New Year’s Resolution: Expand Your Network

Why include this idea in our November newsletter? It’s important to plan ahead for networking, since not every group is free. You may need time to budget a couple hundred dollars for a new membership.  If you act fast, you might also be in time to attend a holiday party or December training event.

Whether you are looking for work or looking for workers, the more you invest in the search the more likely you are to be successful.  The days of having a few small networks are over, now having many broad networks is the norm.

Employers, if you don’t already have some ideas, here are some of ours:

• Education: Michigan Career Educator and Employer Alliance (their Internship Toolkit is great and you don’t have to join to access it).
• Economic Development: Michigan Economic Developers Association (their newest Talent whitepaper has some impactful ideas to consider and it, too, is available to non-members at no charge).
• Industry Segments: from MichBio to the Michigan Manufacturers Association to the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan.

Job seekers, you might consider these ideas:

• Your alma mater. Most offer job placement services. If possible, plan a face-to-face visit. Don’t just sign up online.
• A first or another professional association in your intended area of employment. As mentioned two weeks ago, this includes joining and participating in a relevant Linkedin group.
• Be more social. Yes, online but also face-to-face. The local chapter of an association, a Meetup group, or IT user group. Consider a visit with the Michigan Works team.

Ann Arbor SPARK

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