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Important Networking Follow-Ups: How to Get Those Job Leads Calling When you leave a networking event, you may be buzzing at the prospects offered by all of those new contacts you made, but soon, the cold reality sets in. How will you be able to convert those contacts you made over a glass of wine into valuable business opportunities for you? Successful networking is all in the follow-up. If you’re looking for a job, following up is all the more crucial. Without touching base after a networking event, you become just another face in the crowd of job hunting hopefuls. The first important rule for following-up with networking contacts is to lay the foundations for the follow-up during the initial meeting. At networking events, there can be a lot of empty promises thrown around. Use that first meeting to convey the message that you haven’t gotten caught up in “networking fever” but instead that you are very serious about exploring the job opportunity that you’re discussing with your new contact. Ask the contact when would be a good time to follow-up with them, and then reiterate the information back to them at the end of your conversation: “I look forward to speaking with you Friday at 2 p.m.” If they don’t give you a specific time, then suggest one to them. This rule holds true even if your contact is giving you a lead on a job not with them but with another contact of their own. Let them know you appreciate the information by saying, “Thanks. I will plan on calling Mary on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m.” Not only will this convey your seriousness about the opportunity presented to you, but it may also get you some handy inside information, as the contact may reply, “Oh, no, Mary will be out of town until Thursday – call her then.” The next important rule to networking follow-ups is to follow up with EVERY lead a contact gives you. If a contact suggests that you call someone whom you know won’t really be able to help you in your job search, call him or her anyway. Otherwise, when your contact finds out you aren’t taking their advice, they may just decide not to give you any more the future and any business person can tell you that you never know from whom the most valuable lead will come some day. Keep the lines of communication open by giving any and all suggestions a whirl. Last but not least, do the actual following-up. Follow up with your contact exactly when you said you would, and in the exact manner you said you would (phone, email, letter, etc). If for some reason you can’t make contact at the arranged time, keep trying. If you haven’t made arrangements for a follow-up with a contact, then the rule of thumb is to follow-up with them as soon as possible after meeting them. Try to at least send an email or letter the next day saying what a pleasure it was to meet and that you look forward to talking more in the future, and then say in that note when you plan to follow-up with your contact by phone. Then, of course, stick to that new follow-up obligation. Even if the promises made by a contact while networking don’t pan out for you on the job front, don’t cross them off of your contact list. Keep them in the loop about your job search and your career goals. While they may not have been able to make if happen for you this time, you never know what they might be able to do for you in the future. Your most promising business contact may be someone you already know.

You Can Find Free Deals and Discounts at Slick Deals Where can you go when you want to find the best deals on the net? Where can you turn to when you need quality advice before making a major purchase? How can you make sure that you never pay too much for something again? This is where slickdeals.net comes in. Slick Deals is a great website for finding what you are looking for, and making sure that you never pay too much again. Tips and Hints for Searching on Slick Deals Slick Deals is home to an advanced search engine that allows you to compare the prices of different items, both small and big ticket, and compare prices. This website allows you to make sure that you can always find the lowest price and never overpay again. Here are some hints and tips for searching for the best deals on Slick Deals. First, if at all possible, make sure that you have the SKU number on the item you are searching for on hand. Using the SKU number allows you to search for the right item at all times. The SKU number will vary in length and number-letter combination, depending on the kind of object or item you are shopping for. Avoid using parentheses when you are searching for something. Avoid using negation modifiers that will potentially exclude items from your search. You should also avoid hyphens in your search. This will tend to filter out more potential search hits, rather than pull up more potential choices. For the Latest Deals on Slick Deals, Check the Front Page When you are looking for the latest deals on Slick Deals, you will want to make sure that you check the front page. The default front page is also home to the newest deals. By defaults, you will only see deal titles when you first log onto the Slick Deals website. All of the deals on this front page are color-coded. You will find that ongoing deals are displayed in a bold blue tone. Expired deals are displayed in a gray color. To find out more about these front-page deals, simply click on the title. Then the deal will expand and you will be able to read more about the deal. Once you have read all the information you want, simply click on the title once again to close the window. To find out more about deals of the whole day, click on the day bar. When you click on the day bar, all the deals of the day will expand so you can read the details. Simply click the day bar once more to close the deals. How to Share Deals with Friends The Slick Deals website makes it easy for you to share deals with other interested parties. If you would like to share a deal that you find on Slick Deals, simply choose one of the following three methods. You can share a great deal with a friend by selecting the 'Tell a Friend' button that is available for each deal. Clicking on this link allows you to send a friend an email, informing them about the deal on Slick Deals. Another easy way to contact a friend or potentially interested friend is to send them an instant message using AOL Instant Messenger. Simply select the 'AIM' button for this option. Another easy way to send a copy of the deal to a friend is to send them a permalink using another form of communications. You can also leave your own opinion or review of the deal by selecting the Comments link. Slick Deals relies on user-driven content to establish a vibrant and informative website geared directly for consumers.

How to Work the Internet to your Advantage in a Job Search Are you on the hunt for the perfect job? If you need a new job and you are spending every day running out and buying a paper and flipping through the classified ads, you are way out of date. The newest way to find a job is to use the Internet in your job search. After all, nearly everything else people do these days is done online, so why not looking for your next job. The best part is that the Internet is much better than the classified ads in your local paper when it comes to finding a job you love. When you search for a job online, you have a world of employment opportunities right at your fingertips. There are many ways you start your search for jobs online. There are several websites that are dedicated just to job hunting. On these kinds of sites, you can search through a database of literally thousands and thousands of jobs until you find some that appeal to you. Most of these websites let you search for jobs using many different criteria, from job location to job field to starting salary to jobs that let you work from home. These websites can be a wonderful way of getting a feel for what kind of jobs are out there and what the going rate of pay is for any job in any industry, and how that pay fluctuates regionally. In addition, these sites are also ideal if you are thinking of moving, and want to move to someplace you can find a job. If you don’t care where you move, you can look for cities where the job market is hot. If you know where you want to move, you can look for jobs in your desired city and get the inside track on the job market from no matter where you are. Additionally, on these job listings websites, you can upload your own resume to the site. That way, you can apply to jobs through the website with the click of a button, and potential employers can find you when they are looking for someone with your skills. Another way you can use the Internet to your advantage when you are hunting for a job is to build your own job hunting website. Create a website that showcases your resume and all of the work experience you have. You can set out your career objectives and show off any special skills you have. Having your own website is a great way to direct potential employers to where they can find more information about you and is a handy way of getting the message across about skills or achievements you have that may not be right for inclusion on your resume. If all of this sounds like casting the net a little too wide for your tastes, the good news is there are now local job listings websites in most towns. These websites work in much the same way was the larger job hunting websites, but they only list local jobs and only allow local workers to upload their information. Remember that the Internet cuts both ways when looking for a job. Just as you might Google a potential employer, so they may Google you. Be thoughtful about what you post about yourself on the Internet. If you don’t want your potential boss to know about that time you had too much to drink and passed out in your friend’s front lawn, don’t post the picture online. Likewise, be careful when blogging about political, religious or off-color topics. Almost anything you say online can be traced back to you, and may be used against you in a job hunt.