Tanya Maldonado

Contact information for Tanya Maldonado

Networking and Social Media

Pie chart

Work it Daily – Webinar – How to Network in Times of Crisis
Great advice from J.T. O’Donnell – Owner of – Work it Daily

No. 1 Rookie Networking Mistake

One of the most common mistakes people make when networking online is approaching it solely as a means to promote themselves or their products/services, rather than focusing on building genuine relationships and connections. Here’s why this approach can be detrimental:

  1. Neglecting the “social” aspect: Networking is about establishing mutually beneficial relationships. When people solely focus on self-promotion, they overlook the importance of engaging with others, showing genuine interest in their work, and building rapport. This can lead to shallow connections that provide little value in the long run.
  2. Ignoring the power of reciprocity: Networking is a two-way street. It’s not just about what you can gain, but also what you can offer. By solely concentrating on self-promotion, you miss opportunities to help others, share valuable insights, or contribute to discussions. Building a reputation as someone who adds value can open doors to more meaningful connections and collaborations.
  3. Lack of personalization: Mass messaging or sending generic connection requests without personalizing them can come across as impersonal and insincere. It’s essential to take the time to understand the person you’re reaching out to and tailor your approach accordingly. Show genuine interest in their work, mention specific points of connection, and explain why you believe connecting with them would be mutually beneficial.
  4. Failure to follow up and maintain relationships: Networking is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. It’s not enough to make an initial connection; you need to nurture and maintain the relationship over time. Following up with people, engaging in meaningful conversations, and providing support when needed will help strengthen your network and keep the connections alive.

To avoid these mistakes, approach online networking with a mindset of building authentic relationships, adding value to others, and being genuinely interested in their work. By doing so, you’ll increase your chances of forging meaningful connections and reaping the benefits of a strong professional network.

Networking Tips

The key to managing a useful and healthy network is to be a good professional friend and keep in touch. This means some real contact at least every 6 months if you expect a former colleague or professional friend to remember you. People remember others if they are helpful. I am now personal friends with Doug, of Doug’s List because he puts together a list of resources for job seekers and shares that with me. Doug became someone I wanted and looked forward to connecting with because he was not a taker of information he was a sharer. 10 things you can give your network [doc].

Doug’s Networking / Job Guide [pdf]

Be of use to people you are starting a network with, share materials from a workshop, class, book you read, website you checked out, or a social media blog. This attitude creates a vibrant dynamic that will benefit everyone and gives you an item for discussion or something to follow up on in future connections.

On the gratitude front and keeping in touch:

I learned this strategy from Pam founder of Career Makers: If I used to work with Jackie and she introduced me to Rose, I will thank her for that introduction. If Rose introduces me to Cheri then I will go back and thank Rose and Jackie. I will let Jackie know that her connecting me to Rose has led to my meeting Cheri. Continually show your gratitude for the help and advice you receive.

If this whole thing seems uncomfortable and daunting or you are new to the area, try networking for fun and pleasure try www.meetup.com or www.mingle.com You can search by hobbies, interests, and professional groups.

Tips for shy people – from Careeralism.com – Good read for the not-so-shy too!

Need to start a network? Here are some ready-made opportunities that you can step into.

  1. Your own family and friends, and faith or social groups (obvious no?)
  2. Professional networking events and employer open houses or tours
  3. Job fairs
  4. Professional associations
  5. Chamber of Commerce Events – check the newspaper – business section or web pages for schedules
  6. Trade shows
  7. Diversity Groups Natn’t Association of Professional Women, SayHey
  8. Job clubs – Cleon Cox Runs Job Finders www.jobfinderssupport.com
  9. College alumni events
  10. Continued education and pleasure classes
  11. PCC and Multnomah Co .library host a brown bag lunch at noon on Thursdays (downtown) check the Community Ed schedule for topics. No classes in summer.
  12. LinkedIn blog on internships but the strategy for networking is absolutely the same – www.blog.linkedin.com/2013/07/24/the-ultimate-linkedin-guide-for-interns
  13. 10 tips to increase networking.docx [doc]
Face-to-Face

You should make sure that you have a business card to hand out at a networking event, and any event can be networking. You can print the career/job title you are looking for on the card or write by hand. If you do not have a title in mind but do have skill sets you want to use, you can list them.

Article – How to prepare for a networking event.www.careerealism.com/networking-event-prepare

3 Rules for Smart Business Card Etiquette

Online Resource for Inexpensive Business Cards for Networking

www.vistaprint.com

Information record [pdf] for informational interviews

Networking Groups
Social Media

Reasons to use social media in a professional manner:

  • Networking
  • Employers will be investigating you as part of the hiring process
  • Job leads
  • Professional development
  • Staying current in your field
Social Media and Career-Related Presentations

Career Realism webinar (hour long) from Social Media Coach Terry Burriss www.careerealism.com/use-linkedin-get-discovered-recruiters/#!bOy8W1

The Career Services page has a link to quarterly webinars on LinkedIn

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Tips from Careerealism

Before you start “tinkering” with your LinkedIn profile (or hiring a professional to enhance your profile), please take a minute to do the following:

Read more at www.careerealism.com/linkedin-cheat-sheet/#Jtc2FeDieI8kbvkI.99

Article – Using Facebook Graph Search for Job Searching. www.jobsearch.about.com/od/facebookjobsearchgroups/qt/facebook-graph-search.htm

Article on How to disappear/disable online profiles

Facebook

Here is a reminder from Facebook on how to protect your privacy and help control what you share on Facebook:

  • Check out who can see your past posts—and limit the audience if you’re not comfortable with anything.
  • You can review the audience for your past posts in your activity log.
  • To quickly limit the audience of old posts to Friends, visit your privacy settings.
  • To review or change who can see your stuff, at any time, visit your privacy shortcuts. Just click the lock at the top of any page on Facebook.
General Tips

Consider who you’re sharing with today. Each time you post a new photo, status update, link, or other content, you get to set the privacy for it. Just look for the audience selector:

If you want to:

  • Share big ideas for anyone in the world and set the post to “Public”.
  • Reserve personal pictures for the people you know the best and set the post to friends, close friends, or custom.
  • Share something with someone specific, you can also send it as a message instead of posting it.

Platforms:

Article on researching employers via social media from Alison Doyle About.com

  • Career Networking Tips – About.com
  • Following blogs is an easy way to start the networking process and get some career advice along the way.
  • Mac’s List published by Mac Pritchard has wonderful career advice and local job postings. Below is a list of blogs that they recommend.
  • Many of the blogs below originate in Oregon and some of the writers mentioned contribute to Mac’s List. But all these sites (listed alphabetically) offer information useful in any job search.

Career Support and Job Blogs

There are many listserves or blog forums on job search sites such as Careerealism, Indeed, Glass Door, Simply Hired, CareerBuilder, and Nettemps, just to name a few.

Compliments of Mac’s List www.macslist.org. Many of the blogs listed below originate in Oregon and some of the writers mentioned contribute to Mac’s List.