ETP Manalapan

by Thomas E. Kenny

The ETP Network has free weekly teleconference calls to help professionals improve their job search and career management skills. For details please view http://www.etpnetwork.com/

On last night's call during the Q&A segment Rod Colon discussed the importance of advocates during your job search and how to utilize LinkedIn relating to introductions to potential advocates. If you missed the call, a recording is available to CEO members of the ETP Network.

Have you searched for your name on LinkedIn to assure you don't have multiple profiles?

I've found that about 1% of my first degree connections have duplicate LinkedIn profiles. It is very easy for this to happen when you are new to LinkedIn and have not added all your valid email addresses to your first account.

Below is a link to an excellent blog post regarding how to eliminate multiple LinkedIn accounts:
http://www.coherentsalesconsulting.com/blog/do-you-have-multiple-accounts-in-linkedin/

This free event is open to both ETP Network (www.etpnetwork.com) members and non-members.

Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Time: 7:00-8:30PM

Location: Toms River, NJ

Rod Colon the founder and CEO of the ETP Network and the leadership has based many of our principals from Keith Ferrazzi's book "Never Eat Alone", as well as, other classic works and our own experiences.

Although we are not a business leads network and no selling is permitted. Such results may occur for those that are willing to invest in long term relationships via this group.

Space is limited so please request and invite and RSVP by Friday October 17th to avoid disappointment! Please note that all of our past meetings had been reserved to capacity. So if you wish to attend please respond now before it is too late.

If you have any questions please contact us via E-mail at JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com

Last Thursday evening the Jersey Shore Networking Group met in Manalpan NJ. It was a great networking event with excellent sharing of valuable information!

Below is the schedule of upcoming JSNG meetings which are free and open to the public. They will be conducted from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on,
Meeting dates for 2009 have yet to be established yet.

Below is just a sample of the unsolicited testimonials we've received!

Yesterday was the first meeting that I have attended, and I must commend you (and the rest of the group) on a very enjoyable and worthwhile meeting. Having others to support you (and to interact with at a professional level), whether you are "in between assignments" (as I like to call it), or "currently working at", is wonderful since it gives the individuals a new perspective on alternatives possibly available to them , by hearing what others are going through in their lives.
Stated by Batsheva Salberg Ph.D., Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Thanks very much for arranging everything. You did a fantastic job.
Stated by Michael Procopio, Web Services Developer.

Stated by Bob Zimel, OD and Learning Executive.

Invitations will be sent in a week or two for our next meeting in Toms River. If you have not received invitations in the past but wish to receive them for future meetings. Please send a request to be added to the invitation list via E-mail to JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com

LinkedIn wants to assure they keep the spammers out of their system. Thus they put in place many safe guards. One of them being the "I Don't Know" you button in response to receiving an invite. It only takes 5 people to click this button to get your account locked. To get your account unlocked you'll need to click the link at the button of a LinkedIn page for Customer Service and submit a question to plead your case. Realize that once you are this situation you are at LinkedIn's mercy and it will take a while, probably days, to get a response.

Once you do get unlocked you're going to need to be extremely careful as they may not unlock you a second time. Once unlocked, you may even want to withdraw old invitations to reduce the risk of getting locked out of LinkedIn a second time.

When you wish to establish a connection on LinkedIn. It would be best to contact the person outside of LinkedIn (in person, telephone, email) and ask if they are open to receiving a LinkedIn invite. However, if you've lost touch and don't have any way of contacting the person outside of LinkedIn you should customized the text of the invitation. Realize that you may remember the person better then they remember you. Thus it is best to send a personalized message reminding the person how you know each other. You certainly shouldn't write a book, but you should mention not only the company, school or organization, but also some details to help refresh their memory. For example, I once worked on many different projects in a company with over 100K employees. Somebody saying they know me from that company might not help me recall them!

Another best practice is to never use the default canned invite message. Doing such seems to indicate an impersonal attempt to establish a connection, that might not to develop into a warm trusted relationship. Considering that you did not take the time to personalized your invitation.

