Jennifer McClure`

Helping Leaders Leverage Influence & Create Maximum Impact.

Written by

Intentional Networking Strategies for Introverts (And Extroverts!)

When you hear the word “networking”, or someone tells you that you need to “network”, what comes to mind?

In general, if you’re extroverted, or gain energy by interacting with people, then you may feel as excited about networking – as you would if someone invited you to a theme park with lots of rides and roller coasters. That’s assuming, of course, that you like theme parks and roller coasters. 🙂

If you’re more introverted, or prefer to avoid situations where you’re around a lot of people that you don’t know well, you may feel as excited as you would if someone invited you to go to the dentist’s office. Unless, or course, you like going to the dentist’s office… which probably means that you’re a relative of the dentist. Or you’re a masochist. (Hey, no judgement here.)

I know, those are generalizations, but I think I can safely say that most people – whether they’re introverts or extroverts – aren’t that great at networking… even if they love it, or think they’re good at it.

Why is that? Well, it’s because most people aren’t approaching networking in a strategic way, and considering it a skill and practice that’s critical for their personal and professional development.

But, I’ve got good news!

That doesn’t have to be you! Whether you love networking, hate it, or don’t know what it means to be good at it, I can help.

In this episode of the Impact Makers Podcast, I’m sharing why it’s important to Always Be Networking, as well as who you should choose to network with in order to get and give the most benefit, and how you can network like a pro – whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert.

I’ll also share ten awesome questions that you can ask to start great conversations at networking events – and make others think that you’re the most interesting person in the world. 🙂

10 Questions to Ask at Networking Events:

  1. What brought you here today?
  2. What has been your biggest takeaway thus far?
  3. Who have you enjoyed meeting, or who would you suggest I connect with at this event?
  4. What is the best book you’ve read recently? Or, what is your favorite podcast?
  5. What was the biggest challenge that you faced in your job or career recently, and what did you do to solve it?
  6. What is your favorite thing about the work you do, or where you work?
  7. What do you do for fun outside of work?
  8. What is the best piece of career advice that you’ve gotten – or that you’ve given?
  9. What is the most exciting or interesting thing that you’re working on at the moment?
  10. What other conferences or events do you attend, or get value from?

IMPACT MAKERS PODCAST – EPISODE 33

Show Highlights:

  • Why you need to view your networking strategy just like you do anything else that is important and adds value.
  • Why your mantra when you go to an event should be, “I’m going to be interested, and not worry about being interesting.”
  • How to be intentional about networking.
  • Ten awesome questions you can ask to start great conversations.
  • Understanding the value and need for investing in yourself.

More Info and Resources:

Impact Makers Episode 7 — How I Became A Speaker and Entrepreneur

Mike Lynch – President, Mike Lynch Career Consulting

—–

Thanks to King University, who’s support makes this podcast possible! King is proud to offer sixteen online degrees with accelerated programs and affordable tuition so you can start a new career faster than ever. You can choose from programs in technology, communication, and business – like an online MBA with six concentrations including human resource management. And because the program is offered fully online, you can earn your degree on your own schedule in as little as 16 months. Visit https://online.king.edu/impactmakers to learn more about the King Difference today.

—–

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and if you go through them to make a purchase I’ll earn a commission. Keep in mind that I only link to products or companies because of their quality, or my personal experience with them, and not because of any commissions I receive from your purchases.

Written by

Interested In Career Growth? Let’s Chat! #VZWHRChat

Do you currently have a job – or a career? Chances are, you have some version of both, or you’re aspiring to claim them.

Unfortunately, most of us only think about our careers when we’re looking for a J-O-B, but the smart ones (that’s you) know that nurturing a career is an ongoing activity.

One aspect of managing your career is maintaining an attitude of continuous learning. Reading articles, blogs and news related to your industry and your profession will always be helpful – and so is networking and connecting with business leaders, industry experts, and fellow career navigators to learn from and help each other.

I’m excited about co-hosting one such learning and networking opportunity next week on April 22, 2014 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET, and I’d like to invite you to join me!

I’ll be partnering with several HR and Recruiting leaders, job seekers and seasoned career professionals for #VZWHRChat on Twitter.

This Twitter chat is the first in a #VZWHRchat series, where the team from Verizon will be partnering with HR experts across the Midwest to host various Twitter chats related to finding a job that’s more than a job – it’s a career.

