A Conversation on the Bus

After the realization that advertizing was not her ideal career fit after all, the then twenty-something Nancy set her sights on the TV industry. She was not interested in on-camera work but rather public relations to utilize her strengths and interests.  Ever practical, Nancy didn’t leave her advertising job until she had another position to go to and utilized some savvy networking on her daily commute that landed her an eventual position.

Riding the Michigan Avenue bus to work each day, Nancy became friendly with her fellow commuters and struck up a conversation with the hairdresser of the General Manager of CBS TV in Chicago. With creative networking, Nancy put her people skills into practice and got a referral from the hairdresser and an introduction to the HR Director at CBS.

Nancy impressed the HR Director with her innovative networking and professional demeanor. She would get regular calls about openings at the station.  Since Nancy learned what she didn’t like from her experience in the advertising world, she turned down opportunities for jobs in sales. Later, she did interview and land a spot in the Program Department. Not bad for a young professional who started to build her business network on the bus!

Learning the Ropes

Over the next two years, Nancy made incredible contacts in the Program Department and learned the TV business inside and out.  Her next move was to the Information Services department at the station where she began putting her PR skills to work more directly.

During this time Nancy also went back to school to take course work in journalism and TV production so she would be well-versed in the industry. Nancy’s boss was an incredible role model for her. As a strong female (one of a very few at CBS) in the industry, she taught Nancy the ropes and gave her the break that launched her career upward from that point. Nancy remembers her boss was “tough but great” and truly appreciates having such a confident female boss who was willing to groom her and put her through her paces. Throughout her professional life, Nancy has been fortunate to have great women role models and mentors.

Setting the Bar

For the next 14 years, Nancy enjoyed a successful career at CBS earning promotions and raising the bar for herself as her career progressed. But late in the 1980’s massive lay-offs were looming so Nancy took a pro-active approach and began to rally her network. Nancy’s ability to plan for her exit strategy has always set her apart as a successful professional.

Shortly after Nancy was laid off, a friend who owned her own PR firm asked Nancy to come onboard for a special project. This gave Nancy her first freelance assignment and a boost to additional contract work until she found her next full-time position. For 18 months, Nancy enjoyed the special project work and then the phone rang; a friend was recommending Nancy for a job at WTTW, the PBS station in Chicago.

And so Nancy set her next professional bar higher and became the Manager of Corporate Communications at WTTW – planning and implementing publicity campaigns and special events for PBS programs which she did for just under six years.

Prioritizing Her Marriage

The TV industry is all consuming and although Nancy loved her work and was very good at it, her values changed after she got married and she was ready to enjoy more time with her husband and focus on her personal life. As newlyweds, they were also handling dual careers with Nancy in Chicago and her husband working in Atlanta.

She decided to focus her job search on the non-profit arena since she wanted a change and an environment where her skills would transfer. This kind of a career shift gave Nancy the opportunity to consider what she really wanted. She was passionate about women, children, and issues of health care and focused on non-profits that served those missions.

Soon Nancy landed the Public Relations Manager position at the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. She developed and launched the first full-time public relations and communications program for the organization and was happy with her new work/life integration possibilities. Her husband also landed a position in Chicago and the happy couple enjoyed new careers and each other in the Windy City.

Ask For What You Want

Now an expert on career reinvention and mastering the art of transferable skills, Nancy moved on to another non-profit position after five years with Infant Welfare.

As the Director of Communications at the March of Dimes in Chicago, Nancy was responsible for creating and executing publicity and promotion programs to support fundraising and mission activities for the Illinois Chapter. For almost seven years with the March of Dimes, Nancy remembers learning so much and appreciating a stimulating environment.

It’s clear with her interest in taking on a new organization and new challenges almost every seven years, that Nancy values variety and intellectual stimulation. She is not one to sit still and needs to keep busy and active in order to be happy.

Always a planner, she prepared for her March of Dimes exit a full year in advance. This time she worked with career coaches and rallied her network as usual but left her position without another job to go to. While this resignation without a next step was a bit of a risk and uncharacteristic for Nancy, she knew in her gut the timing was right. She had a feeling of floating without a safety net but this gave Nancy the very important time to self reflect.