LinkedIn makes it easy to import your E-mail address book from many different sources. Once LinkedIn has your address book you can broadcast invites to all or a selection of the imported list. This is how people often get their accounts locked, because they don't realize the number of people they have in their address book that are just acquaintances that will likely press the "I Don't Know" you button. Although this is import feature may be a quick and easy way to build your network on LinkedIn it is very dangerous due to the risk of getting your account locked, but in addition you're blasting a generic impersonal message to everybody as well.

It may be time consuming, but connecting with one individual at a time in a personalized custom manner is always a best practice of professional networking. The investment in time is well worth the rewards you'll receive in the future, from your warm trusted network.

You may also wish to review a blog post on this topic by my friend Jason Alba at "I Don't Know You (OUCH!)".

Since many professionals are on vacation during August we won't be meeting this month. However, starting next month we'll plan to meet on a monthly basis and will alternate locations between the Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey. Thus you can attend which ever meeting location is most convenient for you, but of course you are welcome to attend both if they wish.

More details will follow in the weeks to come. But for now please reserve the following dates on your calendar if you are interested in attending future meetings of the Jersey Shore Networking Group.

The September meeting will be on Thursday the 25th in Manalapan, NJ.

The October meeting will be on Tuesday the 21st in Toms River, NJ.

The November meeting will be in Monmouth county NJ but the date and location have not been planned yet.

The December meeting will be on the Tuesday the 16th in Toms River, NJ.

The Jersey Shore Networking Group is a local chapter of the Empowering Today's Professionals Network. Each of the planned meetings listed above are free and open to the public. The purpose of our meetings is to offer career management educational and professional networking opportunities for attendees. These meetings will be from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM with a social gathering for extended networking afterwards at a nearby food and beverage establishment.

If you wish to receive invitations to our meetings, please send email to JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com and include the following:
1. Your first and last name.
2. Your E-mail address.
3. Town of your residence.
4. ETP Network member status: Yes, No or don't know.

By Thomas E. Kenny

Even if you are not a road warrior, many professionals have busy on the go lifestyles. To help support that fast paced lifestyle, almost all of us have cell phones. Below I describe three free services for your cell phone, which can help make you more efficient and knowledgeable while on the go.

Does your cell phone plan charge you for every call you make to directory assistance? If so, consider using 800-466-4411. It is a toll free call that will provide you with free automated telephone directory assistance, thanks to Google.

Have you ever had a question when you were not in front of your computer, that you know you could answer via a Google search? A few weekends back, a friend was telling me that his doctor advised him to take potassium supplements. Being interested in a natural solution my friend stated, “I wonder how many milligrams of potassium are in the average banana?” I said, well I don’t know but we could ask CHA CHA. I then dialed 800-224-2242, and asked that question to their automated system. A couple of minutes later, I received a text message with the answer. My friend was truly amazed!

Last but not least. Do you find you make to do lists, to help you keep track of tasks you need to remember? Well you might want to consider using Jott.com. Once you establish an account with your cell phone number, you can dial 866-568-8123. Their automated system will ask you who you want to Jott, state “myself” and then the message you want to Jott. It will transcribe your message and send it to you via a text message. You can configure your account to also send your Jott message to your E-mail account, that way you don’t have to log into Jott to retrieve your messages. If there is a transcription error you can always listen to the recorded audio, to recall what you wanted to remember. However, Jott has many other features such as:
1. Send your transcribed text message to a group of individuals.
2. Have it read your favorite blogs to you.
3. If you use Gmail you can have Jott read new E-mail messages to you if you are willing to setup some advance tricks.

Well there you have it, three great free services for the busy professional. If you wish to see an online video demo of these services, you may want to view
this link.

At last week's meeting of the Jersey Shore Networking Group I discussed the importance of Email signatures as a form of electronic business card. Thus you can imagine my surprise when my HTML signature was no longer being appended!

This was due to functionality being removed from the Firefox browser add-on known as "Better Gmail2". This feature was removed in version 0.5.3.2 of that add-on and was placed in a new add-on known as the "Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures" add-on.

There are two ways that you can assure your Emails from Gmail will contain your HTML signature.

Either continue to use versions 0.4 through 0.5.2 inclusive of the "Better Gmail2" add-on. Meaning you will need to assure that you never upgrade to the latest version or you can perform the following steps.