Why is the team at Verizon coordinating these Twitter chats?

Because they’re convinced that by sharing information and helping professionals to grow in their careers, a few sharp-minded, solution-oriented folks might be interested in joining their team. They’re growing – and growth fuels careers.

However, you don’t have to be interested in a career with any specific company to receive value from joining in. During the hour-long Twitter chat, we’ll be discussing the following:

  1. During an interview, what should you ask to determine growth opportunities at the company?
  2. Once you start the job, what critical steps should you take to advance your career?
  3. What are examples of career development programs/training that prepare employees for individual success?
  4. You’ve been in the same position for years and haven’t been promoted. What should you do?
  5. What should you avoid doing that could hinder your ability to grow with your company?
  6. What lessons have you learned working for (or with, on the HR side) companies that both provide/don’t provide opportunities to advance?

So drop in on April 22, 2014 and chat with us from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET!

Answer questions, ask questions, share your experiences – and help others. It’s an open event, so please invite anyone that you think may benefit or have something to add to the discussion. (If you’re new to Twitter chats, there are useful tools like TweetChat.com that can make following live chats easier.)

I hope to see you on April 22nd! I’d love to hear from you!

Be sure to visit the Verizon Job Center to learn more about career opportunities with Verizon your area.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received compensation from Verizon to partner with them on this initiative. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. For real. 

Written by

Celebrating Twitter As A Business Communication Tool

Recently, I passed 10,000 Followers on Twitter…

I’m still waiting on my pony.

“Twitter officials” have informed me that I have not yet reached the Follower count at which ponies are granted. Boo.

But I still can’t quit you Twitter. Let me count some of the reasons why I love you.

Twitter is a great source of business opportunities

Because of my presence on Twitter, I’ve gotten speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, candidate referrals, coaching clients and interviews with major publications. It’s not uncommon for me to get a Direct Message, an email or phone call that starts with “I follow you on Twitter and we have a need for ___ (something I do) and I thought of you.”  While not all of those contacts result in paying clients, a good portion of them have. Enough to classify Twitter as a solid business development channel for me. Win!

Twitter is a great source of referral opportunities

As a Connector, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to help or to refer someone. Because Twitter is a place where people network, ask questions or mention needs, I’ve spotted a number of opportunities in the last three years where I’ve been able to introduce one of my contacts – which resulted in new clients or new jobs for them. “Social networking” works the same way old-fashioned networking does. It’s about building relationships and connecting people!

Solid professional relationships & friendships developed in 140 characters

Twitter has provided me the opportunity to build relationships with top recruiting and HR leaders that I likely would have never come in contact with in the past. For example, I interviewed China Gorman – former COO & Chief Global Membership Engagement Officer at SHRM while at a conference, where she shared her perspectives on being a business leader in HR. I asked Chris Hoyt – Talent Engagement & Marketing Leader at PepsiCo – if I could get his advice on some work I was doing with a client and he graciously shared an amazing amount of information with me via a phone call. I had dinner and a great conversation across the pond in the United Kingdom with Arie Ball – VP of Talent Acquisition at Sodexo, where she shared more about the Sodexo story and we found that we have much in common. These conversations only happened because I initially “met” all of these folks – and many more – on Twitter. (Follow them on Twitter at @ChinaGorman, @TheRecruiterGuy & @Arie_Ball.)

Twitter doesn’t take that much time – if you manage your time

I’ll be the first to admit that Twitter can be a time suck, but so can the internet, people in the office, clients, email, etc. I’ve had to develop systems for managing these other types of distractions throughout my career and I have to manage Twitter’s influence on my day as well. For example, I log out of Twitter while working on projects and rarely tweet on weekends or in the evenings. I’m in constant communication mode during most of my workday and as an Introvert, I need time away from the “noise” to recharge. Thanks to the saved searches that I’ve set up, I don’t miss tweets or conversations that I want to be a part of that took place while I wasn’t logged on.

The right tools make Twitter use easier

I’m a big Fan of TweetDeck, because it allows me to create groups and save searches so I don’t miss mentions or replies involving any of the Twitter accounts that I manage. I currently manage my own account – @JenniferMcClure, one for my business – @UnbridledTalent, one for my LinkedIn Group – @LinkCincinnati and I’m one of the tweeters behind my local HR association’s account – @GCHRACincinnati. TweetDeck also allows me to schedule tweets, so if I read a blog post or article late at night or want to share it on more than one of my accounts, I can schedule the tweets throughout the workday rather than all at the same time.

