By: Isha Edwards



Contrary to popular opinion, effective networking does not translate to 1. Attending any and every industry event you can get to or 2. Giving every person you meet (different from every person who asks) your business card. Networking is a lot like branding. The more narrow your focus, the more memorable you will be and the more meaningful or valuable the exchange.

What are some tips for effective networking?

Since most networking takes place during or as a result of social or business mixers, the tips that follow apply.

Depending on event type, first determine (where possible) who is attending to include guests, facilitator, host, speakers, etc. Next, do your due diligence, i.e. research! In addition to using social networking sites, where formal and informal resumes are standard, there is always Google, which may be used to track a person via the media, their professional portfolios, and their conversations. The goal for researching is to target individuals whose vision, mission, short or long-term goals align with yours. Being able to complement their efforts is one way to leave a lasting impression plus garner a call back. Last, instead of giving an elevator pitch and selling a product, use networking opportunities to vet needs, interests, goals, etc. or to garner contact information. For many reasons, scheduling a time to vet in a less distracting environment is ideal. Like any business or personal venture, networking should yield a profit for the time, and therefore money, invested.

What are the rules for effective networking?
Think of networking as speed dating or driving. Green means go. Yellow means proceed with caution and red means stop. Since it only takes five minutes to size someone up, you can limit the amount of time you engage in small talk. As soon as you are aware of an individual’s “vibe” or signal (green, yellow, red), govern yourself accordingly. An easy way to excuse yourself from a conversation is to state your purpose immediately after introductions. Thanks to social communication tools like Twitter, less is acceptably more. In fact, nuggets of information (140 characters or less), are easier to retain. Nuggets of information help to move along or shorten conversations.

The good thing about networking is that it is an effective way to find valuable resources in a short time. If you implement the tools provided, you will leave an event with solid leads or, at the very least, leave a lasting impression.

About the Author:
Isha Edwards is an idea catalyst for individuals and organizations across 12 industries including music, media, fashion, film, academia, professional services, nonprofit, and small business administration. Through EPiC Measures, Isha provides brand-driven marketing consulting and business development services. Her skills and experience in business management, business education, and marketing enables her to implement a practical, comprehensive approach to establishing, operating, and growing a business. [Contact Isha via www.ishaedwards.com]

Comment below if networking has lead you to a job.

It’s a brutal job market out there for recent grads as hordes of ambitious young people battle tooth and claw for what seems like a meager supply of decent jobs. From the perspective of the lowly career starter it looks like the workforce is awash in talented, educated, eager young people. But apparently, from the lofty perches of CEOs, there’s actually a shortage of young talent. That’s what PricewaterhouseCoopers 2011 Global CEO Survey seems to have found anyway.

PwC spoke to 1,200 company leaders and government officials from 69 countries for the latest edition of their annual report and discovered that, while growth in Europe and America isn’t exactly robust, CEOs are nonetheless confident their companies will grow. The war for talent is back on, they told PwC, especially in Asia.

“Shortages of the right people with the right skills in the right places remains a major concern,” says PwC, noting that 66 percent of CEOs fear talent shortages will constrain their company’s growth.

So apparently, if you’re the right sort of grad — the cream of the crop with key skills — you are actually a pretty rare bird and can call the shots on what you sort of benefits it will take to lure you to a particular company. What are the best of Gen Y demanding? If you guessed more money, you’re dead wrong, says PwC. Instead, attracting and retaining the best young workers is all about company culture, training and mentoring. According to the report:

The expectations of the Millennial generation [aka, Gen Y] differ from those of its predecessors…. This generation has grown up with technology and social media as part of their everyday life. They have also grown up knowing that their relationship with a company is unlikely to be a life-long one. They are seeking more to life than “just a job”: more money and climbing the ladder are not what drives them.

If you want to organize a company to attract Gen Y, Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies in India, advises, “hierarchies have to disappear. Generation Y expects to work in communities of mutual interest and passion — not structured hierarchies.” But it’s not just a sense of community and a flat organization that will bag you the best of Gen Y talent. Young stars also want to feel they are learning and growing in their jobs.

