LinkedIn Data Reveals Canadian Men are Savvier Online Professional Networkers Than Women

I was quoted in a media release from LinkedIn this morning and thought I should share the results with you. I personally think women are great on-line networkers!

The definition of a Savvy Networker is -

“A professional with a robust network of trusted business contacts who actively works toward creating new career opportunities for themselves and the people in their network. “

Men are savvier online professional networkers than women Toronto, Canada — June 22, 2011 —

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 100 million members worldwide and more than three million in Canada, today released data on the differences between men and women when it comes to networking professionally online.

To declare a winner in this battle of the sexes argument, LinkedIn developed an online professional networking “savviness” ranking. Globally and in Canada men are savvier online professional networkers than women.

LinkedIn defines online professional networking savviness as a ratio of two things: the ratio of connections that men have to connections that women have and the ratio of male members on LinkedIn to female members.

“Making connections and building solid relationships is crucial to business growth,” said Donna Messer, Canadian networking guru and owner of ConnectUs Communications. “As a businesswoman and entrepreneur, I don’t always have time to meet everyone face to face and networking online using LinkedIn has given me visibility and credibility. I encourage women to consider LinkedIn as a place to find common ground with their business contacts and to build relationships that will ultimately lead to career success.”

That’s not to say women aren’t already teaching men a professional networking lesson or two. “My husband was thinking of going back to school so I introduced him to LinkedIn,” said Alexa Samuels, a retail strategy consultant and LinkedIn member based in Toronto. “I showed him how to use LinkedIn Advanced People Search to find graduates of the program he was applying to and so he could connect with them to get the inside scoop.” LinkedIn’s data got even more interesting when it was sliced by industry.

What you would think would be a female savvy industry (the textiles industry for example) is actually a male savvy industry.

In the shipbuilding and think tank industries, it was the female professionals that were savvier online networkers than the men.

Top Canadian industries where women are savvier online professional networkers than men

1. Alternative medicine 2. Think tanks 3. Shipbuilding 4. Writing and editing 5. Alternative dispute resolution

Top Canadian industries where men are savvier online professional networkers than women

1. Textiles 2. Glass, ceramics & concrete 3. Investment banking 4. Recreational facilities and services 5. Government relations

In Canada, men and women were equally as savvy in the following industries: “architecture & planning,” “furniture,” “market research,” “public safety” and “ranching.”

Download our infographic and get more details on LinkedIn’s battle of the sexes on the LinkedIn Blog: http://lnkd.in/men-vs-women. Press contacts

For press inquiries, please email press@linkedin.com About LinkedIn Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

With more than 100 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenues coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn also has offices across North America, as well as throughout Europe and Asia and in India and Australia.

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A Poem Written by Barb Babj

Many thanks for your poem Barb. I am including the link to the latest interview on That Channel with Hugh Reilly – it’s all about the New Entrepreneur – and to my thinking, that just might be you!

I sent you an email out of the blue,

You invited a call, though the contact was new. 

Amidst 400 emails, with no time to natter,

You were able to jump to the heart of the matter. 

In less than five minutes, as we chatted away,

You brainstormed some thoughts, held “yeah, but” at bay. 

Thoughts followed thoughts, with no time for blinking,

You expanded the space with lateral thinking, 

I looked at your website, I tiptoed around,

I learned many things as I covered that ground. 

You live your brand, about people you care,

For creative thinking you have quite a flair. 

Your sense of compassion is honest and true,

Your whimsy and humour are slightly askew. 

I learned about dragons, the power of prayers,

I walked through the forest and read about bears. 

Some of your stories could rival Aesop,

There’s power in giving, you RISE to the top. 

I learned you’ve no time for the “Sorry, not-yetters”,

You give your support to the driven “go-getters”. 

The connections you form are often long-lasting,

You don’t disappoint, there’s no room for “bombasting”. 

