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February 21, 2006
How to Meet People Who Want to Form Mutually Beneficial Networks
February’s discussion on the eSight Networking Forum has added a new dimension to my understanding of networking.
Yes, networking is connecting with another person. But, after reviewing comments from eSight bloggers and the insights from Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII, Rodney Haynie and Jeremiah Taylor, I realize that connection needs to be on a human level. It can’t be on auto pilot.
Effective networking is being authentic and genuine. It’s more than walking in another’s shoes. It’s more like taking turns at being a sighted guide for each other. You respect each other’s needs. You never leave the other person in “free space.” You stay one step ahead of the person you are guiding.
In other words, networking involves having genuine concern for the other person.
Jeremiah, for instance, says he volunteered without pay for his employer after he lost his sight so he had an opportunity to remove the fears of his colleagues and show them he could perform on the job.
He also advises, “Let those interviewing you know you appreciate their concerns and understand their reluctance to hire you.”
That’s being upfront with others -- and being a guide for them.
Read Jeremiah’s story, “How I Dealt With my Sight Loss at 52.”
It’s a new article in today’s Career Management Resources section of eSight.
“Networking is an activity that thrives on mutual benefit. Reaching out to your contacts helps you uncover new opportunities, but ideally you must offer something in return,” writes Nan Hawthorne, a volunteer management expert and author of many eSight articles.
Ollie extends Nan’s “mutual benefit” concept further when he recommends:
"Add value to your networking contacts through displays of genuine appreciation of another's strengths… That builds people up… Help develop partnerships by matching the strengths you discover in others with needs among the people you meet."
That’s taking the mutual benefit approach big time. I believe Dale Carnegie would have agreed with Ollie.
Blogger Liz describes such authenticity this way:
“Be optimistic, be prepared, be honest about your strengths and weakness, be willing to not judge people who you think of as being negative. Many times people say or do inopportune things out of fear or out of ignorance because they haven't had a chance to work with someone with a disability before. Be yourself and be proud of who you are...”
And Ollie adds this observation:
“…I have yet to find someone with a passionate and intense go-getter attitude who does not, in the final analysis, prove to be a success. That is because, in spite of any obstacles that may be faced on a short-term basis, success-minded individuals keep at it and strive to make changes for the better, consequently attracting to themselves success-oriented individuals and identifying real ways to move ahead in a concrete and substantive way that enables achievement to become a true, living, ongoing and ever-increasing reality…”
Successful people who are prepared to help others seem to attract people who are using their personal success to help others.
So, our discussion topic this week is about how to find such people. Consider this question:
When you have a disability, what’s the best way to meet people who are genuinely interested in forming mutually beneficial networks?
Posted by Jim Hasse at 05:29 PM | Comments (6)
February 14, 2006
What Have You Learned From Rodney?
Today, Rodney Haynie, a former programmer/software developer, discusses a couple of disability employment issues he has encountered during his career change into information systems -- a shift he deemed necessary due to the onset of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
I'll let Rodney speak for himself, and I'd like to thank him for sharing his story with us. You'll find a new article, "Rodney Haynie Profile: 'I Decided to Talk Myself Out of the Job,'" about Rodney in eSight's Career Management Resources section.
As Rodney tells his story, he mentions several incidents which made his career transition just a little easier for him.
Note, for instance, that Rodney:
- Had students volunteering to help him with assignments which were not accessible.
- Discovered his telephone screening interviewer knew about JAWS for Windows.
- Had two people from previous client work put in a good word for him during the interviewing process.
- Found the HR person at InfoMC had previous experience with recruiting accommodations at a larger company.
- Received an invitation from InfoMC to come back to complete the interview with the company's CIO.
- Went from unpaid volunteer to full-time employment within two months.
- Is working two days a week from his home -- with the prospect of increasing that to four days at home.
Your answer to this question could help us all:
What have you learned from Rodney's story that you can apply to your own situation?
Posted by Jim Hasse at 03:33 PM | Comments (2)
February 07, 2006
10 Seconds to Who You Are
Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII, Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice kicked off the new eSight Networking Forum last week.
The discussion began with tips about how to "enroll" people we know in our job search.
But something unforeseen -- and fascinating -- happened. We found ourselves talking about "personal branding" as a prerequisite to enlisting the help of others.
Take a look at these snippets I pulled out of our conversation. They illustrate some of the milestones along the way each of us can use to measure how far we've come in developing our own personal brand.
Through personal branding, we:
- Discover what's unique about ourselves.
That's what Jake was emphasizing when he wrote, "No two people are exactly alike," on the eSight Networking Forum.
- Learn to advocate for what works well for us.
We can tell that blogger Carl, for instance, has clear expectations for advocacy situations when he recommended Florida's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation services. "…I have worked with them for four years and find their services exceptional," he said.
- Put our disabilities in perspective.
Last week, for instance, Ollie observed, "…We have nothing to be ashamed of simply because our visual acuity is less than those who are legally sighted…"
- Demonstrate our personal power.
Blogger Liz noted that, as a person with disability, you can reach a stage where you're "prepared, polite, and persistent -- as well as reluctant to pout (if, for instance, what you would like to see accomplished isn't getting done as fast as you think it should)."
- Take personal responsibility for what only we can do.
I suggested that there's maybe some homework that only we can complete "before we start enlisting friends and family in our search for a job that's right for us."
- Establish our presence in the community.
Surendra lives in India and recognizes people with disabilities worldwide face barriers in becoming full members of their local communities. He describes that challenge like this: "It's a struggle for identity in the society…"
I see personal branding as one tool those of us with disabilities can use to gain our "identity in society." Personal branding gives us permission to be ourselves, to be true to ourselves.
Remember, personal branding is a preparatory step for networking. A quick way to tell if we have done our personal branding "homework" is to revisit some of these six milestones our bloggers identified last week.
Another way to check if we have done our "prep" work for networking is to look at how we introduce ourselves to strangers in a setting and moment when repeating our 10-second Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is appropriate.
For more detail about developing your USP, see the eSight article, "Developing Your 10-second Unique Selling Proposition."
eSight is your network -- a safe place to try new things you may have not done before (like developing your 10-second USP).
So, please step up to your keyboard now and introduce yourself to your fellow eSight members. You're among friends and may receive some constructive feedback that will help you take the next step in building your career.
Here's my "trial" introduction (one I haven’t really used in real life yet):
"I'm Jim Hasse. I have a passion for learning how to live well with vulnerability. As a certified Career Development Facilitator, I coach people with disabilities who want to learn new skills in career development so they can find meaningful jobs."
Post your "trial" or much-used introduction.
Posted by Jim Hasse at 04:52 PM | Comments (5)