The Road Less Travelled

Your MatchGirl, gentle readers, has been freelancing since her layoff in January.

This has been an interesting ride for a girl who always takes the safe steps. The secure path. But the more I think about it, I wonder how secure that path has really been.

It's been the easy path. Yeah. That's right. It's been the easy one.

And I'm done with the easy path.

Because the easy path hasn't brought me the security that it was supposed to. It didn't bring me a 401K or a ton of money or a house with two cars in the yard... The easy path has just been the not scary one.

So now, dear ones, your MatchGirl is on the scary path. The one she's not quite sure where it leads. There may be bumps ahead, but there might be mountains to get to the top of. All I can do is keep travelling down it, making choice as I go along.

What path have you taken, gentle readers? What is the scary choice that you've made lately? And was it for the best?

I want to know.

Gut Feeling

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl has posted here, many times, about how important it is to follow your heart. Especially in your job search. In the quest for your career. And I've written before about facing your fears.

Some of these things I wrote when I was employed, some when I was unemployed. Some I wrote having faced the problems. Some I wrote not having truly dealt with them at all.

But, dear readers, you know that your MatchGirl would never give you advice that she herself would not take.

So today I remind you to follow your gut. Face your fears. And don't only dream your dreams, but figure out how to live them.

If I can do it, even if tenuously right now, then you most certainly can, too!

You: The Brand | Part Four - Make It Work

Gentle readers, on Tuesday, your MatchGirl promised to come back to you with some tips on taking all that you've learned over the last few posts - your new resume, your awesome social media presence and a little bit of chutzpah - and making them work together. To sell yourself to people you've never met before, to people you're just meeting and to people who you really want to get to know.

This is something your MatchGirl has written about before, for her friends at Brokelyn and for the fine folks at Social Media Week NYC, and it's something that I'd like to share with you.

Here are my five points to remember when attending a networking event or trying to sell yourself to a prospective employer:

1. Elevator Pitch: I've been talking about this since 2010, and I've written about it several times. Practice this. Most times you only get two to three minutes to tell your story. Make these minutes count.

2. Listen as much as you speak: Something else that your MatchGirl has touched on here. You need to remember that looking for a job, promoting your brand and building your business is all built on connections.

3. Keep moving: If you're at a networking event, don't spend the entire evening talking to one or two people. Move around the room. Excuse yourself and talk to some new faces. That's why you're there, after all!

4. Follow Up: After the event, or an interview, or even an impromptu meeting, where you've grabbed a business card, follow up. Shoot the person an email, connect on LinkedIn, or even Tweet at them to say hi. Keep the lines of communication open.

Changing the Conversation

Today, gentle readers, your MatchGirl must announce some changes to this little blog.

It's served me well, since its inception, nearly three years ago. And it has evolved as my life has changed. And, as my life continues to evolve and change, Unemployed Brooklyn must, as well.

Don't fear, I'm not doing away with it.
There is far too much going on right now, in the current political and employment landscape to abandon it. There is too much at stake.

That said, dear ones, I will be keeping this blog focussed on issues that affect the American people as a whole. And, of course, I will follow the Republican primary (will tomorrow's, in NH, be telling?) and the general election. And any issues that may arise. From time to time I will share a piece on job hunting, interviewing or general personal development.

But as I have been spending more and more of my time thinking on topics related to social media, brand building and online relationships (and in a very different way than I *used* to thin of online relationships), I have decided to launch a new platform on which to share these thoughts. You can find that at brianacampbell.net. And, of course, if you want to check out how my home life is faring, swing on over to A Precious Environment.

Thanks to all of you for joining me on this adventure... let's keep going!

The New Great Depression

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl is a bit terrified. Terrified of what's coming down the pike. Terrified of what is going to become of us.


In reading this piece in the Washington Post earlier this week, I realized that we really are coming to the next great depression in America.


The article, an adaptation of Bruce Springsteen's intro to Someplace in America: Tales From The New Great Depression, reminisces about a book that came out 30 years ago, by the same authors, filled with pictures and stories of ordinary Americans just struggling to get by.


Springsteen writes:

That book — “Journey to Nowhere,” by Dale Maharidge and Michael S. Williamson — put real lives, names and faces on statistics we’d all been hearing about throughout the ’80s. People who all their lives had played by the rules, done the right thing and had come up empty, men and women whose work and sacrifice had built this country, who’d given their sons to its wars and then whose lives were marginalized or discarded. I lay awake that night thinking: What if the craft I’d learned was suddenly deemed obsolete, no longer needed? What would I do to take care of my family? What wouldn’t I do?