Per our conversation, I needed a “WOW”

To elicit “Oh, Boy!” instead of an “ow”. 

You asked for a gift, of person or thing,

I decided to write, cuz I really can’t sing.

In closing, I offer my network, my time,

All that I am, and even this rhyme. 

And one tiny thing more, it may give you a lift,

A small talisman, I’d like to gift.

(a tiny Teddy Bear)
Teddy Bear

thatchanneltv has shared a video with you on YouTube: ThatChannel com Interview 2011 06j 14 Donna Messer The New Entrepreneur

 

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Volunteer Work Can Open Career Doors

The article below appeared in the Toronto Star on January 18th, 2011. It was written by Tracy Hanes and when she called me, she asked me about “Changing Priorities”. I immediately thought of how volunteering has become one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to finding that perfect career.

Tolu and I have been together as Mentor and Protegee, and as friends for the past 3 years.  I’m proud of her accomplishments and I know that without the relationship we built, the doors to her perfect career would not have opened. 

I encourage everyone to consider volunteering and to use a systematic process to determine where the best fit may be.  

Thanks Tracy for the great article!  Thanks Tolu and Lee Koren for the agreeing to share your insight and experience with Tracy.

Thanks to all of the people who participated in the Leads, Needs and Good Deeds event!  I’m going to host another one soon!

 

Volunteer Work Can Open Career Doors

                                                                                  

Tracy Hanes Special to the Star

 ”When you learn it’s about what you can do for others, they return the good deed.” Tolulope Olutunfese, food scientist and recent immigrant                       

             “People forgot how good it feels to give back. They are so used to dipping into their pockets.” Donna Messer, Networking Expert.

When Tolulope Olutunfese, her husband and young daughter arrived in Burlington from Nigeria in October 2007, she was optimistic about a better life. But even though she held a bachelor’s degree in food science and had work experience in that field, her job search proved futile.

“It was tough to find work and it was overwhelming,” she recalls.

Through the Mentoring Partnership, a program of the Toronto Immigrant Employment Council delivered by Sheridan College, she was assigned a mentor. She was paired with Donna Messer, a well-known networking expert and president of Connect Us Canada, an Oakville-based company.

Messer is on the board of the Women in Food Industry Management Association (WFIM) and arranged for Olutunfese to volunteer there. About the same time, Olutunfese accepted a job “out of desperation” working in the refrigerated area of a meat processing company. The working environment wasn’t ideal for her and she wasn’t using her full knowledge and skills.

“I’d sent out my resume to a lot of places but I didn’t understand the barriers,” she says. “I was qualified but had no Canadian work experience. When I met Donna, she introduced me to people in the field that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.”

Messer taught her to change her priorities: instead of focusing on her own needs and what others could do for her, Messer urged her to see what she could do for others.

“When you learn it’s about what you can do for others, they return the good deed. In volunteering with WIFM, I got to know people well, they got to know me and became willing to provide references,” she says. “No matter where you are from or from what culture, you really do have some things in common.”

Her confidence soared as she realized she had something to offer.

Through her new contacts, Olutunfese landed a job working in research and product development for Fruition, a company that supplies fruit fillings to Tim Hortons and other companies.

She is still involved with WIFM (she recently wrote an article on food allergies for members) and says volunteering opened doors that wouldn’t have otherwise. “Volunteering gives an opportunity for people to know about you and then they become willing to go out on a limb for you.”

The key to success for individuals, companies and organizations is to shift their thinking from “me” to “we” says Messer.

She was invited to speak to a law firm in Toronto that raises $800,000 per year for the United Way about how to make their canvassing more successful. Instead of leaving a pledge form on people’s desks, Messer suggested canvassers get to know a bit about their intended donors.

“For instance, in one cubicle was a photo of a girl and a dog. I’d leave a dog biscuit with the form,” she says. “Another cubicle had a photo of a girl in a ballet costume. I found out that another employee could get tickets to the ballet and suggested they give them to that person. Making people feel important doesn’t cost anything.”

She is a board member of United Way of Oakville, which is facing fundraising challenges, like many non-profit organizations these days.

Messer organized a Leads, Needs and Good Deeds networking workshop that brought together 150 of her contacts (including individuals and representatives from businesses and associations) to exchange leads, offer help to others and share good deeds.

Attendees brought items or services to raffle and, in return, made several new connections. All proceeds went to United Way of Oakville.

“The most important thing is that people forgot how good it feels to give back. They are so used to dipping into their pockets,” says Messer. “People want it to come from within, not just from their pocketbooks.”

Lee Koren, who attended the event, met Messer after she was downsized from her Toronto recruiting job.

“I had networks of people I knew and businesses I worked with, but Donna really opened my eyes about networking. Networking’s not just the people you know, but people you don’t know. It’s not ‘what can you do for me’, but ‘what can I do for you’.”

Koren started volunteering her time to help people in transition, using her knowledge about what hiring managers are usually looking for.

At the same time, she started her own recruiting company, Selection Strategy, and has started writing blogs for others (she also works part-time as a recruiter for Ian Martin Recruitment Services).

“I am not only helping so many people, I am helping myself as well,” Koren says. “I keep networking and making connections. It takes years of connections to build your business.”

Messer says transitions between jobs can be scary but they also offer huge opportunities to learn new things and get involved.  “It’s important to think laterally, and always think in terms of we, not me.

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Me to We” – That’s the message “Leads, Needs and Good Deeds” brought to the audience!

“Me to We” – That’s the message “Leads, Needs and Good Deeds” brought to the audience!   The message I received loud and clear at the Leads, Needs and Good Deeds event was all about the Power of Relationships. The people in the room were business owners, entrepreneurs, financial experts, healthcare professionals, recruiters, and not for profit organizations, all people willing to share who they knew. I talked briefly about turning the mindset in the room from “Me to We”, and that is exactly what they did!   The networking and relationship building that began with this event MUST continue! The message was inspiring and motivating. People came from everywhere. John Huard, came from Pembroke. He volunteers on the streets of Toronto each year in December – his main objective is to make sure young kids living on the street, get into a safe house, get food, shelter, perhaps reconnect with their parents, or in some cases find work.   The ConnectUs Career and Business Café that was introduced at the event was very busy, Lee Koren, our resident expert was on hand to answer any relevant questions. The Café is an incubator for anyone in career transition or in start up mode with a new business.     There was a buzz in the room, and it was great to watch as everyone in attendance as they tried to meet as many people as possible. Everyone did their best to find “common ground” and I know they will soon turn that first meeting into a relationship that will result in business development. Below is the best way to measure the results of the event.

Maximize Your Leads, Needs and Good Deeds   Mentorship – Find a mentor – find someone who can help you grow simply by spending time with them.    Boards and Volunteering – Consider donating your time to a good cause. By joining one of these groups you can create new bonds and that could help your business or your personal growth.   Alliances/Partners/collaborations – Relationships mean that both sides benefit. Join forces with others and open yourself to new markets and revenue streams.   Networking – This is the single most important and measurable way to grow. Using ConnectUs and our systematic process works! Networking is about developing relationships, it’s being “We centered, not Me focused”. It’s about taking time to learn about others and sharing what you learn.     “We” Team – Don’t own a business? You still need to be part of team! Share your expertise; it’s great to have a 3rd party referral. I invite you to be part of a “Success Team” – this is a ConnectUs driven, mastermind group – where you network with inspiring people, you create a goal and everyone on your team assists, inspires and motivates you to think and reach beyond your comfort zone. Check out the ConnectUs Career & Business Café – it’s both an incubator and an idea factory!   Donna

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Career Search Leverage – How to Find It, Use It and Measure It!

Career Search Leverage – How to Find It, Use It and Measure It!

