September 17, 2009

September Meeting Notes

The September 2009 meeting allowed members to share information regarding good networking events, free job sites, use of social media, and the value of paid job boards vs. free tools.  Notes from the meeting:

Networking Events:  RTP Deck Party, LinkedIn Live, Raleigh After Hours

LinkedIn Live used to be a good client venue, but not since the economy turned.  Can get candidates, but it is not a career fair with targeted audience.  Must be able to maximize your time when networking.  Develop strategy for extracting yourself from conversations if needed.

Raleigh After Hours – Some people are there more for the social aspect than business.  90% not technical.  Not a good event for getting leads.

 Final Friday Forum through inside919.  Depends upon the topic.  A couple people have had success through this event.

 Meet the Purchasers through the Raleigh Chamber.  Meets once a quarter.  It’s 3 or 4 HR / purchasing people from area companies discussing how vendors can work with them.

 NCTA Internet Summit – has a cost but is a good event for leads.

 Techie Tuesday:  good monthly networking event in the RTP http://www.rtp.org/main/index.php?pid=115

TNG – Triangle Networking Group hosts events, largely aimed at displaced workers and job seekers. 

Linking Raleigh events

 Banquets through the area Chambers.

 CED – has a cost but is a good event for leads. 

 

Free Job Posting Sites:  LinkedIn.com, craigslist, user groups

smuz.com – free posting site for all skill sets

trianglehelpwanted.com – hit or miss if successful but has gotten results

arbita.com – decent resume flow from ads

supplychainrecruit.net

craigslist.com – good response, depending upon the skill level

linkedin.com – join groups to post jobs for free

theladders.com – can post for free if join a LI group that ties in with them

linkingraleigh.com – free job postings until unemployment rate gets below 6%

Social media sites - Obstacles: Social media sites usually have poor searching capabilities

Most free sites have a low return on investment so must pick sites carefully

 

Free Sites for Leads: 

Jigsaw: Some people have great success with Jigsaw, but must be comfortable giving other people’s information out.

LinkedIn.com – update your status daily to show what you’re working on

netshare.com – a site for 6 figure jobs

 

 Paid Job Boards:  monster.com, careerbuilder.com, dice, theladders.com

Most agreed that monster.com is one that is of least value.  Most have either dropped it as a tool or use it as a last resort.

Overall, none of the sites are of as much value as they used to be.

If hiring executives theladders.com is useful, as is execunet.com.