Two Critical Paths

In order to fill her newfound free time, Nancy, a self proclaimed foodie volunteered for a culinary conference. She met tons of people, as is her custom, but in this case one person in particular would change the course of her future.

The Associate Dean of Culinary Arts at Robert Morris University was so impressed with Nancy’s volunteer work at the conference and her varied professional background; she offered her a post at her school as an Internship Supervisor.

Almost simultaneously, because when it rains – it pours, a former broadcasting colleague asked Nancy to consider a year-long contract with ABC. This opportunity would give her the chance to showcase her strengths, doing what she loved and none of what she didn’t. She also took the job at Robert Morris, first developing and teaching the internship class and this year adding a career development course to her schedule.

Who better to help students pilot the career world than Nancy who has deftly navigated her own career path to match her values and strengths over a 25 year period?

A Coach’s Coach

As Nancy prepared for her new career management class for sophomores at Robert Morris, that debuted this August, she recalled her experience with career coaches when she needed guidance on her next move. Her first coach didn’t click with her but two others were a perfect match and instrumental in helping her find a new career path.

With a variety of career experiences in multiple industries, Nancy is particularly well suited to empower students to forge their own unique career journey. She says it’s about giving them the tools they can use on their own like networking, self assessment, and strengths building.

In her new world as a teacher, Nancy appreciates the flexibility in her schedule since she wants to be available for her elderly mother whose needs are increasing. She also values being on a collaborative team with a healthy work environment and an open door policy. As a communication expert, Nancy knows that open lines of communication are essential to a successful work place.

The Magic of the Spin

Nancy was candid that not every work environment she experienced was healthy and nurturing. Some were downright toxic but Nancy learned early on with her expertise in PR that you can put a positive spin on just about anything. She also knows the importance of keeping her game face on in public since professionalism is paramount and you should never let them see you sweat!

It was important to be able to vent about the less-than-perfect work environments in the comfort of her own home, but never at work. Recognizing the toxic workplaces and colleagues also helped Nancy understand that she always had the power to change, redirect, and move on. She took her career destiny into her own hands and has carved out a career history that she is very proud of and that’s no spin!

Releasing herself from her own self-imposed guilt is another thing Nancy wants others to learn from. When Nancy prioritized herself and her marriage in the middle of her thriving television career she felt guilty. Looking back she understands the emotion but wants to release others from this unnecessary experience. “You deserve to have a personal life and you are not a lesser professional because of it.”  – According to Nancy.

Would Nancy have ever predicted becoming a college teacher 20+ years ago when she had her heart set on a public relations career? Absolutely not! But she is so glad that she has had the courage to take a risk and try different things as well as to seek out new opportunities that honored her values, strengths, and professional needs.

In her consulting practice, Volino Castagnet Comunications, she enjoys taking projects referred to her from colleagues and previous clients which creates the perfect balance with her newfound teaching role. Always eager to pay-it-forward to others, Nancy thrives on being a mentor and helping others move towards their goals. Whether it’s a student, friend, or colleague who feels stuck on their career path, Nancy is there with support, sound advice, and a network connection.

Nancy’s Advice and Action Steps:

• Let go of the guilt as you make a change – cut yourself some slack.
• Plan ahead as much as possible. Have an exit strategy.
• Network, network, and network – even when you don’t think you need it.
• Keep your down feelings out of public view; project a positive image when you are out and about – professional game face on.
• Help others when you can.
• Do one thing you are afraid to do and see where it takes you.

Resources:

Robert Morris University http://www.robertmorris.edu/about/

While Jacqueline relished her new role as a mother, the pangs of career guilt began to set in for this professor-turned-mom who craved intellectual stimulation and challenge. Struggling with the proverbial question of “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Jacqueline took the advice of a dear relative who shared that raising a child is a special time in a mother’s life, and a very short one at that. She cautioned Jacqueline to enjoy this time with her daughter and to be confident that the work would always be there when she was ready to go back. Little did Jacqueline know that her future career would be to mobilize a grass roots movement rehabilitating neighborhood schools in her Chicago community and across the nation.

