Digital Dave

How many of you are carrying a business card? How many of you know how to grab enough information from somebody to create a link that you can use to follow up?

Let’s just say you just happen to be standing next to somebody while you both are enjoying an event. Well, that seems normal… It’s just like every other person you stand next to every time you go somewhere. Standing in line to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks? Maybe a museum exhibit? But this time a conversation sparks as the event plays out. You learn that this individual is very experienced within the industry you are involved in. Quick! What do you do?

Time’s up. Connection opportunity disconnected… Did you get enough information to follow up?

The time it took for you to read those last two lines is about how fast you can lose out on a great contact. Be sure you have enough wit to maneuver effectively within a situation like that. The person you are talking to could, literally, catapult you to new heights.

Networking Tip #1

Rub elbows with every single individual around you, even if you think you’re “safe,” because you’re not.

Presumably you are already working with an outstanding company that is fully funded with a solid foundation being built for future growth.  You are high on life and are sailing with the high winds toward a glorious world of gold and product.  You are enjoying your job… until it is taken away.

Let me guess… You were:

Too  busy working away at your current job.

Too introverted to go buzz around events.

Too lazy to care about something like relationships.

It takes time to build relationships and you should be doing that every chance you get regardless of the excuses that surround you. Life is difficult and it isn’t going to get easier.  Your job is not a right, it’s a privilege. Take care of yourself to avoid that one day where it’s pulled from you and you are standing naked and alone.

Networking Tip #2

Put on your game face because people are people and you are what matters.

You need to take care of yourself.  This is a tough world to live in if you have any hopes in moving around.

Stand up for what you have done and wear it as a merit badge.  You earned it through time and devotion.  Don’t focus on WHO are you are talking to, but rather focus on WHAT you are talking about and your conversation will feel much more worthwhile.  Let the WHO come out later.

Networking Tip #3

Exchange Business Cards!!!

Great! You met somebody!

Wait… You didn’t exchange business cards?  Why?

You only spoke to them for a minute or so?

OMFGWTFOMGZ!@#*@#!!! /facepalm

The point is that once the ice is broken you are now a soft contact.  You’ve ingrained a picture of your face into another person’s mind.  Our mind doesn’t need a lot of time to build that memory – especially if you find somebody with a super brain.  You may forget faces easy but the other person may not.

You exchanged names and shared a piece of information that you can build off of later.  Exchange cards and immediately write a note on the back of the card about that conversation.  In time, touch base with that information to simply say hi or spark a conversation from the data you collected.

Networking Tip #4

Don’t just flab your mouth, but act genuinely interested in the other person.

Networking is a two way street.  You need to learn something about the other person.  You can’t learn anything if you’re talking about things you already know for 99% of the meeting.

Ask the other person questions about themself.

How was that project you worked on?

Are you enjoying the conference? What sessions did you go to? Oh really? Tell me about that!

How are you liking the job?

If you completely own the conversation you will likely turn the individual away really fast.  I say likely because you may be talking to a tech guy that would love nothing more than you owning the conversation.  Help them help you by not letting the conversation fall into that trap.

And for the love of god, smile, nod, and act like you enjoy the conversation.  Most people, aside from walls, are not a fan of talking to walls.  Sure, you’re tired. Go home and get some sleep.

Networking Tip #5

Reach out via LinkedIn and Twitter

You really never know who is watching you these days.  You also never know who might interest you in a conversation.  Use these tools and be aware of the people that are out there.  Follow people with similar interests because they may follow you back and will pick up on signs you lay on the ground.

Put an effort into keeping your LinkedIn profile updated with juicy information (bullet points of specific things you’ve accomplished).

Write reviews for other people (they may be inclined to write something about you).

Well, it’s that time of the year. GDC is fast approaching and I’m in need of a new identity – an identity in the form of a business card.

I ended up going through 4 iterations before I found a design that I really liked.

What are the essentials?

• Your Name
• E-Mail
• Phone
• Web Address
• Something Memorable
• Use both sides!

Unless you own a business and need people to visit your primary location, I would leave off your physical address. Waste of space and distraction. Most of the time your contact isn’t just going to show up at your door. You can give them this information later when it’s warranted.