I participated in a career fair on Friday, October 29^th, 2010 at Windows in the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto. The event was sponsored by www.TorontoJobs.ca  While 2,000 pre-registered, over 7,000 attended! 

What an incredible number of individuals from all walks of life, some with graduate degrees and some with high school – all in search of that next career opportunity. They all came in with one purpose – to give out resumes and find a job! How discouraging it must have been for so many of them that were told, “go to the company website to apply”. How can they leverage attending the career fair and meeting with company representatives, if they now have to apply on line?

It’s a simple strategy; I know it works, because I’m able to measure the results. For the people who were in my very brief presentation, presented in tandem with Yousuf Khatib from www.WorldFinancialGroup.com they heard the message, and many of them will act on what they learned. Yousuf offers opportunities for anyone interested in knowing how to manage money, to save money, or to actually make that money grow!

What’s the strategy? It’s leverage! It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know, and how they might be valuable to the company you want to work with. It’s being that person who actually sends a thank you note to the representative of the company you visited at the Career Fair. It’s taking the time to share what you learned with others, so that the focus is no longer on “me” but turned outward to “we” and using that leverage every chance you get.

I talked briefly about how Yousuf and I met – and how each of us has used leverage to increase our visibility and to be able to measure the results of our knowing each other. Similarly, leverage is used between Marc Belaiche, the owner of www.TorontoJobs.ca  and my company www.ConnectUsCanada.com  Do either of us hire the other? No, we find joint ventures, strategic alliances and opportunities to share resources. Who benefits? Both of us! What’s the cost? Nothing, it’s taking the time to find out who I know, that might need to know Marc and Toronto Jobs. His role is to do likewise. We are both practicing the art of ethical and effective networking that will generate measurable results.

For everyone looking for that next job there are so many ways to improve your chances of moving to the head of the line when it comes to interviews. It’s not just about your education and your experience, it’s about who you are and what you do, outside of the job, it’s about who you know and what you know about them.

In order to really benefit from attending this career fair – use the following steps. If you gathered business cards from each of the companies exhibiting that you might want to work with, send that person a personal note of thanks. If you can take the time to actually mail your thanks, making sure your English is correct. If you don’t want to send via Canada Post, use an email, but make sure you say where you met in the subject line. And let that person know that you will be applying on line. If you’ve heard what I’ve been saying, you will include in that note, something about you or who you know that will help them remember you. There is a wonderful blog written by Lee Koren I recommend you read http://bselected.wordpress.com It tracks a job search to a successful hire!

I suggested that people attend events that are not just career fairs, but places they can volunteer, or meet new people. For those interested, I’ve listed a few of the places I will be speaking in November I encourage you to consider attending some of them, if it can help you use your leverage! If you want details on any of the events below visit the websites.  

November events:

Queens University – Nov. 5^th – QBET www.qbet.ca

HAPPEN – Mississauga – Nov. 9^th www.happen.ca

MITACS – U of T – Toronto Chestnut Residence – Nov. 9^th www.mitacs.ca

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce – Nov. 16^th – www.hamiltonchamber.on.ca

Company of Women – Pickering – Nov. 17^th www.companyofwomen.ca

PMI – U of T, Mississauga Campus – Nov. 20^th http://www.pmi-lakeshore.org

Leads, Needs and Good Deeds – Oakville – Nov 24^th www.connectuscanada.com

My final words for this blog are simple – Make sure that you have turned your job search into a rapport building exercise. Take time to find out what you have in common and what you can share that goes beyond just who you are and what you know. Take a leap of faith and share more – your understanding of cultural diversity, technology, people and most of all – your desire to share your resources. People like people who are like themselves, they buy from them, sell to them and most of all they hire them!  Good luck and if you need a little help – check out the ConnectUs Career Café! It’s run by experts who are part of the ConnectUs network – there is a fee, and it’s your choice to choose what you need and when you need it.  

Donna

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