Without getting on a soapbox, these are the questions Maharidge and Williamson posed with their words and pictures. Men and women struggling to take care of their own in the most impossible conditions and still moving on, surviving.

Gentle readers, is this not the same thing we've been talking about for the past (over) three years? What happened to this country, the political rut we are stuck in, occurred be cause we as citizen's were too blinded by the glitter of a small economic boom to see failure coming. What has happened to this country has happened to this country before, yes, in the poverty and layoffs of the 80s - where manufacturing jobs started on their inevitable decline - but also in the wake of the "roaring twenties."

Extremes, dear ones, are not sustainable.

The failure that we didn't see coming - how stupid were we. Plants started shutting down in the midwest and the south. The family farm started getting eaten by the factory farm. Wages were cut in half and half again (The great book Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town, by Nick Reding details well what the loss of these types of jobs has done to our country). Towns started to die. This started in the 1980s.

But what did we do? As citizens?
Sure, we donated to FarmAid, but FarmAid still exists. Thirty years later we're still begging for donations to help the family farm. And, maybe, in some places, this is coming. And maybe, as more people really want to know where the food they're eating comes from, we'll see their lives improve. We'll see.

We bemoaned the loss of "real American jobs." We watched Roger & Me. But what else did we do?
Did we "buy American"? Maybe.
Did it help? Not so much.
Because those American cars, at least parts of them, were being manufactured in Mexico and Taiwan and loads of other places where the labor was/is cheap and labor laws barely existent.

What we did not do, gentle ones, is look at the core problem.
What we did not do is to invest in education.
What we did not do was look at spending money now to teach people to be more prosperous in the future.

My generation, Generation X for those of you who pay attention to those things, is the first generation to be, overall, worse off than the one before it. Let's not let it keep getting worse for the ones who come after us.

Let's let our leaders - the ones in office, they work for us, you know - know that we want them to think long term. That we want them to invest in education and innovation. That we want them to look beyond creating 5,000 for the next 3 years and figure out how to create 5,000,000 over the next thirty.

Let's learn a lesson from our past - for once - and push push push for an American where there is a priority placed on learning to the highest level, of the skills that will build a future and carry us forward into the 22nd century.

Sure, we won't be around to see it, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy investment.

Collaboration

Gentle readers, as many of you know, at the beginning of this year, your MatchGirl joined the street team of Seth Godin's Domino Project. I believe I reflected on it for the first time in February of this year. And I got my first big jolt of inspiration after devouring Godin's Poke the Box- and wrote about it here.

The thing is, dear ones, your MatchGirl continues to be inspired and motivated by this project, even though it has officially come to an end.

What is it that's kept me so motivated?
It's keeping in touch with the other members of the street team, scattered throughout the world.
It's watching them take deep breaths and do the scary things they weren't sure they could do.
It's being part of the community.
And it's keeping the collaboration going.

Your MatchGirl is a big fan of collaboration.
Of coming together.
It's part of why she was so excited to help in the founding of Work It Brooklyn. And why she continues to encourage all of you to come together.

Through working together, we can make good ideas great.
We can make small accomplishments big achievements.
We can turn the germ of an idea into something that will change the world.

No one can do it alone, though.
I promise you that, gentle ones.
No matter who you are. No matter how big your personality. No matter how much money you have. No matter who your parents are.
Anything you do solo in this world can only be made better by coming together with other smart people. Whether they code or write or market or keep your ego in check. If they give you answers and keep your ego in line (no matter your talent) they're worth your time.

What's the best collaborative project you've worked on? What inspires you to keep connecting and collaborating? I'd love for you to share your stories with me.

Year In Review

Ah, gentle readers, as December rolls in and 2011 comes to a close, it's time that your MatchGirl started to think of all the changes that have occurred in the past year.

There are a lot.

Friends have gotten married and divorced. Babies have been born. Celebrations have been shared. Losses have been mourned.

Boyfriend started a new job just to start another a couple of month later.

Your MatchGirl got a promotion. She met some really cool people. She started speaking more. Writing more. Networking more.

The year has flown and sometimes I wonder, "What do I have to show for it?"
I'm still skint, after all.

But, gentle readers, though money is a big concern (especially living in New York; especially as we move forward and start to plan the rest of our life together and all that awesome yet pricey stuff that goes with it), it's not everything. It can't be. It shouldn't be.

