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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.

Great Free Gift Idea – How to Get Official Presidential Greetings for a Loved One Are you ready for the most official gift idea ever proposed? Do you know someone who enjoys collecting authentic autographs and memorabilia? Or perhaps you know someone who has a good sense of humor and enjoys a gag gift on those special occasions? If this is the case, you may be interested in a great free gift idea—procuring an official presidential greeting for a loved one. Here is the run-down on how you can get a hold of this awesome gift idea. Believe it or not, getting an official presidential greeting is easier than you might think. Did You Know that the White House Offers Free Greetings? It is true—the White house offers free greetings for those very special occasions. These free greetings are official and recognized by the White House and the Office of the President. However, you should know that there are numerous restrictions to procuring these free presidential greetings. Unfortunately, the White House is not currently able to fulfill all the requests for official presidential greetings at this time. However, if you are truly interested in landing a free and very official presidential greeting for a loved one, it is worth giving it a try. As the old saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. How to Make Your Request for an Official Presidential Greeting How can you go about making an official request for an official presidential greeting? There are several ways you can request a presidential greeting directly from the White House. There are several ways to make your official request. There are three basic routes for requesting an official presidential greeting from the White House. You can make your official request for a presidential greeting through fax, by postal mail, or by filling out an online email form. Although no one method appears to be considerable more effective than any other, some successful recipients of an official presidential greeting swear that you are more likely to receive a response if you put in your official request through postal mail or fax. However, this may just be a hunch, because it seems that it may seem harder to ignore a written request rather than a virtual email request. As with anything important, you will want to make your request for an official presidential greeting way ahead of time. For instance, if you want to request an official presidential wedding greeting, you will want to make your request well ahead of time. What Kind of Official Presidential Greetings is You Allowed to Request? Although there is no set guideline about what kind of greetings you can request, there are many standard issue presidential greetings. These include birthday greetings, 50th wedding anniversary and higher, births, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, scouting awards and others. Official Guidelines for Requesting Your Greetings For the official guidelines on how to request official presidential greetings from the White House, check out the official White House website. There you will find the official guidelines on how to request greetings from the White House, as well as how to extend an official invitation to the White House. In general, here are some things to keep in mind. The White House will only send out official greetings to U.S. citizens. You must provide the following information: name of the honoree, address of the honoree, form of address, date of birth, birthday, wedding or anniversary, and the requestor's name and daytime phone number. Be aware that the numbers of requests you can make are limited on a per day basis. Requests for multiple institutional requests must be make by fax or mail on official letterhead. When can you expect your official presidential greeting? In general, greetings will be mailed in approximately 14 days prior to the event that is being recognized by the greeting.

Four Ways to Create a Better Work Environment and Increase Job Productivity What kind of environment do you think creates the most potential for job productivity – one in which everything is very regimented and the workers perform their work because they are afraid of “getting in trouble,” or one in which the workers are relaxed and allowed a great deal of freedom and flexibility? It is the great working conundrum – to get workers to do more, you have to let them work less. Further, you have to create a work environment in which work is not stressful. In fact, creating an environment in which work is even enjoyable and a pleasure gets the best results of all! If you want to get your employees to improve their job productivity and job performance, forget about cracking the whip. Instead, think about how you can make coming to work appealing for them, so they actually want to get things done for you! The first way to create a better work environment and increase job productivity comes down very much to your attitude and the way you treat your employees. Make sure you create an environment in which your workers can come to you and discuss work related problems they are having with you. The feedback you get from them will enable to make sure the office is working as efficiently as possible. Additionally, it will allow you to stay on top of everything that is happening in the office much easier – instead of employees trying to hide mistakes and problems from you, they will bring them to your attention and work on finding a solution. Above all else, creating a good relationship with your employees will keep the mood in the office positive – no one likes working for someone who doesn’t appreciate them or casts a black cloud over the office. You’ll get more out of your employees if they are happy when they are at work. The next thing you can do is consider “fun” options, like a dress down day once a week or a weekly office lunch get together. These kinds of shared activities increase the team building and the morale among the workers in your office. When everyone feels like he or she is a member of a team, they will be more likely to feel responsible to each other and perform better at their daily tasks. The third idea for creating a better office environment is related to the second, but has more to do with the actual office itself. Open plan offices are believed by experts to increase feelings of belonging and team membership among employees. Try to encourage shared workspaces and a healthy exchange of ideas between your employees at all times. Again, when employees feel like they are part of a team working together for a common goal, they will be more likely to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain. Last but not least, make sure your employees are well rested and as stress free as possible. Allowing flex time hours in your office is a great way to give employees more control over their time; it gives them time to get rest when they need it or take a day off when they need to recharge. Encourage your employees to disconnect from the office when they are not at work instead of being constantly available, even after hours or when they are on vacation. An employee who actually gets some time off will be more productive when they return to the office. Likewise, make sure that the office has a break room that offers a real respite for employees during the day, and encourage employees to make use of it. Allowing your employees to get they breaks they will increase their ability to deliver for you when they return.