Networking Tips to Offer Your Recent Grad
by Hallie Crawford Monday, December 29, 2008
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Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
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Networking is still one of the greatest ways for your young adult to find a job. Resumes from referrals tend to land at the top of the applications stack and are typically reviewed first. If you are in the predicament of helping your college graduate or young adult find their own way in the working world, here are some quick tips to pass on to help them network in a group or one-on-one setting:
• Be clear. Have your son or daughter get to the point of what they are looking for. What kind of job or opportunity do they want? Make sure they know to keep it short and sweet so they can communicate it easily.
• Rehearse. Encourage your child to have their ten-minute elevator speech ready at a moment’s notice. You never know when or where the opportunity will arise; when they will meet someone and need to get right into the details of their search. Spending idle time stumbling over words will leave a bad impression and give the idea that your son or daughter is not serious about his or her job search.
• Tell everyone they are looking. Leave no stone unturned. For both you and your child, this includes friends, family, fellow or former classmates – even current or past professors. You never know who might know someone in the field in which your adult child is interested.
• Don’t be shy. Now is not the time for your child to be reserved in asking for help. Instead, encourage them to ask for the referral. If the people they are speaking with enjoy what they are doing, they are usually more than happy to lend a helping hand and offer suggestions or recommendations. Just remind your son or daughter to keep their message short and concise. Again, encourage your child to go for it. After all, the worst that can happen is that your child gets a no. Remember...nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• Follow-up: Have your child follow up with the referral offered and the person who provided it. And then… have them follow up again. People are busy and may need a few reminders before getting back with your son or daughter. Encourage your child to continue their follow up calls, as long as they are not bombarding the contact with constant messages. Make sure your son or daughter sends a hand-written thank you note to the person who helped them.
• And most importantly, remind your child that this can be a lengthy process. Encourage your son or daughter to maintain a positive attitude and to be true to his or herself!
Copyright 2008 Hallie Crawford. All rights reserved.
NOTE: Feel free to "reprint" this article as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end).
Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
She is regularly featured as a career expert in the media including Fox, CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hallie attended Vanderbilt University where she obtained a degree in communications. After receiving her masters in communications at the University of Illinois, she jumped from job to job, searching for a satisfying and fulfilling career. However, instead of finding what she did want to do, Hallie only found what she didn’t want to do.
She struggled and was frustrated for years before realizing there were other people undoubtedly experiencing the same thing. It was then that she realized what it was she wanted to do: help others who are in a career transition avoid the struggle she had gone through.
Hallie’s entrepreneurial spirit and her desire to create something from the ground up led her to quit her full time job and start her own business in March 2002. Through coaching, Hallie helps others determine what they are really looking for in their careers and then gives them the confidence and assurance to take the steps in order to obtain their dream job.
She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Coachville, and the Georgia Coach Association. When she is not helping a client one-on-one, Hallie coaches small groups through virtual teleclasses and regularly holds speaking engagements and career workshops. She also offers various products, including a her book Flying Solo: Career Transition Tips for Singles which can be purchased at www.halliecrawford.com/products.
Visit Certified Career Coach Hallie Crawford at www.halliecrawford.com or sign up for Hallie's monthly e-newsletter, Creating Your Career Path, here: www.halliecrawford.com/newsletter
• Be clear. Have your son or daughter get to the point of what they are looking for. What kind of job or opportunity do they want? Make sure they know to keep it short and sweet so they can communicate it easily.
• Rehearse. Encourage your child to have their ten-minute elevator speech ready at a moment’s notice. You never know when or where the opportunity will arise; when they will meet someone and need to get right into the details of their search. Spending idle time stumbling over words will leave a bad impression and give the idea that your son or daughter is not serious about his or her job search.
• Tell everyone they are looking. Leave no stone unturned. For both you and your child, this includes friends, family, fellow or former classmates – even current or past professors. You never know who might know someone in the field in which your adult child is interested.
• Don’t be shy. Now is not the time for your child to be reserved in asking for help. Instead, encourage them to ask for the referral. If the people they are speaking with enjoy what they are doing, they are usually more than happy to lend a helping hand and offer suggestions or recommendations. Just remind your son or daughter to keep their message short and concise. Again, encourage your child to go for it. After all, the worst that can happen is that your child gets a no. Remember...nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• Follow-up: Have your child follow up with the referral offered and the person who provided it. And then… have them follow up again. People are busy and may need a few reminders before getting back with your son or daughter. Encourage your child to continue their follow up calls, as long as they are not bombarding the contact with constant messages. Make sure your son or daughter sends a hand-written thank you note to the person who helped them.
• And most importantly, remind your child that this can be a lengthy process. Encourage your son or daughter to maintain a positive attitude and to be true to his or herself!
NOTE: Feel free to "reprint" this article as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end).
Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
She is regularly featured as a career expert in the media including Fox, CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hallie attended Vanderbilt University where she obtained a degree in communications. After receiving her masters in communications at the University of Illinois, she jumped from job to job, searching for a satisfying and fulfilling career. However, instead of finding what she did want to do, Hallie only found what she didn’t want to do.
She struggled and was frustrated for years before realizing there were other people undoubtedly experiencing the same thing. It was then that she realized what it was she wanted to do: help others who are in a career transition avoid the struggle she had gone through.
Hallie’s entrepreneurial spirit and her desire to create something from the ground up led her to quit her full time job and start her own business in March 2002. Through coaching, Hallie helps others determine what they are really looking for in their careers and then gives them the confidence and assurance to take the steps in order to obtain their dream job.
She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Coachville, and the Georgia Coach Association. When she is not helping a client one-on-one, Hallie coaches small groups through virtual teleclasses and regularly holds speaking engagements and career workshops. She also offers various products, including a her book Flying Solo: Career Transition Tips for Singles which can be purchased at www.halliecrawford.com/products.
Visit Certified Career Coach Hallie Crawford at www.halliecrawford.com or sign up for Hallie's monthly e-newsletter, Creating Your Career Path, here: www.halliecrawford.com/newsletter