Looking back at the past year, money aside, your MatchGirl has a lot to be excited about. A lot to be proud of. A lot to be grateful for.

Here are some, by no means all, of the highlights:

• Boyfriend and I moved in together. Solidifying an already strong relationship. Moving forward into some serious, fun and terrifying territory.
• I got a promotion. After doing all the social media for my company, without it as part of my job description, my hard work and initiative was rewarded with a change in title and responsibility (and a new desk on the "cool" side of the office).
• The Domino Project, powered by Amazon, conceived of by Seth Godin, invited me to be part of the Street Team. Through this project, I met an amazing and supportive group of people. We share visions and projects and support each other how we can, with the resources that we've got. Some projects mean more to some than others and it all goes around. But this is a smart group of people, scattered across the globe. I'm proud to have been chosen for this project and honored and humbled to be amongst them.
• I made some new friends. I love my "urban family" (ht Nick Ramsey), the one that has been growing since I've been in New York - the one I spend holidays with, celebrate weddings and birth announcements and crazy dance parties with, the one that holds me up when I am down - but I've been really excited to meet some new people - who work in my industry, who share my passions, who offer helping hands "just because" - and to get to know them as friends. You all know who you are. Thanks for coming into my life.
• I celebrated. I saw friends - old and new - bring gorgeous children into this world. I traveled, and stayed home, for weddings of people who mean the world to me. I laughed at speeches by multiple brothers-of-the-groom. I cried at at least one first dance. 
• I traveled. Not far, but to places new and old. With Boyfriend. We brought out the the worst and the best in each other. And we explored the ideas of new possibilities for the two of us, as we build our life together.

What changes has 2011 brought into your life, dear readers? What are some of the best things that have happened to you?

What do you wish for in 2012?

I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments.

Discipline

I've been losing it lately, gentle readers. My discipline that is.

Bear with me as I wrap my head around the balance of work, life, the holidays, and sharing my musings with you in this small space.

Your MatchGirl has always been good at managing her time and her productivity. At not needing hands to lead her. At not needing too much guidance.

That said, she has never been exactly what one would call disciplined.
To write, though, one needs some discipline.
And so it goes.

Rookie

Have you checked Rookie out?

You really should.
And not because your MatchGirl thinks that you need tips on fashion, the latest cool band, or why losing your V-card is such a big deal. Those things, of course, are all covered in Rookie.(If you're my age-ish, you'll harken back to Sassy RIP and for good reason, Jane Pratt is the "fairy-godmother" of Rookie.) It's a magazine for teenage girls.

But check it out.
Check out its contributors.
Check out its founder.

Fifteen year old Tavi Gevinson made waves in the high end fashion world as a pint-sized fashion blogger three years ago. She wowed the right people and made the right connections and instead of being a one season novelty correspondent, she's still around. She's 15. And she's the editor of her own magazine.

There's a lot we can learn from Tavi, gentle readers.
She's a smart kid. But a regular kid. She has friends and fears and ups and downs and is a fairly normal teenager (save that "Rookie" empire thing) it would seem.

But, here's the thing. And here is what makes her so very different than other people. Than many of you reading this tome. Than so many people with amazing ideas. Than so many people striving to live a creative life. Than your MatchGirl.
She's brave.
She's herself.
She lives her life marching to her own drummer and holding her head high.
At fifteen, she's a lot braver than many adults I know. She's certainly a lot braver than I feel most days.

She had an idea and she put it out there.

Who knows where her life will take her, she's still a kid, after all, but she's putting herself out there - your MatchGirl knows how hard this is for the average teenage girl, as she recalls how very very hard it was for her wallflower-self way back when - and she's doing the work and she's moving forward.

Dear readers, let's take a page from Rookie, shall we?
Let's keep doing the work, keep putting ourselves out there and keep moving forward.

It's all we can do.

Thanks

Ah gentle readers, what a crazy week this has been.

Your MatchGirl must apologize for the lack of posts. Traveling and celebrating and wishing well ... not so conducive for blog writing. Perhaps very good for my sanity and clarity, however.
I'm sure you've already forgiven my brief silence.

And, as this is the week we give thanks, the time we spend with friends and loved ones - our families away from our families - This will be the only post of this week.


I am certainly thankful for a lot of things in my life. I don't want to take up too much of your time. I'd much prefer that you spend that time with those you are dear to you, who inspire you, who push you, rather than reading this little blog (at least this week, anyway).