1 - Upgrade your Firefox browser to version 3. The new version of Firefox has some very nice improvements. However, note that not all add-ons support Firefox version 3. Thus if you use any other add-ons besides "Better Gmail2" you'll need to carefully consider this option.
2 - Update the "Better Gmail2" add-on. This is accomplished within Firefox via clicking on Tools, Add-ons and Find Updates.
3 - Download and install the "Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures" add-on.
4 - Click the Gmail's Compose Mail link, click the Edit Signature button, paste your HTML signature and click the Save Signature button.
5 - Enter your email address and some text in the subject line and click the Send button to test that your emails contain your Email signature.

If your instance of Firefox has already updated Better Gmail2 to version 0.5.3.2 and you do not wish to upgrade to Firefox version 3. You may click here to download the 0.5.2 version of the "Better Gmail2" add-on.

This past Tuesday, the Jersey Shore Networking Group had its first meeting at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County library.

18 people attended and there were many accolades regarding how valuable in person networking is. It was deemed so valuable by individuals from 3 separate states (NJ, NY and PA) that they traveled 90 minutes or more to attend. They stated it was worth the trip and would attend again!

Thomas E. Kenny and Rod Colon presented educational material regarding career management best practices. Participation was excellent, with many attendees contributing their insights and experiences to the discussions.

After our formal meeting, most of us visited a local coffee shop for additional social networking, where we all got to know each other much better.

The library is an excellent Ocean county venue. Thus we will be planning future meetings at the same location. However, we are also searching for Monmouth county venues and ETP members to assist facilitating meetings in Monmouth county as well.

If you are interested in being on the invitation list or volunteering for future meetings please send email to JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com

For those that missed the meeting, below are the slides that Tom Kenny presented on the topic of Career Management at the meeting.

By Thomas E. Kenny


Until today joining LinkedIn groups has been a hit and miss endeavor. To determine what groups you wanted to join, you either had to view what groups your connections have joined or seek out one of the few web sites that attempted to list LinkedIn groups. In addition to those methods, Google was also performing a beta trial for searching LinkedIn groups.


Today LinkedIn has released a feature to be able to search within the title and description of all 90,000 groups that exist on LinkedIn.


Per LinkedIn's blog on the subject the following features exist.

1. The Groups Directory is accessible from the left navigation as well as the search drop down in the upper right part of the page.

2. Search results return groups that match, based on either the group name or a keyword in the group description.

3. Search results are sorted by group size, with the larger groups appearing at the top.

4. Groups may be filtered by category, including alumni, corporate, conference, networking, non-profit, professional, or other.

5. If you choose not to list your group in the Groups Directory, we have a setting for group managers on the Edit Group Info page.

6. To prevent abuse of the system, users may have up to 10 pending group requests at a time.


Have you ever wondered which LinkedIn group was the first? It was for fans of the podcast called "The Java Posse". This happens to be my favorite podcast. Apparently one of the developers at LinkedIn who originally developed the group feature on LinkedIn is a fan of the podcast.


Enjoy the new feature and be aware that you can only have up to 10 simultaneous pending requests to join groups.

You are cordially invited to the first meeting of ETP's Jersey Shore Networking Group!

This free event is open to both ETP members and non-members and will take place on Tuesday July 22^nd 2008 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. We will be meeting in the Home Town Dairy Conference Room of the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library at 101 Washington St., Toms River, NJ 08753. Click here for directions and more information regarding the library.

There will be an educational presentation and then a round table discussion on how the group may help each attendee. There will also be an opportunity for extended social networking at a near by coffee shop after 8:30 PM for those interested.

Space is limited so please RSVP to Tom Kenny JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com by July 16th to avoid disappointment!

If you are not local to Toms River but are within a reasonable driving distance from Toms River, why not avoid the commuter rush hour traffic on the Garden State Parkway and plan a day trip to visit the Jersey Shore. Maybe you, your family and friends (aka Board of Directors) would enjoy a day at the beach or some other attraction at the Jersey Shore.

For additional information on attractions please visit:
http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/TourismMain.aspx
http://www.oceancountytourism.com/

There are a few things to do in or around the library for your day trip party members that do not wish to attend the event.

