Join or renew now: http://www.iabc.com/join/.

We encourage chapter members to post job openings in their organizations. Employers can list their positions at no charge — contact Manya Chylinksi at manya@alley424.com. It’s that simple!

The economic downturn has been tough on the communications field. There are many more qualified applicants for every open position, and hiring managers are taking longer in the selection process. That said, there are job openings. The panelists urged job candidates to differentiate themselves, highlight what they have done to improve organizational performance, and spend time fine-tuning their interviewing skills.

In these tough economic times, Lauren noted the critical importance of building professional relationships and visibility through networking and volunteering for associations like Yankee IABC.

Lauren Libitz, an employee communications professional, will lead the Yankee IABC board as president. Ms. Libitz has been a Yankee IABC member for seven years, serving as President-Elect in 2008–09, Vice President of Membership in 2007–08, and co-coordinating the Special Interest Group for internal communicators from 2005–07.

This year Ms. Libitz will focus on membership engagement. “I’m excited to lead the local chapter and try to connect even more with members to show them how great IABC can be. The connections I’ve made through IABC have been absolutely invaluable in helping me to keep on top of trends, hear about best practices, and learn new skills,” said Ms. Libitz. “I feel passionate about the organization and I really want to share that with others.”

Ms. Libitz, president, Yankee IABC, is joined by six vice-presidents, a president-elect, and a past president elected by the Yankee IABC chapter membership along with 18 appointed members. The composition of this year’s board reflects the wide range of business communication roles and responsibilities represented in IABC’s membership.

2009/10 Yankee IABC Elected Board of Directors

• President: Lauren Libitz, MITRE Corporation
• President-Elect: Jake George, NERA Economic Consulting
• Past President: Tom Roux, Redpoint Communications
• VP, Communications: Linda Sanders, IHS CERA
• VP, Learning Opportunities: John Klingenstein, Dynamics Research Corporation
• VP, Membership Development: Jeannie Brown, independent
• VP, Finance: Evan Kuhlman, Teradyne
• VP, Administration: Courtney English, New Balance
• VP, Networking: Manya Chylinski, Alley424 Communications

2009/10 Yankee IABC Appointed Positions

Communications

• Director, Communications: Carl Zangerl, College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University
• Director, EDIT: Rachel Sockut, communications consultant
• Assistant Director, EDIT: Renee Robertie, consultant
• Staff writer, EDIT: Jennifer Scupi, Pearson Curriculum
• Web Manager: Zach Beyer, H&R Block

Learning Opportunities

Event Directors:

• Scott Michel, PAREXEL
• Sara Bruya, independent
• Janice Barrett, Lasell College
• Sarah McArdle, Stop & Shop/Giant
• Mindy Ollenborger, Fidelity Investments

Membership Development

• Director, Member Outreach: Carrie Griffiths, Waste Management, Inc.
• Director, Mentoring: Julie Pierce, communications consultant
• Director, Volunteers: Pat Masterson, independent
• Director, Job Bank: Bruce Mendelsohn, The Hired Pen

Networking

• Director, College Relations: Adrienne Monley, Towers Perrin

Extended Resources

• Director at Large: Vicki Staveacre, independent
• Facilitator, Downtown Boston Special Interest Group: Carol Grabowski, Standard & Poor’s Financial Communications
• Facilitator, Metro-Providence (MetroProv) Special Interest Group: Keith Moore, Textron, Inc.

About Yankee IABC

Spanning five New England states, the Yankee chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators members have easy access to a vast array of communication resources and networking opportunities.  For more information, visit the About Us section.

This year’s competition, sponsored by Towers Perrin, selected 41 Awards of Excellence and 81 Awards of Merit. The winners will be honored at the Gold Quill Awards gala on 8 June at IABC’s World Conference in San Francisco. A select number of winning entries will be on display at the conference.

Visit the Gold Quill web site to see the complete list of 2009 Gold Quill winners.

Are you using social networking groups in your job search? In addition to LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace, there are several more job-related social networking sites, including MyWorkster, VisualVC, and Virtual Job Coach, that let members see jobs posted on these networking Web sites—and post their resumes.

Why not use this phenomenon to capitalize on career networking? Here’s an overview of what these networks offer.

LinkedIn—a social networking site mainly used for professional networking. As of March 2009, it has more than 35 million registered users, spanning 150 industries. Registered users can maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.

A contact network includes your direct connections, connections to their connections, and connections to second-degree connections. Use these connections to gain an introduction to someone you wish to know through a mutual, trusted contact.

LinkedIn can also help you

• find jobs, people, and business opportunities recommended by someone in your contact network.
• list jobs and search for potential candidates if you are an employer
• review the profile of hiring managers and discover who of your existing contacts can introduce you to them
• use the searchable LinkedIn Groups feature to establish new business relationships by joining alumni, industry, or professional and other relevant groups.

Did you know that Yankee IABC has a LinkedIn Group?

Facebook—you can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. Add friends and send them messages, and update your personal profile to notify them about your current status.

You can also connect to professional groups. For example, IABC has a Facebook page, too.

Several applications have been added that enable you to post your resume on your Facebook page. The resume is then available to people in your network.

