I’ve asked Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns to do a guest post today on the importance of networking during your job search and interview process.
 
A few months ago Lisa began a new job that offered her a 70% pay increase over her last job as well as many new and exciting challenges. Her extensive networking helped her gain this amazing new job. Check out her tips below whether you’re currently job searching or not!

If I had to give 3 words of advice to someone who is looking for a job right now, my 3 words would be: network, network, network.I am sure we are all familiar with the old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I used to kind of grumble about this – up until last fall when I started looking for a post-MBA position. The career advisement office for my MBA program really emphasized the importance of establishing connections with employees that work at the companies I was interested in. Once I started networking, I realized that getting a job was still about what you know – networking was just the tool for letting that future employer know what your skill set was and showing them how interested you are in their company.

After having gone through an intense and rigorous recruitment process, here is the advice I would give on how to properly network to a new and exciting position. Keep in mind – this is what worked for me, it’s not the “Holy Grail” of networking, but it should give you an idea of how to get started!

1. It’s never too early to start networking
Networking is a pretty time consuming process and in my case, I had to network with multiple people at my company. The sooner you get started on this, the better. I started about 4 months before my first round interview and definitely could have started even earlier. As I got closer to my interview date, I was meeting with people 2-3 times a week, which was difficult to balance since I was working full time and going to school in the evenings. Had I started earlier, it would have made for a much more manageable schedule!

2. Utilize your alumni database
Most colleges and university maintain some sort of alumni database with information about where their students now work. This is especially the case for business school since they know that getting a job is all about networking. Even if you have already graduated years ago, you should still be able to access this database. If you aren’t sure where to start – talk to your alumni office, they should be able to point you in the right direction. Once you have gathered some contacts, call or email them and ask to set up an informational interview.

3. Make it convenient for the person you are meeting
This is kind of obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. When I was setting up coffees with the people I met with, I also met with them within a couple of blocks of their office and asked what time of day worked best for their schedule.

4. Come prepared with questions
I can’t stress the importance of this one enough. Make sure you come prepared. They are going to walk into your meeting expecting that you’ve done your homework. I always typed up my list of questions – sometimes we’d get to all of them, sometimes we wouldn’t. Common questions I would ask were: “What do you like best about this job?” “What can I expect during the interview process?” “What skills/abilities make a person in this role successful?” “What do you wish you would have known when you applied for this job?”

5. Bring your resume, but don’t give it to the contact unless asked
Some of the people you network with will ask for your resume, some won’t. I wouldn’t recommend giving it to them unless they ask for it. Not everyone you meet with is going to be able to help you get a job with the company. For instance, if someone contacted me to do an informational interview, I would be happy to meet with them, but I wouldn’t really be able to do anything with their resume if they gave it to me.

6. ALWAYS send a thank you right away
I usually sent a hand written thank you note. I kept a box of them at my desk at work so I could write one out when I got back from having coffee with a contact. If you are meeting with someone in the technical field, it might be more appropriate to send an email. You have to think about the culture of the company when deciding between sending the thank you via email or snail mail.

I hope this helps! Initially, it was sort of intimidating to approach people I didn’t know, but after the first 1 or 2 meetings, I got more and more comfortable. Networking is a lifelong skill, so the sooner you start developing it, the better. Even though I landed a great job, the networking didn’t end there – it’s something I will do throughout my career!

Good luck!

Thank you, Lisa for those awesome and informative tips!

Readers, do you have anything further to add to Lisa’s networking tips? Have you ever used networking to help you gain a great postions? Discuss in the comments.

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Hey guys, I’m busy cramming for my two finals that I have today so I’ve arranged a guest post. Please welcome Jess, today we will be discussing tips and tricks for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while balancing a 40+ hour work week.

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Hey everyone. This is Jess from over at Run Girl Run and I’m writing today’s guest post for Amber’s Monday Meetings series. Today’s topic is how we can continue to maintain healthy lifestyles when making the switch from full-time student to full-time employee.

In college, I remember how much easier it was to fit in workouts. Sure, I was super busy with class and work and my five million and one extra curriculars, but my schedule was more flexible. Some days I had a few hours here or there between classes where I could work out in the afternoon. Other days I had to wait until all my classes were over, but I was always done with workouts and class by 7 or 8 most nights, which left me with plenty of time to finish homework, study and catch up on all my TV.

Now that I’m working, flexibility is gone from my schedule. I’m in the office from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. most days and have a commute that takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

Finding time to be healthy by fitting in workouts and planning and cooking healthy meals was a real challenge once I graduated. But I’ve somehow managed to make healthy living and the 40-hour work week go hand in hand for the most part. Sure, I have my lazy, unhealthy days, but not everyone is perfect.