The love story continues…

I joined Twitter on March 26, 2008 after reading a blog post from Jim Stroud commenting that there were only 85 Recruiters on Twitter. At that time, like many people today, I didn’t understand the concept or really have an interest in joining, but I did want to keep evolving as a recruiter and a business person, so I decided to try to figure out how to utilize it to develop business, build relationships and recruit talent. Nearly three year later, I’m marking that experiment as a success!

Thanks Twitter for all of the entertainment, information, business deals, relationships and friendships!

Twitter Member #14,221,435 aka @JenniferMcClure

But don’t forget, I still want one of these.

Image Credit: Shetland Pony by suvodeb

Written by

Fall ERE Expo 2009: It’s a Wrap!

ExpoFall09_facebook I’m back from attending the Fall ERE Expo 2009 in Hollywood, Florida and I can safely say that it was one of the best conference experiences that I’ve had yet! It’s also safe to say that I suck at “live-blogging” conferences, because I really get wrapped up in learning from the session leaders and interacting with other conference attendees. But apparently I’ve got some skills at “live tweeting“… (Is there a job where I can get paid to do that?)

So here’s a wrap-up from around the recruito-sphere (and HRo-sphere), while I let the good stuff that was shared digest and marinate for future posts…

AWESOMENESS: All conference presentation slide decks and videos are available on the ERE Expo Blog.

Steve Fogarty – Recruiting Captain and Steve Bonomo – Head of Global Recruiting at adidas covered a lot of ground in their “Impossible is Nothing” Recruiting presentation. The Steve’s talked about the importance of employment branding, metrics, candidate experience and asking forgiveness rather than waiting for permission to make things happen. They also discussed their new branded and interactive Careers site and Fogarty does a great job of capturing some of the trends he noted from attending and presenting at the Expo on his own blog – Recruiting Revolution.

On HRmarketer Blog, Jonathan Goodman summarizes his thoughts and takeaways from the conference including one of the many great quotes shared in the presentation by Tony Blake – Director of Recruiting at DaVita. It’s from Michael Foster – Founder & Chairman of the Human Capital Institute: “The next killer app in recruiting is – the recruiter” – ERE Fall Expo ’09: The next killer recruiting app. If you’re a Recruiter, hopefully, you are at least on version 2.0 by now…

“If networking is King, then Twitter is Queen” declares Sarah White – who was inspired to share her thoughts on how Twitter enhances the conference experience by a photo of Mr. Recruiter Tweeter himself – @TheRecruiterGuy – wearing a t-shirt proclaiming “I’m Huge on Twitter”. (indeed he is)

Sarah also recaps her conference experience in ERE Expo – The best HR Conference I have been to yet – Behind the Scenes – which includes a link to some great photos from the event as well.

Jason Buss – VP, Talent Acquisition & Diversity at Ameriprise Financial managed to find 10 tweets from the thousands shared at the conference to capture his experience in ERE Recruiting Expo Re-cap, Twitter Style and he also snagged an interview with Expo Chairperson Kevin Wheeler – Social Media & Recruiting: Do We Have It Wrong? (Stay tuned to Fistful of Talent for my upcoming post/interview with Kevin following his session on What Will 2010 Bring? Insightful stuff from a Talent “futurist”!)

Industry Guru Gerry Crispin believes that the ERE Expo 2009 will be a Tough Act to Follow due to a little giveback (the ERE Charity Poker Classic which raised $10,000), a lot of Community, a lot of Learning and a Trend or Two. Gerry’s always way out in front on talent management issues. We’d be wise to pay attention – although sitting next to Gerry at the Poker game didn’t seem to help me much. 🙂

HR Pro Sharlyn Lauby makes a great point in her post on hr bartender encouraging conference organizers to embrace the opportunity to share content freely and allow attendees to actively participate as ERE has successfully done. Sharon states that “It’s time for conference organizers to realize that social networking is a key component of the conference experience. Attendees want to tweet, post photos and videos and share their experiences – while the event is taking place.” <I agree!>

Senior Editor at SmartBrief – Mary Ellen Slayter puts her journalist skills on display with her post “Where Social Media Meets Our Biases” and cautions against its use in the employment process: “Prolific isn’t competent. A social media maven, who has figured out how to get their name out there in all these channels, isn’t necessarily a better fit for a job than someone who hasn’t adopted these tools. Someone can have an amazing professional network and not have a single Twitter follower. Social media communities can quickly get cliquish; make sure you use these tools to broaden your networks, not push people out.”

