JUNE 8, 2010 – LEARN HOW - JOIN US AT THE New York NSOW Networking Meeting. At 6:30p.m., Brooke Allen will lead a discussion of how to do this.

JUNE 23, 2010 – GO TO A TRADE SHOW AND LOOK FOR WORK – We will be getting our free exhibitor passes and attending a trade show in NYC. Hand out your own calling cards as well as NSoW cards that we will be providing. Read the details below, and then write to: adrienne@noshortageofwork.com to say you’d like to join us. (You need not have come to the June 8 meeting to participate, but we recommend that you do.)

Trade Shows are excellent places to find work – often better than jobs fairs.

Why? Because:

• Sales People understand Karma – they know that what goes around comes around, so (almost) all look for opportunities to help others, even when it doesn’t mean a sale.
• Trade Shows are full of Sales People – and if you take an interest in them and their products, they will take an interest in you. Offer to help them, and they will offer to help you. Actually, in many cases, they will offer to help you no matter what.
• Sales People sit at the hubs of vast networks – even if helping you isn’t high on their To-Do list, as you talk about all the ways you can help others, they will be thinking of ways they might do a favor for an important contact of theirs by introducing you to them.
• Jobs Fairs which are full of H. R. People – whose primary job is to weed out candidates. If you are not right for a position, it is a rare HR person who will lift a finger in helping you find a job elsewhere.

F. A. Q. About finding work at a trade show:

Q. How does going to a trade show lead to work?

A. Just going probably won’t lead to work. To find work, you will need to talk to people.

Q. What do I do?

A. Your goal is to start a conversation with exhibitors. Their goal is to do the same thing with you, but not just any conversation. They are paying money to be there, so, as a courtesy, you should get to the point as quickly as possible, and disclose your true interests. Then, as quickly as possible, establish yourself as a helpful person. Nobody wants to refer an unhelpful person to a job – after all, jobs are advertised in the Help Wanted section.

Q. How can I be helpful?

A. A good place to start is by asking?

Imagine you are trying to make a living selling something. You face rejection all day long, and most people you meet do not care about you or take the time to learn about your products. They don’t even feel a need to treat you like a human; after all, you are just a salesman.

Now, imagine your reaction if someone said this to you:

Hi, my name is X, and I am unemployed, so I have time to learn new things, meet new people, and find ways I can be of help to others, whether on a paying job or not. Would you have time to explain your product to me even though I am not an immediate prospect? I’d like to add an awareness of your product to my store of knowledge, and perhaps some day, I can become a valuable contact of yours.

Wow, I would have a hard time turning down such an offer. How about you?

Q. But I expect that salesmen would have no trouble brushing me off – they are salesmen, after all. They’re only there to make money, right?

A. Then you don’t know salesmen, or at least you don’t know many good ones. But, there is a chance they actually don’t have time for you – trade shows can be very busy places, and to keep a hot prospect waiting while you ask naive questions might be a poor use of their time. In such cases, you might say: “When might you have time?” “How can I learn more without taking your time?” “Do you have any literature I can read?” “Who else might I talk to?” Whatever you do, don’t take offense – rejection is nothing personal – a stranger you just met hasn’t had time to learn to dislike you. Worst case, just go on to the next person – you won’t have time to meet everyone, anyway.

Q. Why would a salesman help me?

A. Start by asking them to work with you to determine what is in it for them. Here are some suggestions: If you know their product, you might recommend it to others, or buy it when you land a job. Often, a prospect can’t buy a new product without first hiring a new person to use it, so by recommending you as a new hire, the salesman might make a sale. If there isn’t a hotter prospect standing at his or her booth, you can be an opportunity to practice their pitch.

But most good salesmen know how important it is to made deposits in the Karma bank. Not all good deeds are rewarded, but many are, often in unexpected ways.

Q. You want me to talk about how I can help them. When do we get to talk about how they can help me?

A. You don’t even need to bring up the subject; they will.  Think about what happens when someone tries to sell you something. They talk about the benefits they can offer you. You know that, if you buy, they’ll get something out of it, but for them to talk about that will turn you off.

If you offer a compelling proposition – one where they can see what is in it for them – they will want to know what they can offer in return to make sure you follow through.

Q. What kind of show should I attend?

A. Obvious candidates are those in your industry. Less obvious are those in unrelated industries. For example, in 2009, at a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association technology trade show, NSoW members found people who could use help in: Human Resources, Computer Programming, Technical Writing, Office Management, Marketing and Sales, Website Development, Teaching/Training, Publishing, and Non-Profit Management,  to name a few. In short, all the things that a business or organization does.

Q. How can I learn more?

A. Join us at our next networking party. At the time of this writing, that would be on June 8, 2010. At 6:30 we will discuss this topic further. Find details of the party here.

Q. Where can I attend a show?

A. Of course, you can do this at any trade show. If you would like company, the next time we will be covering a trade show will be on June 23, 2010 in New York City. A Vendor Exhibition Pass is free, and there is no cost to join us at NSoW. For details, write to Adrienne Rodney at: adrienne@noshortageofwork.com

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