· Huddy Park is two blocks away and is adjacent to the Toms River

· The Java Joint is the local coffee shop that is 2 blocks away

· The library has free public Wi-Fi Internet access for anybody that brings their laptop

· Due to recent renovations the library is a nice modern setting and has some very nice reading rooms as well as various rotating displays of interesting collections.

I'm sure the library will be a great venue for our group considering their tag line is "Ocean County Library - Connecting People... Building Community"

If you have any questions please contact me via E-mail at JerseyShoreNetworkingGroup@gmail.com

by Thomas E. Kenny

Jason Alba has a great blog post which has inspired me to blog on the same topic.

With over 24 million professionals on LinkedIn and all the Internet buzz it gets it's hard to believe that 51% of job seekers surveyed on JobDig's website never heard of LinkedIn!

So what does this mean?

• Not all job seekers are savvy Internet users? However, if they found JobDig's web site why not LinkedIn?
• Are to many people concerned about Internet security and having an online presence?
• Have most job seekers not gone through the mind shift necessary for owning their career? Meaning they are still posting a resume to a job board (aka black hole) and wondering why there are so little responses other then scams. Rather then networking their way into their idle next position.

On the flip side 25% did say they use LinkedIn all the time.

I believe the moral of the story is that as you build networking relationships don't assume they know what you know. Share information about what tools and groups you have found to be of value. For example, LinkedIn, the ETP Network, etc.

Although the benefit to yourself of helping others to be more successful in their careers isn't foreseeable. The investment you make in your network will pay great dividends in your future!

by Thomas E. Kenny

As we expand our professional network we are developing warm trusted relationships. Dare I say that we are actually creating friendships? After all in a true warm trusted relationship we are mutually present and available to help each other. Thus in our network there is no us vs. them. All that exist is us!

This weekend I'm participating in a time honored tradition of one of my avocations. Across the US and Canada amateur (ham) radio operators will be sending "CQ Field Day" via wireless communication modes of voice, keyboard and good old Morse code. Ham radio enthusiast have annually set up portable wireless shortwave radio stations "in the field" for 75 years.

The main purpose of field day is to make as many two-way radio contacts as your group can during a continual 24 hour (work through the night) emergency preparedness drill. Even in this day and age of internet and satellite communications, it takes at least a day or more for emergency organizations to mobilize. Essentially ham radio operators are embedded in every community and from all walks of life, ready to provide emergency communications as a service to the community stricken by a disaster. We've helped for months after 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina as well as thousands of other hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and ice storms.

However there is also a softer social side to field day as well. Many clubs around the country will host a BBQ. They may also host a local publicity table which is open to the public to learn more about the vast hobby. If you'd like to know more about ham radio (Morse code is no longer required) please feel free to send me an E-mail.

So what does this have to do with networking? Well I have procured many of my past and I'm sure future employment opportunities thanks to my ham radio friends. Demonstrating that a hobby, charity or community service work is not an isolated network! Since we are all connected via various common interests, never think of your life as being segmented into categories. We don't have a separate work life, home life, and hobby life. We have one life which consists of family, friends, colleagues, network, clients, suppliers, et cetra and they are all connected.

That mindset is how I define “Holistic Networking”.

Live it, share it and keep networking alive!

by Thomas E. Kenny


On the June 25, 2008 ETP Network member conference call I discussed the benefits of using the LinkedIn Answers feature.

An audio recording of the entire conference call is available to ETP members via our browser toolbar and below are the slides that I used to present this topic.

| View | Upload your own

by Thomas E. Kenny

Are you not sure where to start first when you suddenly experience an unexpected employment transition? Well having a great strategy to leverage LinkedIn can make a world of difference. The following check list contains suggestions you should consider or act upon to the make best use of LinkedIn while you are in transition. However these tips are also useful even if you happen to be in between transitions.