Because your MatchGirl feels that we can be constantly inspired.
That we can be constantly challenged.
That we must greet every new obstacle as an opportunity.
That we must face every hurdle with a smile.

And we have friends we can lean on to ensure that happens.
And we have the strength inside ourselves to succeed.

It's a big scary world out there, gentle ones, and I am thankful I get to share my trials and tribulations - joy and sadness - with you. I hope that this tome is something for which you are thankful, as well. Knowing there is someone out there in the same place as you - with the same fears - for me, this is a big deal. Maybe it is for you, too.

So enjoy the time with your loved ones.

Next week, we'll return to our regularly scheduled musings ....

Strike Terror

I'll keep it short, gentle readers. It's Friday and your MatchGirl is sure that you all have loads to accomplish today.

But your MatchGirl has spent the week thinking about her birthday wish. Though my wish for you was that you not take a passive role in your own life, I'd like to posit something else here today. Something that you need to do.

Do something that terrifies you. Do something you'd never expect yourself to do. Do something that makes butterflies swarm your stomach and your blood run cold (if even for a moment). And do it for yourself.

Your MatchGirl is doing it, too. And she promises she'll share with you when the time is right.

But for now...  what terrifying thing will you do?

New Channels for Old School Businesses

Tonight, gentle readers, your MatchGirl is moderating a panel on how to use social media to promote your creative business. It's a Work It Brooklyn hosted discussion. And it's important.

On a call just the other day, a colleague asked if we were doing enough to cater to small businesses. Do digital events and social media conferences preach to the choir, or do they seem open and inclusive, and, to my mind more importantly, educational, to the public at large? Your MatchGirl finds the tech community in New York to be one that's super welcoming and inclusive. But she also agrees that conferences are often expensive and geared towards those already working within the industry.

That's partly why I'm so excited for tonight's Work It Brooklyn event. Through it, we hope to educate people on how to use social media to promote their creative business. To promote themselves. We've got an amazing group of people on board, all of whom have built their own brand and business via online social networks and non-traditional means.

This event will give you a little education on how to use social media platforms, and your existing networks, to promote yourself. The world of social media platforms is about more than looking at pictures of kids and kittens. It's about more than 140 characters of what you had for dinner. It's about more than a fucked up little kid, fresh from the dentist's office.

It's a tool. And what you do with it is up to you.



Interested? Register here.

My Birthday Wish

Yesterday I turned 36.

That's right, gentle readers, your MatchGirl is now officially closer to forty than thirty.
This dear ones, is a big deal.

Maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe it should mean nothing.
I mean, I look young. People mistake me for young all the time. To my advantage and to my disadvantage. And, in fact, when I mention my age and where I'm at in my life, people say things like "It's OK. You don't look in your mid-thirties."

This, gentle ones, is stupid.

Because whether your MatchGirl could pass for 26 or not, it doesn't make any difference at all.
You see, your MatchGirl is not 26. She hasn't been for a decade. And there is no going back.

Your MatchGirl isn't where she thought she'd be at this point in her life, it's true. She's on her way ... maybe ... in the right direction. She's making hard choices. She's trying to move forward as hard and fast as she possibly can. But today, she ponders being thirty-six. What that means and where she should be.

And as she does, and as she knows many of her readers are younger, she wishes you to live life to the fullest. To not wait around for someone else to offer a hand. To ask for what you need. To take a deep breath and work through all the scary stuff and jump right in to where you want to go.

The worse that could happen? You'll get rejected.
And that sucks.

But it sucks a lot harder to look back on parts of your life and wonder where they went.

My birthday wish, gentle readers, is for you to go as hard and long and strong as you can. It's for you to look fear in the face and laugh. It's that you will not be looking back and wondering which decisions you could have made differently.

Don't take a passive role in your life, dear ones. It's not OK.
And it won't get you anywhere.

My birthday wish is that you learn that at an earlier age than your MatchGirl did.

Army Of One

Yeah... you.

You're an army of one.

You're the person who can fix all this bullshit.

You're the person who can fix your own life.

You're the person who can stand up to the bullies.

You're the person who can make the world a better place.

It's not so hard, gentle readers, if you just think about it. You are the most powerful weapon in your arsenal. You are the person who can make the biggest difference in your own life.

Let your MatchGirl share with you a few simple ways you can make a difference in your world.

Vote - not just in the big elections. In the small local ones that effect what happens in your local environment.
Donate - time, money, clothes, blood. Whatever you have. You don't need it all. Donate it to somewhere that can use it.
Speak up - for what you believe in and for those who can't or don't know how to do it for themselves. Engaged in social media networks? Use those channels like a megaphone.

