THE ACCIDENTAL

NETWORKER

Cindy Hill, Hill Information Consulting Group

January 2010

MY BACKGROUND

Cindy Hill

Solo librarian, info center manager, consultant, entrepreneur, international speaker

SLA Fellow and Past-President

Shy person

WHY NETWORK

Can you really work alone?

Learning from others

Sharing experiences

The bigger perspective

Source: Flicker.com K!T's photostream

THE BIG PICTURE:

A SOCIAL NETWORK DIAGRAM

Mike

Christian 1st Degree

2nd Degree

3rd Degree

Cindy

Sun Alumni Group

Christy

Rich

START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

“…create information that people want. Create

an online presence that people are eager to

consume. Establish a virtual front door that

people will happily link to…”

David Meerman Scott

“…And one that employers will find.”

David Meerman Scott, www.webinknow.com Nov 11, 2008

IDEA: AT WORK

Walk around

Join a team

Never eat alone

Attend meetings

Share ideas

Talk!

Get out of your “space”

Ask for a meeting with a department head

IDEA: WITHIN THE PROFESSION

Meet people from other SLA units

Attend other conferences, meetings

Mentor others

Offer to work on a project, team, task force

Volunteer your time, talent, experiences

Attend webinars – chat!

IDEA: AT THE CONFERENCE

Strike up a conversation with someone new

Attend receptions, parties, vendor events

Have a calling card

Talking in line

Meet the speaker

Follow-up

IDEA: AT HOME

Read outside the professional literature

Attend webinars – outside the profession

Community exposure

Free receptions, events in town

volunteer

USE TECHNOLOGY TO CONNECT

Discussion lists

LinkedIn

FaceBook

Twitter

Blogs

???

Source: Flikr.com TOKY Branding and Design

Maintain a rolodex

Virtual or physical?

Information details

CONNECTIONS

TOP 10 MISTAKES NETWORKING

#10 - Failing to show gratitude

#9 - Not using social media networks

#8 – Not targeting specific people

#7 – Being a pest

#6 – Not having a personal pitch

Adapted from Bill Holland, “Top Ten Mistakes Networking” http://www.slideshare.net/talentproof/top-10-mistakes-networking

TOP 10 MISTAKES NETWORKING

#5 – Not following up

#4 – Being selfish (give and take)

#3 – Not having a plan

#2 – Limiting yourself to people you know

#1 – Failing to network

Adapted from: Bill Holland, “Top Ten Mistakes Networking” http://www.slideshare.net/talentproof/top-10-mistakes-networking

WHAT WORKS

#10 – Acknowledging & thanking people

#9 - Starting with the tools you have

#8 – Setting goals

#7 – Controlling your requests

#6 – Knowing why you want to connect

WHAT WORKS

#5 – Following up

#4 – Sharing and giving

#3 – Planning

#2 – Moving outside your comfort zone

#1 – Making connections

WHAT TO DO

Offer insights

Share experiences and stories

Give before asking

Be authentic

Be open to making new friends – virtually

START NOW

Set goals: SMART ones

Possibilities:

Invite someone new to lunch, coffee break

Create a calling card

Write response to one blog posting

Ask a question

Send a thank you note

RESOURCES & CREDITS

The Virtual Handshake by David Teten & Scott

Allen, www.thevirtualhandshake.com

www.careerbuilder.com

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success,

One Relationship at a Time, Keith Ferrazzi

SLA 23 Things: http://bit.ly/7KcBEb

SLA Leadership & Management Division; Solo

Librarians Division

THANK YOU

Peter Moon

Richard Hulsar

Judy Field

Marydee Ojala

Buzzy Basch

David Stern

Doris Helfer

Ann Caputo

A special “shout out” to all the SLA Fellows who responded to my request for tips on networking. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

“Pressure Makes Diamonds”

- Sun IT support guy

THANK YOU!

Cindy Hill

Cindyvhill(at)yahoo.comFB: http://www.facebook.com/cindyvhillLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyvhillTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindyhill