One thing that many people feeling stuck in their job search don’t realize is how useful getting out to events can be for them. For starters, being around people is almost always an emotional positive. If they’re in the same boat as you, then you know you aren’t alone in this sad situation. If they’re working, well, then perhaps you’ve found a connection that will turn out to be the key piece in getting to that next great gig.
So going to things like ProMatch and CSix, both of which I highly recommend, are good. But getting to Lunch 2.0, JHTC and SDforum events is even better. For instance, I ran into Scoble at today’s Lunch 2.0 at Oracle (his blog post about it) as well as making some good connections within Oracle and with other folks, plus a free nice lunch (better than the typical pizza usually served) and a red t-shirt that Oracle had made up for the meeting (that is, the text and graphics include today’s date and the Lunch 2.0 logo). Frankly I usually don’t bother with the t-shirts any more but how often do you get a good-looking red one instead of black or white?
And anyone who reads this and would like to meet anyone at a JHTC event, just introduce yourself to me and I’m your man. Next month (Nov. 13) we have an excellent program, our annual venture invessting panel featuring Ann Winblad, Tom Foremski and Barry Kramer. January our featured guest is Marina Gorbis, executive director of Institute for the Future. Plus these are both free.
Enough proselytizing. Get out of your house and find events where you can meet people working in the jobs and companies that are a good fit for you!
BillSaysThis 