Mother Knows Best

Jacqueline took this wisdom to heart and started to believe that her skills would not go away and that her role as a mom was very important. In addition to her training as a professor, Jacqueline is also a fine artist, a painter who specializes in ketubahs, distinctive Jewish marriage agreements which have become a significant form of Jewish ceremonial art. Painting was something she continued to enjoy while pursuing the full-time career of being a mother.

From the time her daughter was an infant, Jacqueline’s husband Andrew agreed to pursue the research about where she would attend school. However, Chicago parents, like parents across the country, face the same sobering reality: given the scarcity of spots, it’s extremely difficult to get your child into an expensive private school. Entry into a respected public magnet school isn’t any better. In fact, Jacqueline points out, it’s statistically easier to get your high school kid into Harvard than to get your kindergartener into a selective enrollment magnet school. In Chicago, most middle class parents believe that their non-selective neighborhood public school is not a viable option.

Most parents assemble portfolios with glossy brochures and consultant recommendations to figure out where to send their kids to kindergarten and beyond.  Andrew passed the baton to Jacqueline and the school research became her responsibility. Finding a suitable school for her daughter, Maya (and son Zack, who was on the way) was a top priority.

The Power of the Roscoe Park Eight

Struck with the possibility of moving out of Boystown, her fabulous Chicago neighborhood known for its architectural charm, rich culture, diversity and tolerance, Jacqueline convinced her friend Nicole to come with her to check out Nettelhorst, her neighborhood’s underutilized and struggling public elementary school. After a 3-hour tour of the 110 year-old building, the new principal, Susan Kurland, asked what it would take for them to enroll their children. Stunned by her candor, they returned the next day armed with an extensive wish list. Susan read their list and said “Well, let’s get started, girls! It’s going to be a busy year…”

And so the journey from the park to the school began. Jacqueline and Nicole recruited six more park friends to join the cause. The women called themselves the Roscoe Park Eight, and met once a week in a Boystown diner, to plan how to fix Nettelhorst so their kids could walk to school.

Eight Women in a Diner

This meeting of the minds may have started humbly in a diner but never underestimate the power of mothers on a mission. The talent pool amongst the mommy brigade was deep, ranging from lawyers and advertizing executives to artists and bankers. They decided to call their group, The Nettelhorst Parents’ Co-op, with the motto “We do more during nap-time then most people do all day!”

The Roscoe Park Eight set an ambitious goal: the Parents’ Co-op had just nine months to reinvigorate Nettelhorst. These women were scrappy, creative and spirited, and as Jacqueline admits, too naïve and green to know how difficult this endeavor really was.

Running on infectious energy, each park mom captained a Co-op team: infrastructure, public relations, marketing, special events, fundraising and curricula. Each woman was assigned a task that best met her skill set and experience, and each team had to succeed concurrently. The team captains then set out to recruit as many families as they could to join their fledgling cause.

Mommy Moxie

How could the Co-op refurbish a school with a budget of nothing? The moms began cold calling people to solicit services, supplies and volunteers with skills and an interest in the project. In the beginning, fundraising efforts were futile since nobody wanted to contribute to a failing city school. The development team was disbanded and efforts were re-focused on getting the necessary goods and services donated for the cause.

In a matter of months, the community donated over half a million dollars in goods and services, contributed inch-by-inch and a gallon of paint at a time. The beauty of this project was that anything you had to offer for the cause was perfect. If you had a gallon of neon yellow paint, great! Nothing was turned down and nothing was wasted. The community joined in, and now, there isn’t an inch of the school that hasn’t been touched by a neighborhood artist. The whole school is an inspiration!

The community buy-in was extraordinary and people started calling from distant parts of the city to contribute to the reinvention of Nettelhorst. The Roscoe Park Eight truly harnessed the goodness of a neighborhood. The story has been featured on Oprah & Friends, NPR, CNN, 60 Minutes, Education Weekly, and in the local Chicago media.

Sustaining the Cause

Eight years into the project of fixing Nettelhorst, Jacqueline wrote a book about her experience:  How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance (Foreword by Arne Duncan and Afterword by Rahm Emanuel). The book chronicles the highs and lows of motivated neighborhood parents galvanizing and then organizing an entire community to take a leap of faith to transform a challenged urban school. They successfully turned Nettelhorst into one of Chicago’s best schools, virtually overnight. Jacqueline proved that that the fate of public education is not beyond our control. In the book, she provides an accessible and honest blueprint for reclaiming the great public schools our children deserve.

The original eight moms wanted to create a sustainable school that could thrive into the future, and now, Nettelhorst is one of the most desirable schools in Chicago. Enrollment has doubled; test scores have tripled; and parent involvement is off the charts.

The original fundraising committee may have been unsuccessful at first, but now that the school is thriving, development efforts are a well-oiled machine. For example, parents forged a deep, mutually beneficial partnership with Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks. With a $210,000 donation, the Blackhawks built a state of the art fitness center in the school and an outdoor hockey field. Players, coaches and team managers frequent the school teaching kids about sportsmanship, discipline, and maintaining healthy lifestyles.

Thanks to the work of driven parents, the school now has the financial wherewithal to maintain the building, and to provide innovative programming to enhance an already solid curriculum.

Labor of Love

While the moms contributed sweat equity to this cause eight years ago, and did all of the work pro bono, Jacqueline is still on a mission to continue with the renaissance of neighborhood schools nationwide. She is obsessed with sparking the national grass roots movement since 90% of America’s neighborhood schools are in sad shape. According to Jacqueline “If everyone just fixed their own neighborhood school, we could see real, systemic change across the country.”

Jacqueline has led workshops for the Community Schools Initiative, Northside Parents Network, and Chicago Public Schools on how public schools and reformers can stimulate communities to improve public education. She has consulted with schools and neighborhood groups on issues of strategy and organizational development. Her goal is to insert this idea into the national dialogue about education.

The story is inspiring on so many levels, but in addition to reinventing a school that was literally falling apart at the seams, Jacqueline reinvented herself in the process and established a brand new career. Harnessing her transferable skills from the academic and artistic arena, this mom has a passion for changing neighborhood schools across the country so kids can walk to school in their own communities.

Take Back the Schools

The next step for Jacqueline is to generate a steady income as a change agent consultant for neighborhood school reform. As the story of Nettelhorst spreads, she’s gaining momentum on a national level. If you have an interest in reforming your neighborhood school, be sure to contact Jacqueline. How to Walk to School provides a blueprint that any community can duplicate– with a little elbow grease and a lot of passion.

While doing a good deed that would enable her own children to walk to school, Jacqueline unearthed an accidental career that has inspired her to continue this work in other communities. Her success proves that good things do happen, often when you least expect them.

Jacqueline’s Action Steps for Reforming Your Neighborhood School:

1. Form a group of core parents.
2. Find a Principal you can work with.
3. Find a pro-bono lawyer.
4. Get the school spruced up.
5. Start a public relations program.
6. Enroll your own kids in the school.
7. Get the community involved in the school.
8. Settle in for three or more years of open houses and fundraisers, volunteering at the school, and meetings out the wazoo.
9. Acknowledge you’re not going to get any breaks.

Resources:

How to Walk to School the Book & Blog http://howtowalktoschool.com/

Nettelhorst School Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZr6BYJSGc

1. “When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it’s all about connections.” –HR director at a health-care facility

2. “We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it’s something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com.” –Recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

3. “There’s a myth out there that a résumé has to be one page. Some people send their résumé in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that.” –HR director at a financial services firm

4. “Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan résumés for key words. The secret to getting your résumé through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your résumé will get picked and actually seen by a real person.” –HR professional in the Boston area

5. “Résumés don’t need color to stand out. When I see a little color, I smirk. And when I see a ton of color, I cringe. And walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It’s actually a little creepy.”  - Recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

6. “It’s amazing when people come in for an interview and say, ‘Can you tell me about your business?’ Seriously, people. There’s an Internet. Look it up.” –HR professional in New York City

7. “Don’t just silence your phone for the interview. Turn it all the way off.” –HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

8. “If you’ve got a weak handshake, I make a note of it.” –HR manager at a medical-equipment sales firm

9. “On salary, some companies try to lock you in early. At the first interview, they’ll tell me to say, ‘The budget for this position is 40K to 45K. Is that acceptable to you?’ If the candidate accepts, they’ll know they’ve got him or her stuck in that little area.” –HR professional in Alabama

10. “I once hired someone and her mother didn’t think the salary we were offering was high enough, so she called me to negotiate. There are two problems with that: 1) I can’t negotiate with someone who’s not you. 2) It’s your mother. Seriously, I was like, ‘Did that woman’s mother just call me, or was that my imagination?’ I immediately withdrew the offer.” –HR professional in New York City

It’s Not Worth Losing Body Parts!

Law school is tough enough but Janet earned her JD while raising her two small children, who were 1 and 4 years of age during her first year of the program. A mother and top student, she succeeded at litigation and won several trial competitions and the esteemed American College of Trial Lawyers Medal, which led to a competitive summer job in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Post graduation, Janet was recruited to work at a prestigious Philly law firm where she discovered her knack for computers and was put in charge of automating a very high profile case.

While Janet was earning accolades at the firm she was also starting to get physical ailments that were taking a toll, not to mention trying to raise her kids with the stresses of a billable hour legal career. She developed pancreatitis and asked the senior partner at the firm if she could work part-time to take care of herself. The response was not favorable after it was put to a firm-wide partner vote and one of the partners remarked, “You can expect to lose a few body parts working in this profession!”

That was a deal breaker and Janet began working with a career coach, Doug Richardson to make a transition in a new career direction.

Just Because You are Good at it Doesn’t Mean You Like Doing It

Janet’s work with her career coach began with self assessment and a full scale reflection about what she valued in her life and career. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and other assessment tools, Doug asked Janet to think back to her childhood and reflect on what she liked to do as a young girl. This strategy helped Janet come to terms with the fact that she did not like conflict, a conundrum for a litigator, and helped her realize that just because you are good at something doesn’t mean that you necessarily like doing it. Janet gave herself permission to let go of the parts of her work world that did not align with her values and move towards new positions that fed her passions.

She pursued several jobs playing to her strengths as a consultant, project manager and litigation support specialist. But these new positions required travel and were high stress, which caused Janet to lapse into an unhealthy lifestyle. Not having the time to prioritize her health, she was back where she started from by not valuing work/life balance and wholesome eating habits at work. In 2001, she was diagnosed with adult onset Type 2 diabetes. This was not a complete surprise as her brother was also diagnosed as an adult so the family history was clear.

First, Take Care of Yourself

Janet did not take her diabetes diagnosis lightly. She went to an Integrative Health doctor to turn her entire life around quickly. From her brother, she knew the frustrations many people have with controlling their blood sugar, planning for meals, and how difficult it can be to establish healthy eating habits. So, Janet was determined to succeed as her own change agent and begin a new and healthy life that she was in control of.

If you visit Janet’s home you will see 100’s of cookbooks adorning her shelves. She has always loved to cook and became a certified macrobiotic chef. Janet turned this passion for food into a plan for handling her diabetes. She developed a system of action steps to control emotional eating, utilize the power of whole foods, stock her pantry with healthy choices and develop strategies to handle the special event occasions when she was not at home.

Her doctor was so impressed with the speedy turn around and diabetes reversal that she started referring patients to Janet so she could share her healthy strategies and put them on a similar road to recovery. Janet quickly became known as a Change Management Coach.

A Door Closes and a Window Opens

This unexpected career opportunity turned into a part-time venture that Janet pursued on the weekends. She considered becoming a Registered Dietician to further credential herself in this new area but instead found The Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York and became a Certified Health Coach. This school was the perfect combination of teaching, counseling, and business building that Janet needed to launch her new entrepreneurial venture. Guest lecturers included leading health care and mind/body/spirit experts like Andrew Weil, MD and Deepak Chopra.

Janet has since become an ambassador for the school and in this role spreads the word about the program while sharing her personal and professional journey to good health. While Janet was able to reinvent her health and well being, her day job took an unexpected turn and she was laid off from her firm over a year ago due to cut backs in the economy.

As the saying goes, a door closes and a window opens and this serendipitous opportunity gave Janet the freedom to pursue her passion full-time. Now known as The Diabetes Coach, Janet has built a business to provide hope and resources for those who struggle with this Type 2 diabetes.

It is projected that without a change in current obesity rates, 0ne in three children born after the year 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes at some point in their life, and Janet is on a mission to give a human face to this disease and empower her clients to live fuller lives. She is tapping into her former life as an attorney to write a novel called “Diabetes on Trial” to give a voice to those who live with this disease.

The Mission of a Great Life

Janet’s current book “The Diabetes Coach Approach” is an easy to follow, self-paced program that shows her clients how to unleash the power of whole foods to control blood sugars, how to manage weight without dieting, and how to make healthy lifestyle changes. Her eight steps to change management, empowers those with Type 2 diabetes to live fuller, healthier lives.

But Janet’s career transition was not effortless. She utilized two business coaches to help her visualize her Diabetes Coach business and determine how she could make her livelihood from this new venture. She worked to develop a brand and multiple streams of income including her coaching sessions, e-books, recipe cards, public speaking and webinars. Her latest product, the Diabetes Tool Kit is targeted to become a sought after resource for national health care providers.

By walking the walk herself, Janet is living her mission of a healthy life. She is the ultimate role model for her clients and can relate from experience to the day-to-day challenges and realities of this disease.

A Team of One

For her entire professional career, Janet worked in large organizations with sizable teams so the transition to being her own boss took time. She is celebrating her passion for helping people and enjoys having control of her own time but the challenge in the beginning was finding the discipline to treat this new venture like a job. Janet enjoys what she is doing so much it often seems too good to be true that this is her new profession.

There are emotional ups and downs to starting a business as well. When Janet gets stuck she calls on her team of coaches to find solutions and plan a strategy. At the end of the day, she says looking out her home office window onto her beautiful garden brings her great joy. She never looked back to the days of the billable hour and is focused and determined to make this new business a success.

Janet to Janet

You never know who in your network will turn out to be influential. Janet Sanders had been watching Philly TV news anchor, Janet Zappala for years before she had the opportunity to meet her in person at a charity event. Zappala is also on a nutritional mission and authored the cookbook “My Italian Kitchen” featuring delicious and healthy foods. Janet Sanders was showcasing a diabetic friendly chocolate product at the event when Janet Zappala approached her booth. The two Janets became fast friends and ultimate colleagues and they feature each other on their respective websites.

Building a personal advisory board has been very helpful to Janet as she launched her business. She continues to tap into this valuable resource and also looks to pay-it-forward to others who can utilize her strategic alliance.

The future is bright for Janet Sanders and she has new programs in her pipeline for stress eating solutions and stress management for lawyers, among many other projects. A career reinvention and a health renovation have given birth to Janet’s great new life.

Janet’s Advice and Action Steps:

• Develop a plan, and assemble your advisory board of mentors, resources, and people who will share candid feedback.

• Be good to yourself.

• Make yourself accountable for all your actions, it will motivate you.

• Join networking and social groups for support and camaraderie.

• If you aren’t ready to go “full time” with a new venture, start slowly while employed, with the goal of building your business with a phased plan for success.

Quote: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi

Resources:

The Diabetes Coach www.diabetescoaching.com

The Institute of Integrative Nutrition http://www.integrativenutrition.com/

Janet Zappala http://janetzappala.com/

Carey Peters: Wellness Career Coach www.coachtoolstogo.com

At the time, my goals seemed so out of reach and far off in the future but this exercise with Deborah taught me that first I needed to announce my goals out loud, then write them down, and then continue on the path of making them a reality. I remember announcing to my family that I was writing a book and at that time I was still early on in the research phase. They politely said – “that’s nice” and the conversation moved on to other things. My family loves me but I’m not sure they really believed I was serious about the book in the early days.

When I began telling everyone in my circle of trust (and beyond) that I was writing a book, the dream became a reality for me and people with publishing expertise started popping up in my world. Coincidence – maybe, but I really believe it was the law of attraction at work. My family began to realize I was serious and began to appreciate my vision more seriously.

