Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Career Mentorship Symposium - Save the Date!


Career Mentorship Symposium

The LinkedIn Downtown San Francisco Networking Group (LDSFNG) and Golden Gate University (GGU) are gearing up to bring you another installment of its successful "Career Mentorship Symposium" event. For and overview, more details, and photos regarding our previous event, please visit http://linkedindowntownsf.blogspot.com/search?q=career+mentorship

This event will be held Wednesday, January 27, 2010 on GGU's campus.

In order to make this event as good, if not better, than the last one, we will need our group members' support in a myriad of ways:
1.) We will need in-house recruiters and/or recruiters in outside search firms with expertise in resume writing, interviewing skills, and executive coaching to donate their time to other fellow members by leading small focus group discussions on a given topic.
2.) Volunteers on hand to make sure that the day runs smoothly.
3.) Complete this survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Wk5E8rsE_2fa2wWz6TnGIUXg_3d_3d so that we may better serve your needs.
4.) Ideas on a new name/brand for this event.
Please email at kevin@klnpublishing.com if you have any ideas or are interested in participating in this much need event. Thanks.
KLN

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The key to a new job: Karma

Courtesy of CNN Money.com Published November 11, 2009

One job seeker relied on his network to help him find a new job, and now he helps other job seekers do the same thing.
EMAIL | PRINT | SHARE | RSS


Subscribe to Economy
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
feed://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
November 11, 2009: 6:10 AM ET

Hired!

* The key to a new job: Karma
* Less pay, more job security
* Lose a job, follow a dream
* Hollywood jobs come to Michigan
* The secret to a great job? A great résumé

* see Hired! on Facebook
Kevin Nichols took networking a step further by helping other job seekers in San Francisco.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Network, network, network. That's the conventional advice to the unemployed. But in the worst job market in 26 years, sometimes, it's the only method that works.

At least that was the case for Kevin Nichols. His aggressive networking led to a job with better hours and more money.

Nichols, 34, was a career paralegal who had worked in six firms in the last 11 years. But in July, he was forced to leave the legal world behind and make a fresh start.

After getting laid off from a large law firm, Nichols immediately began looking at other paralegal positions and went on several interviews. But he found that most of the jobs would require taking a huge paycut. "They offered 30%-40% less than what I had been paid," he explained.

With a wife and two children, Nichols was unwilling to make such a sacrifice. "I clearly wanted to find another job quickly, but at the end of the day it would not be wise to take something until something better came along," he said.

Meanwhile, Nichols devoted much of his time to networking, both in person and through sites like LinkedIn. He reached out to former colleagues and acquaintances and made new contacts. Though still out of work, he even started a San Francisco networking group near his home in Oakland to help others as well.
0:00 /6:05The biz of social networking

He encouraged fellow job seekers to employ the same skills and tools Nichols was using for his own job search, which ultimately paid off.

One contact through his former firm introduced him to the vice president of sales at iControlESI, a company that sells a software tool for litigators.

Although the new position was a stretch from his old career as a paralegal, Nichols' previous law experience translated well. "Because I consider myself a professional networker, I wasn't too afraid of sales," Nichols said.

Nichols was offered a position as a regional sales manager and gladly accepted.

Later he discovered some unanticipated perks to the new gig. First, Nichols has a flexible schedule that allows him to drop off and pick up his children from school. "I can be a lot more active in their lives," he said.

Another benefit is the potential to earn substantially more money on top of his base salary.

"Starting out I'm making what I had been making at my previous job. With the commission structure I could very well double my salary."

But one of the most unexpected benefits of his forced career change is that he discovered a passion helping other job seekers and through the Downtown San Francisco networking group, he can now preach what he practiced.

"My goal is to continue to empower people to go beyond the job boards to create opportunities," he said.

And he takes pride in their successes. So far, three other members of the group Nichols started have also been hired.
50 Best Jobs in America

According to Paul Bernard, a veteran executive coach and career management adviser who runs his own firm, many job seekers make the mistake of relying too heavily on online job boards, particularly at the start of their search.

Bernard advises job seekers to begin to network immediately. Not only can networking expand your possibilities but it can also build and demonstrate skills, he said.

"Networking builds confidence and gets you into the hidden job market," he explained, referring to unadvertised job openings.

And when it comes to networking, nothing beats in-person contact. "[Nichols] used social networking tools effectively but he didn't allow that to substitute for face-to-face meetings," Bernard noted.

By setting up meetings and informal gatherings, job seekers can share experiences and pool their resources.

Bernard says job seekers should follow Nichols' lead and try to help others as well. "Don't view networking selfishly," he cautioned.

By helping others, you create "a very powerful feedback loop in terms of possibilities," he said.

Read updates on the people previously profiled in Hired! Join the Hired! group on Facebook.

Have you found a job recently? We want to hear from you. Send us an email and attach a photo. Tell us where you got hired and how you landed the job and you could be profiled in an upcoming story on CNNMoney.com. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here. To top of page

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

LinkedIn Downtown SF Holiday Party

Dear Group Members:
Please visit our blog to view this message in its intended format http://linkedindowntownsf.blogspot.com. I have good news about our upcoming holiday party. Mike Mauer, of the Julia Morgan Ballroom, here in Downtown SF, has graciously volunteered to host us for our holiday party. It will be held on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 from noon to 1:30pm. Attached, please find some photographs of this wonderful location.
I have a couple of people who have contacted me regarding sponsorship for this event as well. Please contact me if you are interested in contributing $250, which places your company's logo on all of the marketing materials and allows a few moments to introduce your company at the beginning of the event. If we get enough sponsors, then the event will be free to all group members. If not, there will be a nominal $5 cover charge to cover lunch and any other incidentals, and their will be a no host bar.
Here are a few items that I need some assistance with that I would like to discuss at our next Morning Cup of Java:
1. Flyer - Please let me know if you have any connections that would be willing to donate their skills and time to design a professional holiday flyer/invitation for us in jpeg format;
2. Decorations - I would really like to make our holiday party somewhat festive yet modest this year given the state of the economy, etc. We may have a small budget for this but I need someone who can solicit in-kind donations to make this happen (please see previous blog postings of pictures of our holiday social last year;
3. Greeters and Registration - I need just a couple of volunteers to make sure that everyone has their name tag and that people feel welcome; and
4. Ideas for any activities - These are all welcome.
Please post comments to the discussion and add any feedback that you feel will make this a memorable event. I look forward to networking with you all.
Very truly yours,
Kevin L. Nichols
Moderator

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November Morning Cup of Java


Welcome to our monthly business networking gathering. Please bring your ideas and business cards. We will be discussing our upcoming Holiday Social and the second installment of our Career Mentorship Symposium. I look forward to networking with you all.

Please RSVP by clicking here http://morningcupofjava11-09.eventbee.com.

Sincerely yours,

Kevin L. Nichols
Moderator
www.linkedin.com/in/klnichols