1. What is LinkedIn?

• It is a free online web site for professionals to find and be found.
• Some call it the Facebook for professionals.
• The largest professional network and 4th for all social networking sites
• (1=MySpace, 2=Facebook, 3=Classmates)
• Premium $20 or $50 upgrade useful for high end (recruiters) but most only need a free account.
• Over 5 years old
• Over 23 million users on LinkedIn (June 2008)
• 1.2 million new users per month
• 350% YOY (year over year) growth
• Strong growing presence and there is no sign of it slowing down.
• Proven networking platform unlike the latest greatest new social networking site with a small user base that begs for your contacts and may be gone tomorrow.
• Unlike posting a resume on a job board participation it does not necessarily indicate you are in a job search.
• Keep in touch with what is happening within your network
• Provides current email addresses for your contacts but unlike Plaxo there is no spam mail.
• Extends your network beyond who you know to the friends of your friend's friends.
• 1st degree = your friend
• 2nd degree = your friend’s friend
• 3rd degree = a friend of your friend’s friend
  

2. Update your LinkedIn Profile

• Consider your profile to be a full (not-targeted) online resume.
• Is your most recent experience is articulated? Relevant, on brand for your next position?
• Consistent with your general purpose resume? Discrepancies can cause a red flag.
• Transition employment gap? Abandoning a new consulting practice? Volunteering?
• Assure you include complete industry info, associations and society information.
• Diversity in terminology will improve search hits by recruiters and hiring mangers:
• Profession: PMP, PMI, Project Manager and Project Management
• Full corporate name and initials such as Johnson & Johnson and J&J
• Names of Universities, professional organizations, etc.
  

3. Questions and Answers

• ExecuNet states 83% of recruiters search for a candidate's online presence.
• 43% have disqualified candidates due to the candidate’s online presence.
• Not finding a positive reinforcing online presence can be a serious disadvantage.
• If you don't have your own web site nor blog, demonstrate your expertise via answers.
• Answers may help establish connections with networking candidates and opportunities.
• Be careful asking questions to not expose a deficiency that can be asked at an interview.
  

4. Grow your network

• Mine email address book(s) and archive to reconnect on LinkedIn but don't be a spammer!
• Search your mind for positive professional relationships and search for those individuals.
• Search and join corporate alumni groups. Create one if one doesn’t exist.
• Groups extend your network (find and be found) without establishing 1st degree connections.
• Groups help you to be found by recruiters but it also helps you to find other professionals with the same interest.
• My website lists: 3 LinkedIn group directories and Google beta for LinkedIn group searchs.
• Face-to-face and online networking events: meet, get to know, connect on LinkedIn.
• Avoid premature invitations since it's best to develop a relationship first.
• There is no value in a connections numbers game except for recruiters.
• Growing your network will help you to find advocates in target companies.
• NEVER use the default canned invite messages. Indicates lack of developing a relationship.
• Use an RSS feed reader to read network updates. (job status change, new connections)
• Export your connections and store a backup (web based email, burn a CD, USB drive)
• Better yet consider using a CRM such as JibberJobber.com
• During my last transition I almost lost every thing due to a hard drive malfunction!
  

Conclusion: LinkedIn is the place to find professionals to network with and to be found!

For additional info:

www.thomasekenny.com which contains a link to my 8 page LinkedIn FAQ

Jason Alba has written "the" book on LinkedIn titled "I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???" which also has a blog associated with it.

As we know the world is an event, our ETP Network partner organization, Westchester New Rochelle Networking Group, is hosting a business networking social June 17, 2008 at New York City's #1 collectible car dealership TNT Classic Cars. This is a unique venue where people can travel back to yesteryear viewing vintage cars from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's, while connecting with like minded career professionals and business owners. Ahhh . . . they don't build cars like that any more.

Although this opportunity to network may be a hike from your neck of the woods, you can still network long distance. Maybe you have family, friends or associates in the New York, New Jersey or Connecticut area. [Re]Connect with them by letting them know about this event. Use the email or phone call about this networking event as an excuse to catch up with someone you haven't spoken to in a while. It doesn't matter, if they go to the event or not. You're just letting someone know you were thinking about them and you care about their success. This simple gesture is a networking home run!!

Click here for details on this networking opportunity.

by Thomas E. Kenny

Yesterday I had one of many valuable creative chats with Chip Hartman. One of the topics of our conversation was the importance of building relationships in professional network and knowing how to accomplish such. After our discussion I jotted down an outline from which to write an article for ETP.

Although I could not attend the conference call last night I listened to the recording during my morning commute. Rather then wait until I have a polished and perfected article, I took Chip's enthusiasm as a sign that I should distribute what information I do have now even though it's in a raw form.

