The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Professional Edition: Learn to Network. Get a Job.

by Nathan A. Perez, Marcia Ballinger PhD

Overview

*WINNER - International Book Award - Career category!

*WINNER - National Indie Excellence Award - Career category!

*SILVER - Axiom Business Book Award - Career category!

*FINALIST - USA Best Book Award - Career category!

*FINALIST - Foreword INDIES Book Award - Career category!

Welcome to The 20-Minute Networking Meeting! Whether your meetings are virtual or in person, this book will successfully serve any job-seeker from any background--field sales to customer service; doctor to bartender; teacher to derrickman; legal aid to construction; retail to management. All you need is desire; the rest is in this book!
Built using the acclaimed The 20-Minute Networking Meeting--Executive Edition networking model lauded by business leaders around the world, this new 2016 Professional Edition puts you in control of your job-search discussions and, ultimately, your career.Taking the best elements of the best networkers from a multitude of industries and professions, combined with 40 years of the authors' own experience, the Professional Edition culminates in a highly productive networking approach from a hiring perspective.

In this book, learn what networking (really) is, and how to:

* Master the 5 most important parts of a networking meeting
* Create a networking agenda

* Construct key questions to lead a discussion

* Expand a professional network with more names

* Break into the "Invisible/Hidden Job Market" (where over 70% of all jobs are obtained)

* Make a networking meeting more effective, efficient, and mutually beneficial

* Execute the above (and much more)-- inside of 20 minutes

* Maintain your new network throughout your career!

Chock full of real-world scenarios, short stories, meeting examples, and dozens of tips and observations from hiring authorities and recruiting experts, the Professional Edition is an end-to-end lesson on job-search networking, founded on the premises of gratitude, positivity, and reciprocity.
Specifically constructed to clarify and simplify networking for job-search, the Professional Edition was written for even the most introverted networker and is rounded out with a complete set of readiness worksheets that guide the reader through actual networking preparation, with fully written stories that show the entire The 20-Minute Networking Meeting model in action.

Also from Career Innovations Press:

The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Graduate Edition

The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Executive Edition

The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Veterans Edition

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780985910648
Publisher:	Career Innovations Press
Publication date:	03/18/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	180
Sales rank:	199,130
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Nathan A. Perez is an award-winning author, national speaker and executive career and job-search coach at Career Innovation.
Prior to his Career Innovation consultancy, Nathan worked in the executive search industry in the Research function. Responsible for the first step in the executive recruitment process, Nathan researched and "found" the candidates for recruitment. Networking is a day-to-day function of his job, connecting with leaders across the country on a regular basis. He has been cited by The Huffington Post as one of the most connected people on LinkedIn, world-wide.
Author of the multi-award-winning job-search networking book The 20-Minute Networking Meeting, Nathan speaks on its principles to students, veterans, career coaches, executives and corporate teams everywhere. Nathan draws on 20 years of stage, film and television experience in New York City and Hollywood, and is a member of the Actors Equity Association union (AEA); a voting union member of The Screen-Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA); the Author's Guild; and served as Vice Chair at The Loft Literary Center, the nation's largest literary and writing organization. He was recently inducted as an Honorary Commander with the 934th Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve, home of the Global Vikings.

Marcia Ballinger, PhD is co-founder and Principal at Ballinger|Leafblad, a Twin-Cities-based, civic-focused executive search firm. She has been in executive recruiting for over 15 years, and is a frequent speaker on behalf of the industry. She has been an adjunct faculty member in business at Capella University and St. Mary's University, and has a Master of Arts in Speech-Communication from the University of Minnesota. She received her PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University, where she now serves as Board Chair. She was named Industry Leader by the Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal in 2009 and one of the "(Real) Power 50" by Minnesota Business in 2014.

Editorial Reviews

The 20-Minute Networking Meeting should prove extraordinarily beneficial to job seekers at any level.

In The 20-Minute Networking Meeting by Nathan Perez and Marcia Ballinger, two executive search firm professionals reveal an invaluable five-step process for successful networking. Most job seekers recognize that creating a solid résumé and performing well at an interview are essential elements for securing a position. But finding the right position in the first place is a challenge because of the "hidden" job market-"job openings that are not advertised or publicly announced." This is where networking becomes so important, but according to the authors, "the vast majority of networking meetings are near-complete failures." Thankfully, Perez and Ballinger offer a well-structured, elegantly simple yet comprehensive five-step process to vastly reduce the chance of failure at networking. Before they even walk through the steps, though, the authors provide useful commentary on the importance of networking, common networking myths, and why networking is difficult for most people. This material is not just helpful, it demonstrates a compassionate understanding of the anxiety networking causes most people, and it will likely assuage many fears. The authors also explain the rationale (and support it with informal research) for restricting networking meetings to just twenty minutes. The process itself breaks the networking experience into five specific steps, each of which (except for the final step) is assigned a specific time in minutes. Every one of the first four steps is described in a fair amount of detail, using actual examples where appropriate. Step five ("Great Follow-Up") addresses how to follow up after a networking meeting. This last step should be just as useful in a nonnetworking business situation, for it very clearly lays out some excellent follow-up tactics, again with actual examples. The authors then use an ingenious way to summarize the five steps: they include a full example, part script and part description, of an actual twenty-minute networking meeting, with reactions at the end from the two participants. The book's appendix contains several worthwhile additions, such as a networking "readiness exercise," a checklist to help one make a "great first impression," a tracking sheet for following up, and a list of ideas for things the networker can give away as a thank-you. The "Professional Edition" of The 20-Minute Networking Meeting contains insights garnered from career experts and other business professionals. Other editions include the "Graduate Edition" and the "Executive Edition." The writing is consistently lucid; the text is presented in a professional yet informal manner, so the book is quite easy to read. The counsel the authors provide could be surprising to some who may be skeptical of networking in general or will scoff at the notion of a twenty-minute meeting. However, it is obvious from the credentials of the authors that they are highly qualified authorities whose advice should be taken seriously. The 20-Minute Networking Meeting should prove extraordinarily beneficial to job seekers at any level. - BARRY SILVERSTEIN 5 Stars - Foreword Clarion Reviews (February 1, 2017)

From the Publisher

2017-02-16
A quick, concentrated how-to guide designed to maximize the efficiency of job searches. Management consultants and debut authors Perez and Ballinger aim to help unemployed people crack the mysteries of "the invisible job market," which consists of job openings that aren't publicly announced. Companies fill these quietly and internally, they say, through private recommendations or referrals: "a whopping 70% of all jobs are obtained through people you know!" Hence the overwhelming importance of networking, which the authors say is "more than important. It is vital. It is the lifeblood of your job search and, in the big picture, your career." As the book's title indicates, one of the key elements of successful networking is brevity, and Perez and Ballinger lay out strategies to help job seekers streamline their approaches. They illustrate their recommendations—such as avoiding passivity during the interview process or finding an "evangelist" willing to sing your praises to potential employers—with fictional interludes that show how they might play out in real-life situations (or not, if the character chooses not to heed their wisdom). Some of the advice can be off-puttingly blunt ("Save the irrelevant chitchat," and the like). However, at other times, the authors assure readers that networking is "not about being slick and smooth" but rather about forging personal relationships through quick, meaningful encounters over stretches of time. It adds up to a well-rounded approach that touches on elements of business relationships that other job-search guides often overlook, particularly in a section on following up with contacts. All of this advice will give job seekers, especially new ones, a great deal to think about. A straight-talking, highly supportive networking manual.

Kirkus Reviews

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