Slideshow pics ©2010 Elio Camey

The very first CareerConnects on Friday, January 29th was a rousing success!

Over 350 Austinites connected during the day and evening at this career focused networking event.

Click on the photo to get to the first round of pics that were taken at CareerConnects.

Did you make it to the January 29th event? Help us make it even better next time by sharing your thoughts and feedback.

Were you one of the 250 to receive a free poken? Take part in the feedback survey and register your Poken before February 28 and you can win 1 of 3 microlab stereo systems courtesy of microlabAV.com!

What do I wear – What do I bring – Where can I park???

The answers to all of these questions and more…

TIME: Sign in is now from 9:30 – 10:00am, but you may also just come to specific sessions if you arrive 20 minutes early. Schedule>>

DRESS: Business Casual – no ties or business suits are needed…unless that’s what makes you comfortable. It’s supposed to be cold and windy on Friday, so dress warm!

RESUMES: You don’t need ‘em. What you DO need…

1. Business Cards if you have them.
2. Pad of paper & pen/pencil to take notes (or notebook computer if you’re fancy, there will be wireless access)
3. A winning smile and an open mind to meet new people, learn and ask questions.

PARKING: You can park in the lots for any of the Echelon Buildings and also in the Grace Covenant Church Parking Lot at 9310 Old Jollyville Rd. 

Don’t park in the regular church parking lot in front of the church.

Only park in the Grace Lot with THIS sign.

We are very pleased to have Matt Genovese, of Door64, Craig Foster, of the Austin Job Seekers’ Network, and Alex Jones, of RefreshAustin, to lead our “Power of Tribes” learning session at the January 29th CareerConnects event.

If you’ve ever read Seth Godin’s book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, you understand the power that a group of like-minded individuals can wield. From Linkedin groups to Yahoo groups, to local associations and organizations, the tribe takes on many forms.

Using Godin’s book as inspiration (sorry, no book reviews), we are asking group leaders from the Austin area to participate in the learning session as well. You’ll have 2 minutes to speak about your tribe, the goals or mission, who should join, and the benefits.

Want your 2 minutes?  Simply comment here with your name, your group name and your contact info and we’ll confirm your participation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The “Power of Tribes” learning session is at 1:00pm on January 29th at CareerConnects.

We are very proud to announce that Chipotle in Austin is a CareerConnects partner!

We will have the famous Chipotle food at lunch on 1/29. Be sure to visit one of your local Chipotle restaurants (hey, there are 16 of ‘em!) to get your fix before the event.

If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for?

Jay Markunas is a career coach who knows the power of networking, and along with his business partner, Angela Loëb, hosted the session “Out of the Comfort Zone” at the Career Connects Event on January 29th. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently I am working with a 40-year old client who left the military about a year ago as an Electronics Technician. 

His plan was to go back to school under the GI Bill, and live off his monthly stipend.  When he had trouble with one of his classes all his plans fell apart.  He lost his full-time student status, and consequently most of his stipend.  He’s struggling to find work now, and started applying at fast food restaurants.  Fortunately or Unfortunately, fast food restaurants will not even call him in for an interview.  They see his background in electronics, and they wonder how long they could possibly keep him happy in a fast food job.

As I worked with him, I let him know that a 40-year old with an electronics background and military service should not be applying for fast food jobs.  He should be leveraging his network and finding positions where he will be intellectually stimulated and socially comfortable.  He completely agreed.

Create a good resume, network-network-network, and target your job search. 

These are the steps that most Career Coaches will recommend, and for good reason…they work!  We know statistically that 80% of jobs come from networking.  We also know that only 10%-20% of job hunters find employment through the large job boards.  Why is that?  When a large company posts a position to a job board, then anyone who can hit a submit button can and will apply.  Recruiters could literally be getting thousands of resumes per posting, and they can only physically go through a finite amount of resumes.  Chances are they will find their ideal candidate within the first 50 submissions.  The others don’t even get considered.  Yet, this is the primary job search method that most job hunters employ. 

Why employ a strategy 100% of the time which yields results less than 20% of the time? 

Network-network-network….get out there. 

If you are unemployed, then go to one or two different networking events each week.  If you are employed, you need to still build your network for the next time you need to find a job.  How?  Find career networking groups – church groups, trade groups, and even career fairs.  If you are introverted, then use the web – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  These sites are excellent for building networks.  If you’re nervous about networking, then know one thing. 

Most people want to help, but they won’t help unless you ask.

The time is now…

If my client had been networking during the time he was serving our country, he would have a large network of people to help him in his job search.  He probably could have contacted his vast network to find an electronics position much quicker. 

So, is your networking sizzling, or are you planning to work the fast food fryer?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a great guest post – want to be a guest blogger for CareerConnects? Drop us a line.

		“What is CareerConnects?” We’re often asked that question these days. You know you’re doing something new and different, when it doesn’t fit into a simple category box.
“Is it a job fair?” Nope. It’s a connection-building-eye-opening-career-boosting-resume-blackhole-less-shindig. But that’s just paraphrasing.

CareerConnects is the best parts of a networking event amplified, plus strategic learning opportunities with the insight of real growing industry employers. In today’s job market, the possibilities don’t come to those who simply click the apply button. They grace those who seek to grow their social and professional circles. The people who ask what they can do to help, before stretching out their open hands.

Taking a job lead is easy, but the really important stuff – not so much. Researching the company, engaging the contact, and following up with them personally as well as the connector, takes discipline. A discipline that most are lacking. Don’t do the same things everyone else is doing. Unless you want to be lumped into the same group, with the same results.

Come to CareerConnects on January 29th and find out what’s next.

CareerConnects’ own Bryan Chaney was featured on the Job Search Boot Camp radio show!

Jay Markunas and Angela Loeb are kindred souls in the quest to help career-minded individuals. With their 21st show on BlogTalkRadio, they jumped into topics like Novotus, ReachingTalent and most importantly the upcoming CareerConnects event in Austin, TX.

• Ever wondered what a Poken is?
• Who’s behind CareerConnects?
• Who should attend the event & what to bring?
• What do you get with registration?

You can download the podcast from iTunes and get the skinny on the upcoming January 29th networking event. Got questions after listening to the show? Send them here.

Today’s the day – advance registration is open. A full day of connection building and knowledge sharing. Industry leaders are featured in interactive conversations around what it takes to advance YOUR career. Did we mention you get lunch? Other career events can cost over $200.00.

How much is CareerConnects? Before January 15, registration is $7.00. Because everyone needs to conserve their resources. Just use the link to the right to sign up today using PayPal. And help spread the word.