Your Network and You: The Most Important Question

@JGoldsborough @Shonali Uh, Justin? Have you seen how the offensive line does NOT protect Cutler? I"m convinced it's because Cutler slept with one of their wives and they pretty much said, "Screw you." So, bad example, because I think you COULD play for the Bears right now.

@ginidietrich @Shonali Passion is important, because some people don't even have that. WIlling to try, ok with failing. All good characteristics. That said, I love football. Love it! But I've never played. And if I put on shoulder pads and a helmet and call up the Chicago Bears to say I'm passionate about football and I am willing to try, they're going to laugh me out of the city. If they pick up the phone.

One thing I would say...if I had someone answered your question, Shonali, by saying "no, I probably don't have all the necesary skills, but I am a hard worker and I pick things up fast," they'd have my attention. If they could give me an example validated by references, well, I just might consider them depending on the competition. At the very least, I'd respect him/her.

@Shonali HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's like, "So tell me why you want to work in communications?" "Well, I'm really good with people."

@jennalanger @jmatthicks Solid point, Jenna. And great to see you here btw. Understanding of channels and willingness/passion to learn are two things I would definitely want to hear more about from any candidate. Also, I like where you're going with "How did you develop your current network?" How about a variation of that: "Explain to me the value of you network."

One of my former colleagues at Applebee's and I used to do Intranet training. We always talked about how the successful community managers were the ones who cared and wanted to learn how the technology works, how it could best benefit their teams. How people go about problem solving, especially in unfamiliar territory, is a very important attribute to consider.

@JMattHicks @ginidietrich Thanks for the kinds words. Glad it was beneficial for you. Online or offline, you can never meet too many people, build too many relationships or network too much. Not possible.

@ValerieSimon Hi, Valerie. Thanks for stopping by. Not doing research is lazy. And as you and Gini are alluding to, if a candidate is already lazy in the interview phase, what's the point? I like "Why do you want to work here?" and what I'd be looking for in an answer is 1) something that doesn't sound rehearsed and 2) something that shows passion or an inquisitive nature. People who are pasionate or eager can make up for what they don't know and meet people who can help them learn it. People who are lazy are, well, just lazy. I'll take work ethic over smarts almost every time. Cheers.

@@peter_osborne That is a great way to phrase it. "What makes you remarkable?" Professionals young and old need to remember they are "interviewing" every day of their lives in everything they do -- internally at work, with clients, through networking. Show me creativity in the way you go about your business and show me why that creativity would improve my work environment and results.

Sounds so simple and cliche, but it's all about people. I can tell in one or two questions if a person understands that. Anyone who gets the value smart people and perspectives bring to the table and isn't intimidated by it has the chance to be remarkable. Give yourself a chance.

@@peter_osborne It's so funny you write this today as we have had a plethora of interviews with people who a) don't read Spin Sucks and b) don't understand what Arment Dietrich does to make money. They either know me online or have heard about this cool place to work and don't do ANY homework. After wasting our time with the first couple, we created a line of questioning that an intern completes with candidates, just to see if they know who we are and what we do. You would not believe the number of candidates who don't know. I mean, it's shocking.

This would be a good follow-up guest blog for Spin Sucks. Want to write it??

@JGoldsborough @ginidietrich 420list.org is a classifieds, listings, and news website for medical marijuana patients. Unfortunately, these patients comprise a community that has been long-neglected due to prohibition, but change is happening everyday! I am in awe of the amazing things happening at @livefyre and other Bay Area startups and hope to learn enough to transfer even a little of the innovation to the medical marijuana community. I have already changed my perception of community building SO much in the short time I have spent at LiveFyre interacting with the team and amazing community builders such as yourselves. I am extremely excited to continue learning from and interacting with such incredible people!

@ginidietrich@JonHearty
Today what an employee has written and who they bring to the table is absolutely a difference maker. Not to generalize, but most people have a college degree, were involved in several community organizations and have won some awards. Give me more :). I'm looking for a differentiator. Btw, also interested in hearing about 420list.org.

@JonHearty Isn't that the truth! I've been stalking you online. What's 420list.org? I could look it up, but it's way more fun for you to tell ALL of us here.

@JGoldsborough @AndreWillis I wish I could give this 10 thumbs up!

@ginidietrich @AndreWillis I need to work on the reading piece. I read a ton of blogs, not enough books. There, I said it. My first step to recovery. Andre, if you tell me you read Mashable and Crush It, well at least you know what they are. But so do 90 percent of your peers. So you're no better off than if you just sent me your resume cold. And that's not a place you want to be.

To contrast, you were smart enough to read Spin Sucks (eh, Gini :)) and you put yourself out there and asked for perspective in order to learn and improve. Next time you interview, tell me that story and why you don't just read Mashable and Crush It anymore, and I'm listening. You've told me you're willing to learn, open to change and you've got my attention.

@ginidietrich Well, of course I read this wonderful blog. :) Thanks for sharing your point-of-view on that.

@JGoldsborough People will ALWAYS do business with people they like and trust, which is a message I give when I speak. You just now have a better (and more efficient) way of developing those relationships with online tools. So, you're right, who people have in their networks, offline and online, is pretty valuable.

@AndreWillis I hate to say it, but you definitely would not stand out from your competition with us. We'd be looking for things like Spin Sucks (obviously), Harvard Business Review, non-A list bloggers that are really smart in the industry, even Open Forum would work if you could talk about which bloggers you find the most valuable. And, I'd personally drill you on Crush It because, while the message is decent, it was a horribly written book. So I'd push you on that one to really understand why you read it. Because everyone else did (which is why I did - to see what the big deal was) or because you thought it was great writing. If it were the latter, you wouldn't get the job. How about that for honesty?!

@ginidietrich Interesting, Gini. I've been asked "What do you read" in several interviews recently and always responded with well-known industry blogs & books (e.g. Mashable, Crush It). Now I’m thinking, while that answer didn’t hurt, it probably didn’t help me stand out neither, since virtually everyone else in the industry reads those same publications.


@ginidietrich "What do you read?" is a great question, GIni. Definitely one area I'm working on. I am also always looking for what the person has written, which is a great way to differentiate them from the "resume stack."

Arik Hanson had a quote in a post a while back that was something like: "Business, projects, speaking opportunities, friends, learning opportunities and just about everything else positive that happens in your professional life can typically be traced back to personal relationships." It is so true. That's why I latched on to probably the simplest message from Scott's Blogworld keynote -- "people do business with people they like, know and trust." Step away from the technology and it makes a ton of sense, right?