All but one of them landed a new a position.  The person that is still in transition is new to the Grand Rapids area.  However, this person is out networking and is volunteering with the organization called EARN.  All of the panelists that landed a position did so through networking.

Networking is all about the other person

Every member of the panel spoke about how they went about working their job campaign.  Each member said they concentrated their efforts on networking the correct way.

One member of the panel talked about what he learned about himself.  When he started out networking he didn’t know what he wanted to do and he didn’t know what his perfect job was.  He went on to say that he read the book called “What Color is Your Parachute” by Richard N. Boles.  His main take away from the book was doing an exercise to find out what his perfect job was.

Another member of the panel talked about the hardest thing for him during the time of his transition was getting out bed to start his day.  Part of his success was to make a plan for everyday.  Another member chimed in to recommend writing down your schedule for today, people you’ve met and your plans for tomorrow.

Other questions that were asked of the panel: “Who was the most unlikely person to help you?”  One person answered that his neighbor was the most unlikely person to help him.  He ran into his neighbor at a neighborhood garage sale.  His neighbor told him he should apply to the company in which he works.  He did and eventually was offered a position at the company and is enjoying his work there. Another question that was asked was “What did you learn from this experience”? The response from the entire panel was to always be networking and helping people.

The panel closed with two thoughts.  Networking is about helping people and not about helping yourself.  The second closing remark gave thanks to Ken Soper  and the EARN organization.  They went on to say that Mr. Soper and EARN gave them the support they needed during the time when they were in transition.

The rest of evening was set aside to meet people and start building relationships.

Network2NewWork is Grand Rapid’s premier orchestrated networking event for individuals to enhance their career or seek new opportunities and for employers to find new talent.