For Millennials training and development is the most highly valued employee benefit. The number choosing training and development as their first choice of benefit is three times higher than those who chose cash bonuses. 98 percent believe working with strong coaches and mentors is an important part of their development.

What does this boil down to? If you want to attract the very best young grads, play down hierarchies, play up mutual pursuit of larger goals rather than climbing the career ladder and, for God’s sakes, give them a mentor and career development opportunities.

Source: BNET

Having a reputation for being a problem-solver is a valuable thing, but relinquishing credit to a boss is often smart as well. With peers, it’s another matter.

Dear Annie: At the company where I worked until recently, I had a couple of colleagues who were master manipulators and who frequently got rewarded for ideas and improvements I came up with. That was one reason why I left that job. But now, I seem to have gone from the frying pan into the fire. I just came from a meeting where my current boss talked about his clever new cost-cutting strategy without once mentioning that I thought of the whole thing and laid it out for him.

A big part of our performance bonuses and overall evaluations here are based on how many good ideas we have, so it makes me nervous that, once again, I’m not being recognized for what I’m contributing. A friend tells me not to worry about it because as long as I keep making my boss look good, I’ll be okay. Is he right? — Too Anonymous

Dear T.A.: In a word, yes. With all the palaver these days about personal branding and blowing your own horn as essential career survival skills, it’s easy to see why this situation would make you uneasy. Moreover, it’s certainly true that a reputation as an innovative thinker is an asset worth protecting.

According to Peter Handal, the question is, protecting from whom? Handal, CEO of leadership development consultants Dale Carnegie Training, sees a big difference between peers who appropriate your ideas, as at your old job, and a boss who takes your suggestion and runs with it.

That’s because your colleagues are direct competitors in ways that your boss is not. “You do need to avoid letting colleagues steal your thunder, but it has to be handled in a friendly, low-key way,” Handal says.

One approach: Keep your best stuff under your hat until you get a chance to mention it to your whole team at once, either in a meeting or in an email to the group. “That way, there’s no doubt about where the idea came from,” he notes.

If it’s already too late for that, don’t hesitate to speak up in a meeting with something like, “When I first brought up this idea to Howard, he made a really good suggestion about it…” Says Handel, “Find a subtle way to claim credit. People will get the point.”

By contrast, if it’s your boss who’s latched on to your idea and neglected to attribute it to you, how should you respond? “Say ‘thank you,’” Handal says.

Those performance bonuses and evaluations you mention are, after all, under your boss’s control. “He’s the one you’re trying to impress,” Handal notes. “Making him look smart to higher-ups and having him depend on you for good suggestions is certainly not going to do you any harm.”

Handal adds that, as a CEO himself, he sometimes lets people assume he thought up something that really came from someone else. “If the person who suggested it is not the most popular with the intended audience — let’s say, for example, that he or she is in a department that has been feuding with another department — then I may pull my punches and pretend his or her idea is mine, simply because I know it will get a fairer hearing,” he explains.

“But of course, I still know whose it was,” he adds. “Your boss does, too.”

Another factor to consider, says Robert Herbold: “In most big companies, by the time any idea gets put into practice, it’s been modified by so many different people that the idea of any one person getting credit for it is pretty unrealistic.”

Herbold runs the Herbold Group, an executive coaching firm whose clients include Pfizer (PFE), Dell (DELL), PepsiCo (PEP), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). A former chief operating officer at Microsoft (MSFT), Herbold wrote a book called The Fiefdom Syndrome: The Turf Battles that Undermine Careers and Companies — and How to Overcome Them.

“The two things you want are, first, for your boss to think you’re doing your job very, very well,” says Herbold. To make sure of that, he recommends asking for feedback as often as every three or four weeks.

“And second, you want your performance evaluations to note that you come up with more than your fair share of ways to improve things,” he says. “If both of those are happening, you really have no worries. If you get too hung up on getting credit, it will eat you alive.”

In other words, your friend has a point. “Don’t forget that the goal is to move the company forward, not to get bogged down in politics and personalities,” says Handal.