When I fully owned my dreams and goals, the plan began to unfold and people started entering my life who became an integral part of my book journey. I’m not saying these people just fell out of the sky but I am saying that when I owned my goals and repeatedly announced them, the strategy became clearer and the resources I needed became available. This also illustrated the power of positive networking.

Many of you who have heard me speak know that my newest goal is to develop a TV show based on my book that will enable me to spread my message of career reinvention, empowerment, and playing to your strengths to a wider audience. I started sharing this dream aloud about 6 months ago, wrote down my goals, and true to the law of attraction have begun to assemble a fabulous team of media professionals who share my vision of making this TV show a reality. I knew very few of these people 6 months ago but the energy surrounding this project is palpable and contagious and I’m thrilled to be working towards a new goal.

So as you tap members of your personal Board of Directors, think very specifically about what you want to accomplish. Write it down, say it out loud to all who will listen, work hard, and be open to the people who will enter your life to assist you in realizing your goals.

Create your career destiny -don’t let it happen by default!

Kevin Eikenberry wrote a great piece for Superperformance.com illustrating how to nurture your network to keep your connections current and make sure they are feeling your professional love.

Commit – make the decision to retain the relationships that matter and nurture your network.

Call Them – instead of sending an email, pick up the phone and call someone. No need to have an agenda or a reason. Just call to say hello and that you are thinking of them. It’s refreshing to call just to touch base instead of always having a request.

Send a Card – the written note is a dying art so you can distinguish yourself with this technique. A brief note of thanks, encouragement, or just to say hello can be a huge opportunity to nurture a relationship.

Learn About Their Interests – know what people are interested in and send them things related to it like, articles, programs, etc. You don’t have to share the same interests to be on the lookout for something they may find useful. It doesn’t have to be professional – finding information about your colleague’s antique model train collection is a great way to touch base and show that you care.

Learn About Their Goals – when you know what other people are working to achieve you are in a better position to assist. Ask them what they need, then listen and look for ways to help.

Offer to Help and then Help – Be a connector, share ideas and information and offer to help when you can. Be sure to follow-up and keep your promises because the connector relationship can be very powerful.

Follow-up – be consistent about following up on all commitments you make. Period.

Don’t Worry About You – keep your focus on helping, aiding, and assisting the other person. The seeds you plant by assisting another will grow into great things for you.

Do it Now – start now and commit to nurturing your network on a regular basis. If your contact list is large then do this incrementally and systematically so the task is enjoyable and feasible. But the sooner the better so get to it!

When interviewing for a job or meeting someone for the first time in a networking scenario, using appropriate eye contact can make or break your first impression. Jack Junier writes for Helium online and shared some great food for thought about why eye contact can help you make a fantastic first impression as a well-rounded and socially adept candidate.

Confidence – looking down in a conversation is a classic sign of submission and indicates a lack of confidence about the subject matter at hand. If you spend your time looking at the table during your interview, your recruiter will wonder how you will react in front of clients or when asked to be accountable for a project.

Competence – watch out for the side-to-side tennis match syndrome as well as the downward eye focus as this may indicate that you are not trustworthy. Body language speaks volumes and bouncing your gaze around the room will indicate that you are flighty and unable to focus.

Focus and Drive – if you have ever experienced a conversation with someone whose gaze was fixed on some point off in the distance you know the awkward feeling of not being taken seriously in a discussion. This lack of visual focus is a major red flag and indicates that you might not have the clarity to concentrate enough to get the job done.

Aggression – while eye contact is important you don’t want to stalk your interviewer or invade their personal space. Staring can create mistrust and indicate that you are interested in dominating the conversation.

Conversation and Tone – the best interview or networking scenario is one that is conversational in tone and natural enough to feel like a conversation with family or friends. Make eye contact initially, always when someone begins speaking, and again when you give your answer. If you look away, do so sparingly and turn your head slightly to the side keeping a serious and thoughtful expression so you send the signal that you are still engaged in the conversation.

Natural eye contact takes practice so be observant of others who do it well and practice in a mirror to see what your facial expressions depict. If possible, have a mock interview recorded to really see what message your eye contact and body language is conveying.