So how about the ‘flow?’  Well, that is tough to pin down. It boils down to experimentation. You’ve probably seen dozens of card designs out there (Google some if not). Use those as a base.

The card I used in 2008

People thought it was cool, but today I find it pretty boring and not memorable. The basis was that you’ll find me without a Dr. Pepper in hand, and I wanted to note that I was a programmer.

Ouch...

Idea 1

Going completely opposite from 2008, I wanted to introduce color but I found it distracting.  It also concerned me what a printer would do with this.

The texture on this is intense. Very dark.

Idea 2

I decided to try something on the lighter side.  I also wanted to incorporate a subtle piece of my iGotIt Games logo.  I had a hard time with what to do on the front side of this card, and the gradient was concerning.

(back of card) I wasn't confident about using gradient.

Idea 3

I further simplified the design by trying out a ‘reflection’ idea with solid colors.  Here, the person would see the back of the card from the front, with the goal of persuading the holder to flip the card around for more information.

In the end, it felt too cheap.

Idea 4

Here, I built off of my previous attempts to form the final card.  I included the reflection, solid colors, and the iGotIt Games logo.  On the back I plan to put a promo code for Spin & Shoot or Project Void.

Winner

In the end you want your business card to be memorable.  Leave a simple quote, or a icon that identifies you.  See Darius Kazemi for more business card/networking advice. I just noticed he wrote a few new posts regarding business cards!

In the end, keep it simple and Memorable!

Social networking has taken a huge leap forward.  No longer are we dealing with seemingly static pages like LinkedIn and any job searching site, but we now have a newer and brighter tool – a miniature chat room in our face – Twitter.  News rooms are already adapting live streaming into their broadcasting.  Live stream of what your friends are doing just went live on Facebook.  It looks like this live-streaming concept is really catching on.

If you haven’t seen Twitter yet, I highly recommend you visit http://twitter.com and tinker around.  You’re sure to find it engaging to follow people with similar interests as yourself, which is exactly what got me into it.

I was in the depth of my job search when I joined Twitter; my goal was to make myself visible beyond Dice, LinkedIn, Facebook and my blog/portfolio (Monster and Career Builder were useless).  I was trying to open as many platforms as I could, knowing that it was going to be a rough ride to find a job due to a.) the economic slump, and b.) wanting to get out of Kansas. The direct nature of Twitter makes networking much easier to accomplish.

One day I saw a random tweet from an individual claiming that they LOVED their work at Six Apart in San Francisco. I was familiar with the company from my career research on them in the past.  Jokingly (but seriously), I sent out this tweet:

Not long after I sent that message I received a few DMs from another follower in my network.

Later that night I also got a DM from the individual that I initially sent my tweet to, asking for my resume.

I jumped on the IMD website and began looking at the careers page.  The follower from my network and I passed a few e-mails between each other.  He gave me some more information about IMD, like what they do and what kind of work he has done there.  Needless to say I was hooked and I sent out my resume for him to pass along.

After several conversations with IMD’s recruiter, a phone interview with one of the production engineers and an on-site interview with 4 members of the team, I was contacted on March 6th with a formal offer.  I announced my epic win to the follower who helped me and he threw this back:

and…

“I just got you in the door.” With that I was able to take advantage of the opportunity provided this time.

This train is moving, and without a doubt it helped me get to the next level of my life.  Through the last 6 months of job searching, I did not find one individual that was in my network that did not try and get me employed when they saw I needed help, but those positions didn’t match up as well as this most recent.  People are generous and they want to help, but they can’t help if they don’t know you are there and in need.

These doors are all over the place if you are willing to search for them and to use them.

Take this for example. I just recently found a new Twitter page called Job Angles (http://twitter.com/jobangels) that I was going to abuse if this opportunity fell through.  Their purpose is to find people who are searching for jobs or people who are aiding others in their job search, and to make them visible to the 3000+ followers. A grass roots movement!

So challenge yourself and say hello to a random person on Twitter, or graciously lurk around and make yourself visible by presenting your thoughts like I did.  Regardless, Twitter is a powerful median to express yourself and to easily be found by others. Take advantage of it.