Much of this focuses on the use of online internet tools but that should not be a substitute for telephone calls nor face to face meetings when the relationship develops to that stage.

Stage 1. Get to know the person you want to develop a relationship with via their work and their interests.

• Search for their LinkedIn profile but don't ask to connect to them yet as the value of the relationship is not yet known.
• 
  
• Search for their Facebook profile but don't ask to be a friend yet.
• 
  
• Search for them on twitter and follow them if permission is not required.
• 
  
• Find out what publications (magazine, e-newsletters, podcasts) they contribute to or publish and of course read them.
• 
  
• Find out what organizations they belong to and consider joining them. Sharing a common interest can provide a common bond in the future.
• 
  
• If possible find out what blogs they read and post comments to.
• 
  
• Google them to find out more ways to reach them. If they are a publicly known individual setup a Google alert so you'll know when they or their company are in the news.

Stage 2. Provide positive valuable feedback on their work to get on their radar screen.

• Purchase their product or service and give direct feedback (not only good points but constructive valuable criticisms and ways they can improve/expand).
• 
  
• Read and leave valuable comments on their blog if they have one and on blogs you know that they read.
• 
  
• Recommend their product/service on LinkedIn.
• 
  
• If appropriate (i.e. a book) write a useful and insightful review on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com
  

Stage 3. Create a vehicle for an ongoing direct dialog that is of mutual benefit.

• Build a relationship with those that connect you to that person if you haven't yet established a direct relationship.
• 
  
• Find a way to continually provide value to them on an ongoing basis to keep the relationship alive. For example, provide endorsements and referals for their product/service.
• 
  
• Once you have a trusted relationship ask to connect with them on Linkedin, Facebook and Plaxo.
• 
  
• Get to know their birthday (if you have not obtained it already via Plaxo) and what holidays they observe so you can contact them on those dates.
• 
  
• Get to know more about them such as if they are a Mother, Father, Veteran or other things you may have in common.
• 
  
• If they require permission to follow them on twitter this may be the time to ask.
• 
  
• Keep an eye on changes to their profiles, Google alerts and such and congratulate them or comment on news regarding them.
• 
  
• As the relationship develops occasional phone calls and face to face meetings should occur.
  

Stage 4. Leverage your relationship.

• Once you have a lasting trusted relationship you may now ask for a favor or assistance regarding a shared interest.
• 
  
• However, of course remember that networking is a two way street. If a favor is asked of you do whatever you can to deliver.
• 
  
• Now your strong relationship will reach out so that friends of friends on both sides benefit as the cycle of networking continues like ripples on a pond.
  

There is a lot here to consider and each item is not always applicable, but I've tried to cover all bases.

Building mutually valuable relationships requires a serious investment of time. However, I'll let you in on a secret. In committing to such you have an advantage since not everybody is willing to make that investment. Those that don't understand the value of networking and who are looking for quick drive by results won't do such. So be smart and successful by using the above road map to achieve your professional goals via building valuable warm trusted relationships!

I've found the ETP Network to be an excellent educational venue and I'm very happy to share what I've learned. The favor I ask of you is to please supply me with feedback. If you've found some thing that worked for you please share so that we can all learn from our mutual experiences. On the other hand if some thing above does not work for you please let us know so that we can determine alternatives as well.

Finally, I have to thank Chip Hartman for being such a great catalyst and mentor regarding my writings. Some times I don't realize the wealth of useful knowledge I've learned via my professional networking and involvement in the ETP Network. So Chip thanks for reminding me and encouraging me to share with the group.

Contact: Phyllis Shelton
Public Relations Director
1-201-222-5390
PhyllisShelton@Success4U2.net
www.etpnetwork.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Old Fashion Social Networking Combats Job Loss

Dinner, Business Cards and Idea Exchanges Fortify Careers in Times of Uncertainty

Toms River, NJ — May 21, 2008

Recently, members of Empowering Today's Professionals (ETP) Network had an exclusive opportunity to dine with Jason Alba, author of the best-selling books I'm on LinkedIn - Now What? and I’m on Facebook - Now What? Alba is also the CEO and Founder of JibberJobber.com, considered by many networking professionals to be the hottest online contact management system on the Internet.