Or as a plaque on Ronald Reagan’s desk used to say: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

Source: management.fortune.cnn.com

Are you paid fairly? Do coworkers at your level make more or less money than you do? How much would you make if you got a promotion? If you took a job with a competing company, would you make more money? Many Americans, possibly the vast majority, don’t know the answers to these questions. For decades pay has been something whispered from employer to employee. But keeping it secret might do a disservice to workers, managers, and broader economy.

Economists love to talk about transparency. According to theory, if people have more information, then they can make better decisions. That makes for a healthier, more efficient economy. Why should pay be an exception to this rule?

The Shining Example: Wall Street

If you look to industries where compensation is common knowledge, then you find employees that have far better success achieving more pay. One clear example is Wall Street. At investment banks, salary transparency isn’t encouraged, but bankers and traders just can’t help themselves. After all, many are obsessed with money. So come bonus season, they compare packages and relay information from firm to firm. Industry publications even include league tables to show which banks pay better than others.

Salary transparency is also quite strong among chief executives across the economy. Public companies are required to report this information. Is it any coincidence that executive pay has been rising over the past few decades? Each CEO wants to be paid above average, so pay ticks up.

Salary Secrecy May Make Inequality Worse

Of course, salary transparency won’t suddenly make all industries as lucrative as working as a banker or CEO. But lacking information on pay could result in workers making less money than they should be. Salary secrecy may make inequality worse.

Linda Barrington, an economist and Managing Director of the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor relations, worries that wage transparency in some groups but not others widens inequality. In fact, this could be part of the reason for why CEO compensation has risen by so much while the pay of most other workers has risen by so little.

But she also doesn’t see salary transparency as a silver bullet for better income equality either. “Transparency creates pressure for more equality within a group, but not necessarily across a group,” she says. More information on pay across the economy might not move the bottom quartile of wager earners significantly nearer to the top quartile, for example. But it could prevent one group that has transparency, like CEOs, from pulling away from the rest of the pack that lacks information on pay.

A Win-Win Situation for Employers and Employees

Even if compensation transparency doesn’t cure inequality, however, it could make the labor market more efficient. Economists David Card, Enrico Moretti, and Emmanuel Saez from Berkeley and Alexandre Mas from Princeton, recently published a research paper that examined what effects more information on pay has on worker satisfaction. In California, all state employee salaries are public information. The researchers informed University of California employees of a website containing this information and analyzed their job satisfaction after those workers obtained pay information.

The results were what you might expect for those whose pay was below average within their peer group: they weren’t thrilled. They were more likely to be unsatisfied with their pay/job and search for new work. The worse the individuals’ pay was relative to the median, the worse their satisfaction. Those at or above the median, however, experienced no change in job satisfaction or job search intention.

These economists conclude that pay transparency just makes workers who are on the low-end of the pay scale feel worse about their jobs, so it accomplishes little. Linda Barrington notes, however, that this contention misses a benefit of being unsatisfied: the likelihood of moving on.

In theory, those who are paid less than their peers are likely to be poorer performers. Since managers want strong performers, these people would likely be better off — from both their standpoint and that of management — to look for work elsewhere. Their talents and abilities might be better suited to another job, which would match that improved performance with better pay. The previous employers could also then find new employees for the newly vacant positions who could better fit their mold and meet their expectations.

Then, Why Don’t Companies Seek Better Transparency?

So we have learned two things: salary transparency might help to prevent inequality from worsening and it will make the labor market more efficient. These benefits are potentially pretty significant — so why are companies keeping salaries secret?

The most cynical explanation is that management wants to keep down compensation levels. Ultimately, worker salaries are just another cost. Firms care a lot about controlling costs. As a result, they would seek to pay workers as little as possible. By keeping salaries secret, workers are less likely to be angered over poor pay, demand a raise, or flee to a competitor. These actions would all force firms to increase wages.

Another potential explanation, one which firms often use as their official reasoning, is that they are trying to protect the privacy of their employees. You might not want others to know how much money you make. Of course, this is simple enough to get around: make salary disclosure up to the employees to share. Even if only 25% did, that could provide enough information to educate workers on fair pay.

Barrington suggests that some companies might want to keep compensation secret because they are afraid they are doing something wrong. “If there is capriciousness or incompetence in their practices, they’ll get sued,” she says. This is a harder problem to get around, but perhaps laws could provide some latitude to firms willing to allow workers to share pay by only allowing compensation lawsuits to succeed that display malicious intent or some other high standard for wrongdoing.