Here are a few of the things I’ve found helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

1. Make good use of the weekends. I do all my grocery shopping over the weekend so I’m not totally rushed and I can pick good foods that I can use to make quick, healthy meals during the week. Plus on the weekend you can fit in a longer work out that you might not have had time for during the week.

2. Workout DVDs are your friends. I’ve found this especially true in the winter when the days are short and I don’t have a ton of motivation to leave the house after work. Most DVDs are short, but still provide lots of variety and a good workout. I’m a big fan of Jillian’s 30 Day Shred.

3. Go for a run (or walk) during lunch. A lunch break is a great time to sneak in a little bit of activity. I’ve found if I run when it’s chilly out, I don’t sweat enough to need a full shower. So I can save time with just a quick rinse, some deodorant and a pony-tail. (Note: I only use the run during lunch plan if I don’t have an important meeting in the afternoon.)

4. The DVR is your friend. In college I could fit my workout and shower in before my favorite shows came on. I can’t do that anymore, but I don’t mind missing shows because I know I can watch them online the next day. If my coworkers as me about them the next day at the office I tell them I missed the episode but I plan on catching up that night.

5. Pack your lunch. It’s healthier for your waistline and your wallet.

What other tips do you have for maintaining a healthy lifestyle after you graduate?

I’ve re-read this post from RunningLaur many, many times this weekend. My first weekend alone was hard and there were a few tears, but it was also really, really busy. I went to the rodeo, cleaned, organized, ran, cooked, went for drinks with friends, rearranged furniture, the list goes on.

If you missed the post about my big life change, check it out here. Thank you so much for all your amazing and kind words. I’ve read and re-read the comments on this post.

I really like the tips here for making a long-distance relationship work and I think that most of them apply to me and Eric already. Please welcome RunningLaur from When I get a little run run run…

Hi, Girl with the Red Hair readers! This is RunningLaur, and it wasn’t until Amber asked for guest posts on long distance relationships that I realized I’d been in one for 4 years. Of course I knew that I had been in one, but the 4 years thing was a little bit of a surprise. Wow!

A little bit of background for you. The fiancé and I knew each other previously but didn’t see too much of each other until we started dating during a summer break from college. He was working full time in our home town and I was attending college about 2 hours away. At the end of the summer, we decided that we’d try to make things work when I returned to school. 

We never had any sort of official discussion covering “we will see each other every X weeks,” “we will talk on the phone every X days,” or “you can and cannot do X.”. While it may have been a good idea to lay down ground rules, we both had a good understanding of boundaries for ourselves and each other without it.

We spent 4 years like this.  I spent summers at home; falls, winters, and springs 2 hours away; and one semester abroad – during which time we didn’t see each other for more than 3 months.  Now we live together on the other side of the country, and love it.  

So why do I think our relationship worked out so well?

1.  First things first, we really got along well with each other, and had all of the makings of a good relationship either way.  If a short-distance relationship isn’t going to work, a long-distance one isn’t likely to either.   

2.  We both made time for each other, but didn’t require that time be made.  The fiancé was amazing in that he was the one who traveled to see me most often.  I made sure to get my schoolwork done during the week so that I’d be able to spend time with him on weekends.  If the weather was bad and he couldn’t drive, no big deal – it was more important to be safe.  If I had a ton of work to do, no big deal – it’d be worth the wait to see each other when I was sane. 

3.  We still allowed the other person happiness / fun while apart.  I think when relationships lack this, resentments are bound to build.  We always had full trust in the other person, and it always worked out for us.  As a wild college student, I was still able to go out and have a crazy fun time if he wasn’t there (say, a Monday night at the Phyrst, or Wednesday afternoon at Pickles…), because it really was good clean fun.  If he was too wiped out to visit for a weekend, there were no fears that maybe he was really seeing another girl instead. 

4.  We balanced our time together.  Some weekends there were big events planned like football games, parties, and pre-planned shenanigans.  Some weekends we’d just sit around and watch tv, eat a pizza, and sleep.  It gave us the chance to do exciting memorable things together, but also to not have the constant pressure of needing to do an activity.  If we just wanted to relax and spend time together, so be it. 

In the end, our long distance relationship worked because we had a very good relationship in general, and didn’t stress the long distance part of it.  It was a blessing in that it allowed me to devote time to school without guilt.  It taught us that we trust each other exceptionally, and that we can each be worthy of holding that trust.  For us, a long distance relationship was just what we needed at the time, and I’ve very happy to have had it

 Amber here; alright, you guys have already given me TONS of great tips on making my LDR work; so let’s compile them all here on this post. What’s your best, most fun, most original tip for making an LDR work and keeping a relationship going strong over time and distance?