It's simple, dear ones. It only takes a few small actions to accomplish the biggest goals.

And the person who should take the first step? Why, that's you of course.

Generation Gap

By now, gentle readers, you've seen this post: Generation X Doesn't Want to Hear It (if you haven't, click that link and go a check it out. I'll wait). And you've read the comments. And the commentary. And you've formed your opinions on Mat Honan. Maybe you read it as a rant on Occupy Wall Street (personally, your MatchGirl sees how people did, but didn't think about it herself - probably since everyone she knows who is occupying anywhere is well over thirty). Maybe you read something different, something more...

I did.

Your MatchGirl, herself, is very sick of the GenY people who only speak of being GenY. As though that's their accomplishment. That they were born to a certain time. Companies need to bend to them. The world needs to change for them. They can throw a tantrum and get what they want. It's always worked that way, right?

Screw that.

I've got no problem with Millenials (GenY, whatever). A lot of you, dear readers, fit that demographic. Many of my closest friends do, as well. As do some of my talented colleagues and loads of people who I admire and respect.

But here's the difference, those people are out there. They are living their lives to the fullest. They are doing something for others. They are writing code and creating art and making music and changing the world, one step at a time. They are not sitting in their 9-to-5's complaining about how the world is not bending to their needs. They are not sitting there saying that because they are Millenial that everyone should work around them and their needs. They, in fact, don't go around singing that they are GenY from the rooftops.

They are out there.
They are doing.
They are just them.
And who they are is pretty cool.

But that's my complaint about the GenY that we see in the every day. In the media. In the comments of Mat's post.

To those members of GenY, I say: Stop whining. Start doing.

Generation X, of which your MatchGirl is a born in the 1970s, card-carrying member of, doesn't want to hear it. It's true. No one listened to our whining. No one gave us trophies or prizes or a decent living. We make less than our parents did. It's possible, if something doesn't change soon, that our children will be worse off than we are. Our idols are dead. Our high school fashions were terrible. We got a hot five minutes of fame from a book by Douglas Coupland. And then GenY got a little older and, for the most part, Generation X was forgotten.

Your MatchGirl is proud of who she is and where she's from. She's glad of things that she was able to experience, simply by the fact of when she was born. But it's not all that makes me me.

And if you are a member of GenY, it shouldn't be what you're identity is wrapped up in, either. Be you. Shine. Do good. Live well.

As to the rest?
Hell, man, age ain't nothing but a number.

Use Social Media To Your Job Search Advantage

Gentle readers, if your MatchGirl knew half of what she knows now when she was unemployed ... or ... if she was unemployed just a teensy bit later (seriously, so many Hire Me Martha copycats out there right now!), she might not have been unemployed for so very long.

Of course, without spending time amongst the long term unemployed, your MatchGirl might not have become so committed to this little tome.

Putting yourself out there on social networks is all the rage these days (goodness knows your MatchGirl practically lives on them!), so why not make it work for you?

Be an expert. You can do it. You're focused. You know a lot about your chosen field. So prove it. Get yourself on Quora, search LinkedIn discussion groups and answer the questions. On Twitter, search for key words in your area of expertise and start replying to people asking questions about them.

Be a star. Get yourself a Tumblr, a Wordpress site, a Blogger account, a YouTube channel - and start talking. Make video blogs offering advice or how-tos within your field. Your MatchGirl doesn't care if your a pet groomer, a barista or a lawyer. Turn on that webcam ans start talking. Wrangle your roommate into taking video with your digital camera. It doesn't need to be perfectly shot. You just need to say the right stuff.

Don't let others tell you you're crazy. It's a tough world out there. Competition is huge for any job you apply for. Just getting your resume and cover letter seen is like climbing Everest. Why not take advantage of all you've learned farting around social networks and websites and make them work for you?

Good luck, dear readers. Your MacthGirl knows you can do it!

Follow Your Dreams

This morning, I woke up in a hotel in Bogotá, Colombia.

I'm here to represent my company for Social Media Week. And I'm stoked.

With my recent promotion, to Head of Social Media, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what got me here and where it can take me. I've been thinking about the people who have helped me along the way and what I have learned from all my experiences.

This path is my own.

No one else could have made it for me. I could not have imagined it five years ago, let alone in the mid-90s, when I was graduating from University.