Finally, firms might also have a strategic concern: some consider their compensation structure a trade secret. Indeed, today you see salary non-disclosure requirements often included in confidentiality agreements that new employees are forced to sign. While there might be some situations in which salaries are a legitimate trade secret, strategic importance surrounding salary is more likely the exception than the rule. If a certain set of skills and experience has a market-based wage, then any variations on that wage will be slight and shouldn’t provide a huge competitive advantage to a company.

Will The Law Even Allow Salary Transparency?

Such confidentiality agreements, however, raise an important question: is it even legal for employees to disclose their salaries if they choose to do so? This might seem like a First Amendment right. Isn’t it just freedom of speech?

Unfortunately, Americans have no such right when it comes to pay disclosure. If an employer imposes restrictions on employees revealing their compensation, then the First Amendment doesn’t apply, according to University of Chicago Law Professor Richard Epstein. “Public enforcement of private rights does not make for public rights,” he says. The exception to this rule would only be racially restrictive covenants in a contract.

So in cases where firms claim that compensation is a trade secret, salary confidentiality would be protected. But as a public policy matter, states could decide to alter this precedent. In California, for example, the law dictates that salary disclosure is a part of free speech.

In Fact, the Effort Has Already Begun

States can provide employees the right to disclose their pay, but only a handful of employers contractually force employees to keep their compensation secret. And few employers would actually go after employees who publicize their salaries. So better pay transparency is certainly possible.

In fact, the Internet makes it easier than ever to gather information on salaries. The website Glassdoor.com is actively providing this service to its users. It provides the ability to search for jobs, read company reviews by employees, get interview tips, and see what companies pay for different positions.

The information is all provided voluntary, by the users themselves. It is also anonymous. The site has developed a slick “give-to-get” model, where those who use the website are asked to share some information about their past or present employers to read what others have said.

Since the service launched in 2008, users have embraced pay disclosure, according to Tim Besse, Vice President of Product and Marketing and one of the site’s co-founders. He says that people are more likely to leave a salary report than to write a company review, since providing salary is so easy. This is a service that users find very valuable, Besse says. He notes a study showing that 60% of employees wish they had more information about what constitutes fair pay. As of May, the website had nearly 1.2 million salary reports.

Salary transparency will be an interesting trend to watch over the next few decades. We could see a dramatic shift in its favor. The Facebook generation has a far more liberal attitude towards sharing personal information than previous generations. As it begins to dominate the workforce, more pay disclosure could become very common. If it does, the economy will benefit. Even employers may learn to love pay disclosure once they begin to experience a more efficient labor market.

Source: The Atlantic

How many times a day do you say to yourself, “I like what I do, but not where I work?” Or the opposite, “I like where I work, but not what I do?”

The current economy has kept many employees stationed for the past couple of years, not because they love what they do — but because they are too scared to pursue other opportunities. But, according to a recent Gallup Poll, 71 percent of employees feel disengaged from their jobs. So what should you do? Continue to stay in a job where you are unhappy? Or start looking for somewhere where you’ll be happier?

People quit their jobs for many reasons. Maybe you don’t like your co-workers or your boss drives you crazy. Maybe there’s nowhere for you to move up in the company. Maybe you’re overworked and underpaid. Maybe you’re all of the above.

While the choice to move on to greener pastures is up to you, here are 10 signs that should tell you if it’s time to start thinking about moving on:

1. Your co-workers drive you crazy.

Co-workers can be a curse or a blessing in the workplace. When you work with people you love, it’s one thing. But how are you supposed to get any work done when your colleagues are irritating you, offending you, distracting you, coming in late, leaving early, talking loudly on the phone, procrastinating or coming to your desk to gossip? If you find that you want to tear your hair out at the end of each day because of your colleagues, it might be time to look for more tolerable people.

2. You hate going to work.

When Sunday night rolls around, are you dreading going into the office the next morning? As soon as you arrive on Monday morning, are you already thinking about Friday at 5 p.m.? I think all of us have had to go to job that we hate at least once, and if you haven’t — you’re the exception, not the rule (not to mention extremely lucky). When you’re spending 40+ hours at work, the last thing you want is to hate every second you’re there. If you do, it might be time to start thinking about your next career move.