MyWorkster [www.myworkster.com] separates personal and professional life by keeping embarrassing and unprofessional MySpace and Facebook photographs or wall posts away from your work life. Like Facebook, users can create a network of people who they know or want to get to know on a business level and they can post resumes and work samples.

VisualCV [www.visualcv.com]—started by a group of investors, primarily search firms—it began as a way for top-level executives to stand out from the standard resumes. Now anyone can use VisualCV, but it’s more than a written recap of your work experience. It is a multimedia resume that can include blogs, embedded images or samples of your work, and videos.

VirtualJobCoach [virtualjobcoach.com]—personally manage your online job search. This career management site requires a paid subscription of $9.95. It allows the user to track interviews, schedule appointments, and store resumes and cover letters. It also automatically updates its users with job opening that match their criteria.

As a security precaution when posting personal information on the Internet, review each Web site’s filtering options to manage who sees what on your profile.

Written by Rich Young, Chaloner Associates, rich@chaloner.com

Note: applications must be received at the San Francisco Headquarters office during the months of February and March to qualify.

For more information or to submit your membership application, click here!

Jodi R. R. Smith can show you on Feb. 4 at the Painless Networking Workshop.

Jodi is the president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting. She is a dynamic presenter who has worked with organizations, corporations, educational institutions and individuals to increase their social savvy. The Boston Event Guide named her one of the thirty most extraordinary Bostonians in 2005. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS’s The Early Show, sharing her knowledge of good behavior, in addition to being featured in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, US Weekly and many other publications.

I’ve often heard great stories of how belonging to IABC opens doors to many new opportunities— Yankee Past President Dave Seifert, ABC can trace every dollar he’s earned since becoming an independent to an IABC connection—but I never imagined I’d have my own remarkable tale to share …until now, that is. After months of dedicated participation in IABC activities, I was recently invited to be a judge on the 2009 Gold Quill Blue Ribbon Panel that will convene in March in San Francisco to make the final selections for IABC’s highest recognition of professional excellence.

My tale begins on a sweltering, humid morning in New Orleans, Louisiana, back in June 2007. I had volunteered to participate in the two-day Habitat for Humanity service project organized by IABC staff as a prelude to the 2007 International Conference being hosted in New Orleans. I remember thinking, “What a great way to get to know other attendees while giving a little something back to the community,” part of which had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina the prior year.

There I was, one of the “roofing crew” hammering shingles onto a new house being built in the Lower Ninth Ward, toiling away in the summer heat next to several other of the 200 volunteers that had signed up for the project. It’s remarkable how easy it is to get to know other like-minded communicators when sharing sunscreen and sweating bullets, all for a good cause. As it turns out, one of those sweaty (just a little bit) communicators was Todd Hattori, ABC, who was soon to become the chair of the IABC International Executive Board (IEB) later that week.

I became friends with Todd, and many other great people, because of that wonderfully bonding experience. It was like running into an old war buddy every time I’d cross paths with another volunteer throughout the conference. Months later, I still share familiar exchanges with many of those folks whenever I see them at IABC events. In fact, I’m often greeted with hugs instead of handshakes.

Let’s fast forward to the 2008 International Conference in New York City, New York. I was incoming president of the Yankee Chapter and four months into a job search, so I saw the conference as a major networking opportunity on multiple levels (not to mention, a great way to learn some new best practices, reconnect with old friends, and blow off a little steam). Todd Hattori had given me the names of a couple of key attendees whom I should try to meet to aid my networking.

After attending the preconference leaders’ reception on Saturday, a group of us spontaneously decided to have dinner together (as often happens at such occasions). After some quick negotiating by Barbara Gibson, ABC, current chair of the IEB (another great person I’d come to know over the past year), we managed to get immediate seating for eight or nine people at a very busy upscale place in the meat-packing district.

Well who should I find myself seated next to, but Paul Matalucci, ABC, who was at the top of my networking list? What luck! In my excitement, I turned to Todd and exclaimed across the table, “It’s Paul!” Paul and I discovered that we share a good deal in common, both having studied creative writing in college and having employee communication as our professional area of focus.
I ran into Paul several more times throughout the conference (as often happens at such occasions), and we developed a stronger rapport each time we talked. I learned that Paul would be chairing the 2009 Gold Quill Awards, and at the end of the 2008 Gold Quill Banquet I offered him my help, both on behalf of my chapter and individually.

As it turns out, Paul remembered me, and my offer, when it came time for the committee to choose the 40 or so senior communicators from around the world who were invited to make up the prestigious Blue Ribbon Panel. After clarifying with Paul that I was, in fact, the correct “Tom” meant to receive the invitation, I was both flattered and humbled to accept it. Serving on the panel, I understand, requires many hours of mental flexing, but has also been reported by past judges as “a highlight of their experience with IABC.” I heartily look forward to the new insights I will gain and the new relationships I will make in San Francisco in March.

Were it not for my decisions to volunteer, to get involved in chapter leadership, to attend IABC conferences and events, to be unafraid to meet other communicators, and to not only ask for but also offer help when needed, I would not have found myself in the right place at the right time.

The IABC network really does work; but only if you choose to invest yourself in it.