Our goal is to get all our members participating. Given our geographic spread, Facebook is a good way to get to know each other without leaving our keyboards!

2012 dates, locations, and speaker order to be announced; tentative line-up is shown below. Check back for details on our Calendar of Events.

December 6, 2011

Tom Curran, ABC, and recently retired Executive Director of the Scleroderma Foundation of New England (SFNE), brings his years of experience to the topic of Volunteering and the Role It Can Play in Your Professional Development.

January–March 2012

Suzanne McDonald, President and Chief Content Strategist, Designated Editor; teacher of social media at the University of Rhode Island; and leader of the Newport Interactive Marketers, will present on Planning Your Social Media Editorial Calendar.

Karen Papa recently established an organizational communications consultancy business. Prior to this, Karen served as marcom manager at GTECH, Employee Communications Manager at Hasbro, Director of Internal Communications at Textron Inc., and SVP of Communications at Textron Financial. During her tenure at Textron, she piloted and refined the program Boosting Managers’ Communication Competency, Employees’ Engagement Levels and Company’s Profitability.

Tom Roux, Director, International Executive Board, and Trustee, IABC Research Foundation (2011–14), IABC, will ask Are you a Networking Lamb or a LION? Maximizing Your LinkedIn Experience.

Art Stewart is a futurist and consulting strategist who focuses on the political, cultural, economic, and sociological dynamics at the convergence of traditional business, new stakeholder empowerment, and public interest values. Art will present on CSR Revolution: The Transformation and Reinvention of Business Communications Practice.

Yankee IABC President Linda Sanders briefed the group on upcoming events and also recognized several volunteers who assisted the chapter during 2010-2011.

The mixer is an example of the opportunities that Yankee IABC provides for relaxed networking and professional development. Check www.yankeeiabc.org and EDIT, the member newsletter, for upcoming events. Hope to see you this year!

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.

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.