3. You’re bored.

Most people like to feel challenged at work. If your work has started to seem too easy or repetitive, it’s a sign that you need more responsibility or extra a change in roles. But, don’t confuse boredom with slacking off. There’s a vast difference between watching YouTube videos all day long with work piling up next to you and watching YouTube videos all day long because you’ve completed all there is to do.

4. The company — or your job — is in trouble.

It’s no secret that many companies are still struggling as a result of the economy. There continue to be layoffs and budget cuts. While we don’t suggest quitting your job in a panic without having some sort of plan as to what your next step is, we do think you should pay attention to what’s going on at your company. If you’re concerned about the state of your job or the company, approach your manager with any concerns before taking other actions.

5. You don’t feel at home.

Sometimes we forget how important it is to feel comfortable at work — that is, until we don’t. If competition seems far from friendly, your colleagues steal your ideas, your ethics or values conflict with the company, or even if your casual style clashes with the buttoned-up policies of management, you might try to find a company where you feel more at home.

6. You can’t stand your boss.

Just because someone is a manager or boss doesn’t give him free reign to be a jerk. Whether you realize it or not, your relationship with your boss has a huge impact on your overall professional happiness and success. After all, even the best job can be terrible if your boss is lousy. If you don’t see eye-to-eye or your manager is untrustworthy or unwilling to help you succeed, it might be time to look for a new job — with a new supervisor.

7. Your career is at a standstill.

Maybe you’ve been doing the same job for several years and you’re ready for more responsibility. Maybe you’ve lost your passion for what you used to love. Maybe you work at a company where there’s no other role for you than the one you’re currently in. Start by talking to your boss about taking on more work, or trying different tasks. Express to him or her that you want to continue to develop your skills and reach your goals. If no alternatives are available, it might be time to start looking around.

8. You’re not valued.

Recognition is important — you need to feel as though you’re making a contribution and like other people will give you credit for your successes. Is your company doing anything to reward your efforts? Do you get bonuses, perks or positive feedback? If your boss has never heard of positive reinforcement, it might be time to find company that will value your talent.

9. Your work environment sucks.

State of the economy aside, every job and every company experiences highs and lows. It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to know that working in place with negative energy or low morale is draining on even the happiest soul. If you find that you’re always feeling stressed out, depressed or having a negative attitude, it might be time to explore more positive options.

10. You’re exhausted.

Everyone says they’re stressed. But some people are really stressed. Too many projects and not enough help equal a heavy workload and job burnout. We don’t advise quitting when the going gets tough once in a while — let’s be honest, everyone has to take one for the team at some point. But, if there’s no end or reprieve in sight, do yourself (and your sanity) a favor and see what else is out there.

Source: The Work Buzz

Here’s a familiar story you’ve probably experienced. It’s been weeks since you last heard back from an employer for a job interview. The economy is obviously in a rough state, but shouldn’t you be hearing back? The thoughts rush through your head: “My resume must not be good enough.” “Obviously I’m just not fit to be employed.” “Maybe I should start doing some major restructuring to the way I present myself.” Stop right there. There are times when you should consider changing up your resume to get job interviews. Before you start doing that, however, you should determine if that really is the problem.

Are you applying to the right positions? In the rush to get a job, we can run into bad habits. One of these is not reading job descriptions carefully enough. Skimming may be faster, but you can miss important details that might make you realize you aren’t a great fit for the organization.

Online job boards are a fantastic tool for job searching, but they shouldn’t be your only source. Use social media, traditional networking, or other sources in addition. We call resources like these the hidden job market. Remember, not every job is publicly advertised. If you do a little research, you might find opportunities you didn’t expect.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Don’t hold out for your dream job. It’s good to have high standards, but that shouldn’t prevent you from applying to jobs that might not be exactly what you want to do. As long as the position in question matches your level of expertise, there is no reason you shouldn’t try it out. Limiting your options only decreases the chances you will hear back.

Source: Nonprofit Jobs