Hosted by the ETP Network, the dinner was held at Mia's Restaurant, 1214 Route 37 East, Toms River, NJ. Although informal, the atmosphere was decidedly electric as ETP Network members exchanged comments and ideas with Alba, drawing on his extensive experience with social networking, relationship science, and publishing. Dinner attendees included a diverse group of business owners, information technology and human resource professionals.

As part of the of the ETP Network’s mission of teaching members to develop trusted relationships, Rod Colón, CEO and Founder of ETP Network, kicked off a lively discussion by posing the question "Jason, how can we help you?" For those who take networking seriously, this is the kind of question that triggers great conversation and this evening turned out to be no exception. For Alba, it was a unique opportunity to view first-hand the leadership machinery of the ETP Network while providing members with some top-notch ideas for future collaborative projects.

"We hear of think tanks in Washington, DC strategizing the world's issues. This dinner was the first think tank session discussing the future of the CEO of ME, Incorporated with networking leaders, led by master networker Jason Alba", said Colón.

When good, solid, reciprocal networking is on full display, humor is generally not far behind. As participants engaged each other on a variety of topics, business cards made their way onto the table, and Alba’s card brought on the guffaws in grand style. His JibberJobber.com business card caught attendees off-guard when they viewed its reverse side: a pink slip containing the words he uttered to the manager who let him go only a few years earlier: “Thanks for everything. Goodbye.” The implication? You may end up in transition once and awhile, but if you understand and apply sound networking principles, you will not only be in demand again, but may actually find yourself in a better position

Social Networking A Hot Topic

Many networking professionals have begun to associate the name ‘Jason Alba’ with social networking, social networking web sites, and the technology that drives them. As such, Alba is in high demand as a speaker and makes regular contributions to networking communities all over the world in the form of numerous blogs, instructional videos, and what he describes as “CEO Training Webinars.”

"We were inspired by Jason's command of today's relationship-based business tools. He is a man who thinks clearly, organizes impeccably, and listens intently. And I believe he is equally impressed with the ETP Network and its pinpoint focus on keeping individuals accountable for managing all aspects of their career as a business." said Chip Hartman, ETP Network Editor-in-Chief and CEO of MeridiaSystems.com, LLC.

"Jason Alba is the creative guru of practical business networking for the real world. His commentary at our dinner meeting was insightful and provided new ideas that we can use now to enrich our networking experience. I appreciated his success stories about networking tools in the public domain, like LinkedIn, Twitter and JibberJobber. Jason, thanks for a fun and informative evening," said Sam Anson, ETP Network member and Business Developer for Technosphere, Inc. located in Bergenfield, NJ.

"I was very charged up after the meeting. This dinner helped me to see an important principle in action which was the power of asking questions. It not only helped to drive the conversation but was a vehicle to clearly understand how you can help others in the group. This dinner really left me wanting more of this type of event. Maybe it was so great because we had powerhouse people that weren't sitting on the side lines" said Thomas E. Kenny, ETP Network Event Leader and software engineer.

ETP Network member and Human Resources Management Consultant, Keith Bogen, commented "Dinner with Jason Alba and the ETP team was networking nirvana! For me who is relatively recent in the game, so to speak, it was tremendous pleasure and honor to sit among the true gurus of professional networking ... what a tremendous evening - thank you to all!"

Jason Alba summed it up well with "Thanks a ton for the awesome opportunity to meet all of you in person and spend the evening with you."

About Empowering Today's Professionals (ETP) Network www.etpetwork.com

The mission of the ETP Network is to provide each member with an empowered career/business plan that leverages a powerful “trusted network.” ETP Network member services provide members with programs tailored to the professional and their ME, Inc. business. Key to a successful career management program is accomplishing the 5 ETP Goals (Ideal Job/Business, Career Backup Plan, Trusted Personal Network, Multiple Sources of Income, Assume Leadership Roles).

About JibberJobber.com

JibberJobber.com was designed by Jason Alba during his first real job search beginning in January, 2006. After having a successful career in IT and business strategy, Jason found himself in the job market, which was supposedly a "job seeker's market." JibberJobber is a job search tool, a networking tool, but more importantly, a personal relationship manager that allows you to do everything necessary to manage a job search and optimize your network relationships - for the duration of your career!

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