Catching up with a friend the other day, I told her of the new title and she looked at me, eyes wide, and said "That is so perfect for you."

It might have taken me a long time to get to where I'm going, but I'm very happy to be on the right path!

Money Talks

A few weeks back, gentle readers, your MatchGirl published a post highlighting the importance of getting paid what you are worth. This is something, unfortunately, that plagues so many as we continue in this economy.

There are people who are employed, full-time, but still struggling to make ends meet.

There are people who are under-employed, constantly struggling.

There are those who are unemployed, who are happy to take any job that comes their way.

And then there are those who make plenty to live on - perhaps not luxuriously so, but enough - who complain that they still need more.

It's rough in a city like New York, where the cost of living is so very high, but these people exist in every corner of the globe.

Though your MatchGirl knows it's impolite to speak of money, sometimes, one needs to talk about it. Sometimes one needs to get out there and make their voice heard. Because how else are you going to get paid more money? How else are you going to talk to your boss or find a new job or let your network know that you need something more?

Your MatchGirl, dear readers, knows that it's hard to talk about. She has the same problems as you do.

So here is the question for you - how do you approach these issues? These conversations?

You're valuable. How do you make sure to get paid what you know you're worth?

Turn Turn Turn: The Cycle of Long Term Unemployment

In a recent item on The Huffington Post, Alan Krueger's study results announced that the long term unemployed looked for jobs less and slept more.

Gentle readers. Your MatchGirl is no scientist. But she was among the long-term unemployed.

Krueger and Mueller offered three likely explanations for the decline in job-search durations. First, workers could have run through most of the decent jobs to apply for. Second, they could have gotten better at searching and needed less time to scan and respond to ads. And third, they could have gotten discouraged and quit looking.

And as someone who was unemployed for 18 months, your MatchGirl knows a thing about the cycle of unemployment. Someone who is among the "long term unemployed" is someone who has been without a job for six months or more. And, as many of you know, gentle readers, from your own unemployment (as that's how so many of you came across this little blog), in this economy that time is often longer.

I remember the days of unemployment existing in cycles. Some weeks would be all about the hustle, writing emails, sending resumes, working on cover letters and scouring the job boards. But other weeks would be slow and depressing. Because there would be no worthwhile, or, you know, paying, jobs to apply for and there would no one to send anything to. In those times, your MatchGirl worked on her own creative projects and her own blogs and took classes, but not everyone does that. Not everyone wants to. Not everyone can.

Job searching is a job in itself. And rarely a rewarding one. Some mornings there are loads of jobs to apply to and a ton of business cards in your pocket to reach out to. Other mornings... not so much - just the same six jobs that had been taunting you for the past three days. What are you supposed to do? Then you take a day or two (or more) off from truly looking because, though you've followed up with everyone you can, you can't even get a response to an email, let alone an offer of an interview. And who wants to be so bummed out? So you surf the web and play Words With Friends and you watch some daytime television and fall asleep early. Then you wake up one morning excited to look again and you send out some emails and ... And so the cycle goes.

Someone who has never been one of the club cannot truly and fully appreciate the nuances and difficulties of this cycle. But we can, gentle ones. We've been there. We know how the story ends.

So, forget this study. Sleep if you're tired (though not if you're depressed, that's just no good). Look for jobs. Apply for things that are worth your while. And make your own magic happen.

Good luck, dear readers. I believe in you!

One More Networking Tip: Listen

As you know, gentle readers, tonight is the Work It Brooklyn event at Brooklyn Winery. I hope you've registered and we'll see you there.

Last week your MatchGirl wrote a post for long-time friend of Unemployed Brooklyn, Brokelyn, in which she advised you all on How To Work It Best at Work It Brooklyn and, of course, any networking even you might find yourself attending.

I wanted to add one more, though, dear readers. Briefly.

Listen.

This is something that is hard to do. Of course, you are at a networking event to promote yourself, to meet people who can help you, to find a new job or a freelance gig. You're there with your own agenda. Everyone is.

But this is something that I have learned, in years of going to these events and in over a year and a half of facilitating Work It Brooklyn, listening to those around you takes you very far. Listening to the person you are speaking with, truly listening, will open up a million avenues for you. You'll learn what they do and where they work and what they are there to find. During this time, don't think about what you're going to say or what you might say, just listen. And when they're done speaking, they'll listen to you. You'll find out who they're connected to, and, you just never know, they might be able to facilitate an introduction to someone you've been hoping to meet.

This is tip number eight.

What is your best networking advice?