Newly announced chairperson of ERE’s next Social Recruiting Summit in NYC – Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR – continues the “networking is the best part of attending conferences” theme by giving props to the inspiring Women of #EREExpo. Indeed. We’re planning to take over the world soon… so watch out!

Laurie also posted her thoughts on a frequent question that came up at the conference “Should Recruiting Report in to HR?“. Granted, this was a conference filled mostly with Recruiters, so when it was suggested during one presentation that HR should report to Recruiting, the audience cheered. For the record, I’m with Laurie on this one.

Leanne Chase of careerlife connection found the secret for connecting with and engaging attendees on the Trade Show floor to garner interest in her company focused on flexibility issues in the workplace. All it takes is some food, a few blow up chairs and a guy wearing your shirt – Tales from the booth at ERE.

And finally, Stephanie Lloyd shares her thoughts and several photos in her post Wrap-up: ERE Expo 2009, as well as a video interview with yours truly, which I’ll leave you with below. In summary – thanks to David Manaster, Scott Baxt and the ERE crew – the Fall ERE EXPO 2009 ROCKED – so start making plans for Spring 2010 in San Diego!

Written by

Introverts: Just Like Extroverts, Only Better

Most of you who read this blog haven’t met me in person, but you may have assumed that I’m an extrovert because my chosen career involves people, or the fact that I regularly speak to large groups of people at large conferences and events.

But you would be wrong. I’m actually a card carrying introvert, and think that we as a species are wildly misunderstood.

Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, Sacha Chua, shared a great Slideshare presentation called The Shy Connector. It’s so awesome that I think this should be required reading for anyone who says that they’re an introvert , but can’t possibly bring themselves to network with others.

Personally, I don’t see introversion/extroversion as the difference between being shy or outgoing, as many people do. I like these simple definitions best:

Introverts – Recharge by spending time alone.

Extroverts – Recharge by being around people.

It’s really that simple. So an Introvert can be the life of the party – but then they’ll probably crash and burn afterward in order to reboot – and an Extrovert doesn’t necessarily have to be the center of attention at all times who can never stop talking. Although if the shoe fits…

Sacha’s presentation got me to thinking about some of the other interesting things I’ve read on the subject and I thought I’d share a few of them to encourage my fellow Introverts out there and also to help the Extroverts to better to understand us.

  • Funny and accurate: Caring for Your Introvert – Money Quote: “Now I am here to tell you what you need to know in order to respond sensitively and supportively to your own introverted family members, friends, and colleagues. Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts.”
  • Why Introverts Can Make The Best Leaders – Money Quote: “Introverted leaders are energized by spending time alone. They suffer from people exhaustion and need to retreat to recharge their batteries frequently. These regular timeouts actually fuel their thinking, creativity and decision-making and, when the pressure is on, help them be responsive, not reactive.”
  • How to Network: For Introverts – Money Quote: “Introverts typically don’t like to talk about themselves – we prefer to talk about ideas. Force yourself to discuss some of the things you’ve done. Don’t brag, make sure they are relevant to the conversation. Then the extroverts can talk about you and pass your achievements along.”
  • Job Search Tips for Introverts – Money Quote: “Value your listening skills. When you’re searching for a job and reaching out to others, you’ll do this much more effectively if you’re a good listener.”
  • Top 5 Things Every Extrovert Should Know About Introverts – Money Quote: “Introverts have more brain activity in their frontal lobes and when these areas are activated through solitary activity, introverts become energized through processes such as problem solving, introspection, and complex thinking. Extroverts on the other hand tend to have more activity in the back of their brain, areas that deal with processing sensory information from the external world, so they tend to search for external stimuli in the form of interacting with other people and the outside world to energize them.”

Do you feel like being an introvert has held you back in your career in any way – or has it helped you to get where you are today?

Extroverts – do you understand us? Or do you think that anyone who doesn’t get excited about dressing up to go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show for the 57th time is just plain weird?

(Because we definitely think that about you when you do.)

Need A Speaker?

I've delivered keynotes and led workshops at over 350 conferences and corporate events.

If you want to check my availability for your event, or if you have questions, click below.

Start the Conversation »

Recent Blog Posts

Connect on Social