A few weeks ago my daughter, Sara, was asked to sing and play her guitar at a party on the other side of our neighborhood. She jumped at the chance. While she was there, a neighborhood mom asked if Sara would babysit her two girls twice a week for the rest of the summer. She said yes. Yesterday, Sara was riding bikes with the two girls and another mom (who knew the girls that she was babysitting) stopped them, introduced herself and her two children, and asked if Sara would be interested in babysitting for them. She said yes. They went a little farther into the neighborhood and an older neighbor asked Sara if she would help weed her flower bed. Sara said yes. In one week she had the potential to make $255 doing these different jobs.
When Sara was done telling me about the events, I asked her how she was able to get all of these great opportunities. She thought for a minute, got a huge smile, and said, "Networking!"
It gets a little better. Sara's entrepreneurial efforts led to her singing job at the party. But that wasn't her first venture: Three years ago, when she was 12, Sara wanted to start a dog walking business. She posted signs all over the neighborhood; one person was interested. Sara has been walking the same dog 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week for almost 3 years. Her resume now consists of dog walking, odd jobs, babysitting, and performing. Not bad for 15. I thought the story would make you smile.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "networking is the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business." Rod Colon, master networker, is back with us again in this issue to help us understand how to get the most out of the professional social networking tool http://LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn is a social network of over 175 million business professionals in more than 200 countries. Rod tells us that if we appropriately use LinkedIn, we can turbocharge our careers. Please take the time to read Rod's great advice, and never underestimate the power of networking: it will help you to meet your professional goals and maybe even exceed them.
Until the next time, be healthy, be happy, be great advocates for your patients, and keep networking!
AnneMarie Palatnik, MSN, RN, APN-BC