Notes from 2/4/2011 - Podcasting with Michael Surkan

Michael Surkan was our guest at last week's OCA meeting. Michael, a 20-year technology business vet, has recently turned his attention to the technique and power of podcasting - as a way of building a valuable, credible network.

Podcasting is not new to Michael. He's been getting together with friends to talk about and share ideas on economic topics, but after a round of layoffs ended his 9-year career at Microsoft, Michael started Entrepreneurs Northwest to create a new network of career-building relationships.

His easy-to-follow recipe for starting your own podcasting channel is a sure-fire methodology for increasing your connections while learning more about a particular subject. And by sharing that knowledge with others, you not only give back, but you begin to be seen as an authority on the given subject. If you're looking for work, and in today's economy many people are having to reinvent themselves to do so, this could be a valuable way to open new doors.

I took great notes at the meeting, but why don't we have Michael tell you everything you need to know to start podcasting.

Hiring Expectations Up - and What CMOs Are Looking For Specifically

A friend of mine, in doing some research for a large software company located in Redmond, WA, found a great article indicating CMOs are looking to ramp up hiring. Originally posted in March, the numbers from the article back up the recent surge in hirings we've witnessed through OCA.

The article, from MarketingProfs.com, pulls its information from a CMO Survey conducted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the AMA. It touches on hiring plans, the expected upswing in Social Marketing, and what hiring managers in the industry are looking for in candidates.

Click HERE for the full article, or HERE for the survey results. Below is just a snippet.

Hiring Plans
Nearly one-half (46.7%) of companies say they expect to hire new marketers during the next six months, while 61.4% plan to hire in the next year and 77.5% plan to hire over the next two years.
On average, companies plan to increase hiring levels 8.2% in the next six months, 12.9% in the next year, and 24.1% over the next two years.

Work experience will be emphasized: Only 27.1% of hires are expected to come from universities.

Among skill sets, Internet marketing, innovation and growth, CRM, and brand management will be the most sought after by senior marketers.

Wide variety of webinars available via the AMA!
Check them out!

Upcoming Event Reminder

Monday, 3/1, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Prolango Networking Event
Where: Maggiano's Little Italy, Bellevue
Cost: Free
Their most recent event, held in early February, was attended by over 400 people, job seekers and employers.
Registration

Tuesday, 3/2, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Pay it Forward networking social
Where: Seattle - Twist in Belltown
Cost: $10
Are you perplexed at what you should get out of networking, but know people say these are "must do" events? Then come to a "Pay it Forward" Networking Workshop Facilitated by Sandy Jones-Kaminski, the author of "I'm at a Networking Event. Now What???"
Registration

Also, check out some of the events on Biznik.com, including several free workshops and discussions regarding WordPress and blogging.

So, why should I meet with you?

Yea you may make a good impression. It's even possible your credentials are good and your resume stands out. But they don't have a job available right now.

So, how do you "keep in touch" without being annoying? When I was first starting out as a freelancer I just asked people, "How frequently would you like me to keep in touch?" and tried to keep to that schedule of phone calls and little notes with work samples. That worked pretty well for freelance work. But I haven't done that *cough* in a few years. And I haven't done that on this job hunt.

Thanks to the internet, I found this handy guide from a Toledo printer. It's essentially how to be of value to the people whose time you are taking up. See if you can't apply some of these ideas to what you're doing.

"76 Ways to Recontact Customers and Prospects"
(pdf)

Webcasts Week of 01/18/2010

Hi Everyone!
I don't know of any networking events this week, but there are three webcasts coming up.
They are as follows:

01/19/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
Turning the "Jobs-to-be-Done" Innovation Theory into Practice
Speaker: Tony Ulwick, CEO, Strategyn

01/20/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
Feed the Content Beast -- a practical, afforadable approach to create the content that supports your lead management and sales enablement initiatives.
Featuring: Ardath Albee, CEO of Marketing Interactions and author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale

01/21/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
How Merrill Lynch Optimizes Inbound Interactions with Real-Time Decisioning
Speakers: Aaron Tellier, Director of CRM Strategy and Implementation, Merrill Lynch
Mark Smith, EVP, Protrait Software

Just click the link for more information, or to register. Best of all, they're free!

It looks like there will be at least one networking event next week, if not more so stay tuned. Also, if you know of something coming up and I missed it, please send me an email so I can follow up with another post.

Have a great week!
Suzanne LeMere
lemeresl@plu.edu

Twitter Advice and More from Michelle Goodman

Ran across this 11/29 article in the NW Jobs section of the Seattle Times.

"Twitter Patter: Tips on building your profile and tweeting your way into a job," by Michelle Goodman, provides practical tips and great advice for another way to network with potential employers:
- Start following your favorite employers and recruiters on Twitter.
- Build rapport and community by tweeting (and re-tweeting) relevant items, such as "ideas, questions, inspiring quotations, and links to articles and resources..."
- Don't mix business with your everyday life. Nobody at the company you'd like to work for needs to know what you made for dinner last night.

Michelle also has a book out that was brought to my attention:
My So-Called Freelance Life: How To Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire.
... and she has a blog on nwsource.com, called Nine to Thrive, which offers "fresh tips and trends for attaining that crazy little thing called work/life balance."

Free Webcast - Branding Yourself, This Thursday!

As if you didn't have enough events to choose from on Thursday, here's another.  However, this one is at 4PM PST and is only an hour long, so you might be able to squeeze in both if you can manage it.  I actually took the class last Friday at the REI Flagship Store.  It was 5 hours long and quite informative.  We got to meet with coaches and do mock interviews.  I'm sure this one is a more condensed version, but probably well worth it.  And, best of all, it's free!

Here's the link for more info:

http://now.eloqua.com/es.asp?s=997&e=353692&elq=855f8d00536b494699e425aa56ffa504

Notes from 10/9 OCA Meeting

Welcome to several new people:
- Richard Geasey, with over 20 years of technology business development, has recently published a book on local search - Get Found Now.
- Jeff Rea brings 25 years of marketing experience and was most recently with Voltap, LLC. He is currently consulting with several local firms.
- Sharon Whiting, online marketing manager, most recently worked with Rivals.com (Yahoo! Sports).
- Wes Youngquist, art director / creative director, is currently freelancing with ad agencies along the West coast.

Thanks to Lisa Quast, last week's guest speaker. Lisa gave an inspiring presentation on how to manage your career search by creating a strategic plan. Her book, Your Career, Your Way, provides a road map for the steps she suggests implementing, including:
1) Review assets and liabilities
2) Determine your differentiators (what do you bring to a company that makes you unique?)
3) Get feedback (from former co-workers, friends, mentors, and people you trust)
4) Know your competition
5) Determine your goals, long-term and short-term
6) Create your career plan - write it down.
7) Implement your plan
8) Check your progress
9) Stay focused - tenacity, courage, and commitment
10) Celebrate achievements

If you couldn't make it to the meeting but want a copy of Lisa's presentation, let me know and I can send one.

Marketing for Social Good

Last week, Aquent sponsored a webcast titled, "Good Marketing: Marketing for Social Good."
It's part of a program put together by the American Marketing Association, and the presenter was Nancy Goldstein from Compass (x) Strategy in Chicago.

Very interesting topic, as many companies are starting to focus on sustainability projects, designing for 'good,' and investing in cause marketing and corporate-sponsored foundations.

Link to the presentation can be found here.
Link to other upcoming AMA webcasts can be found here.