I’ve seen men and women in career transition flinch from this question especially if they are unemployed at the time. Others base their entire identity on their career and launch into a long winded discussion about the details of their job.

In the USA, most of us default into answering this question based on our career or professional lives. While in most other parts of the world, particularly in Europe, the asker wants to know about your hobbies, how you spend your free time, and what your interests are beyond work? I’ve even heard an international colleague stop a responder from launching into a discussion about her career by saying – “Please tell me about you and what you do beyond work.”

I’m not suggesting that you shy away from a discussion about the professional you but feel free to take a chance and steer the conversation towards the avocation side of your life. It might be refreshing to start a conversation and establish a new friendship with someone based on who you are as opposed to what you do.

In the spirit of good networking, it’s not always about the professional arena. You can and should build your community of new contacts with people who do interesting things that appeal to you in addition to potential professional connections. You can always steer the conversation back to the career world but it would be refreshing to learn about your interest in organic gardening before you launch into your Project Manager role at company X.

Starting a conversation with your interests can also build trust and help others feel safe since inappropriate networkers are everywhere and blatantly ask for job leads making people feel uncomfortable and threatened by a new introduction.

Be confident in discussing who you are and not what you do as this refreshing change may lead to a more long term relationship that lasts beyond the cocktail reception.

As Rachel indicated in her piece, the economy is rebounding but that does not mean automatic work for job seekers and managing expectations is very important. I encourage those questing for work to be cautiously optimistic and not let it get the emotional best of you.

Jenny Foss, of Ladder Recruiting Group was also featured in the article and shared that there are many emotions that go along with long term unemployment including inadequacy, anger, terror, and shame but they key is to manage these emotions and tap into your resiliency skills.

With the reality of the hidden job market it’s impossible to conduct an effective job search just by applying to posted positions. Jenny Foss and I offered up these tips in the article to get you jumpstarted.

• Consider your job search a full-time job.
• Catch your breath. Calm down before you scramble to find a new plan.
• Know what your strengths are. Develop your special sauce story so you can illustrate why you are a value-add to an organization.
• Focus on your competencies not just job titles.
• Polish your interview and storytelling abilities. A great interview is a fluid conversation — not stock answers.
• Explore social media techniques for job search like Facebook, Twitter, a personal blog and LinkedIn.
• Craft a formal game plan. Don’t flail your way through every day. Have a plan and a schedule for each day.
• Stop playing the blame game. At the end of the day figure out what is not working and then craft a strategy around it. If you can’t find your way in through the front door, find the side door. It’s all about being creative and strategic in order to be successful.

My first suggestion is to distinguish yourself by calling instead of emailing. Everybody is inundated with multiple emails but we are drawn to the human voice in a more compelling way. Compose a script and practice your call before you make it. Your content should be clear, concise, and enticing to the listener. If you get voice mail be ready to leave a well thought out message that includes your contact information.

Speaking slowly and clearly is imperative since you don’t have the benefit of eye contact. If you repeat your name and phone number at the end of the message you get extra points since the listener won’t have to replay the message to jot down your info.

If you’ve left a voice mail and perhaps even an email and still have not heard back from your contact – wait 2 weeks and ping them again. People are busy and you want to give them the benefit of the doubt without becoming a stalker. If they have not responded after the 2 weeks, retry then move on. No doesn’t mean no forever, but it does mean no for now. You can try back in a few months to see if you get a different response.

By being an active follow-upper you are also able to steward relationships in your current pipeline. Let’s say you’ve met with an individual for coffee and conducted an informational interview about their career because it is of interest to you. In addition to the hand-written thank you note, you should circle back in a few weeks to check-in and update this person about your progress.

Falling off the radar screen makes you a passive follow-upper and easily forgettable. It’s a competitive marketplace out there and out of sight is out of mind. There is great fortune in the follow-up and you don’t have to ask for something each time you make contact. A wonderful reason to follow-up is to share your additional thanks or to keep the individual informed about your current status.

Always remember, the rule of good networking is to consider how you can reciprocate by paying-it-forward. An ideal reason to follow-up up with your contact is to ask – How can I help you?