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Business & Tech

Job Hunting Advice: Networking is Key

Chesterfield Township Library offers career tips and resources for job-seekers.

In real estate, the experts say it is all about location, location, location. And when it comes to searching for a job, the general consensus is that networking is all--or at least one of the most important--aspects of job hunting.

For many people, successful networking is as challenging as preparing and delivering a great speech. The entire process can be nerve-wracking, yet it is necessary to search out and meet leaders and other professionals in the field of work a person is interested in so as to discover job openings in an industry or occupation.

The Chesterfield Township Library has resources, online and in print form, to assist job hunters of all ages with the art of networking.  Different strategies will be at your fingertips when you check out any of the following books:

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  • Guerrilla Networking: a proven battle plan to attract the very people you want to meet” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Monroe Mann.
  • Make Your Contacts Count: networking know-how for business and career success” by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon.
  • How to Work a Room: the ultimate guide to savvy socializing in person and online” by Susan RoAne.
  • It’s Not just Who You Know: transform your life (and your organization) by turning colleagues and contacts into lasting, genuine relationships” by Tommy Spaulding.
  • The 29% Solution: 52 weekly networking success strategies” by Ivan R. Misner, PhD, and Michelle R. Donovan.
  • What Color is Your Parachute?: a practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers (2012 Edition)” by Richard N. Bolles

Examples of helpful websites that people can use in the library include “Career One Stop” and “Learning Express Library.” People can use the Learning Express Library website in the library or at home for free after registering on the website at the library.  People can use the Career One Stop website in the library or access it at home by logging on to the library’s website at www.chelibrary.org  

The Learning Express Library provides people access to online job search and networking skills courses, including a course on “Social Networking for Career Success.” An added bonus of taking this course is the knowledge it conveys concerning the “ins and outs of social networking sites – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Quora, and many more…” The course also provides “tips for creating and maintaining a blog.”

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Career One Stop is sponsored by the United States Department of Labor. The site has a link (“Job Search”) on its home page that will direct the user to a page with links to detailed information on how to form a network, conduct informational interviews, and master online networking.

To find out more about print, online, and other resources available to research job listings, potential careers, and employers, visit the Chesterfield Township Library, call (586) 598-4900, or go online at www.chelibrary.org

The is located at 50560 Patricia Avenue off Chesterfield Road in the Gratiot and 23 Mile Road area.  The library is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fridays, and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. The library will close on Saturdays during July and August and on Sept. 1, but will resume Saturday hours beginning Sept. 8, 2012.

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