So, how did the first 5 days go?  Good I hope!  If you haven’t read them yet, make sure you check out this post (CLICK HERE).

Expand Your Community with 30 Days of Networking: Days 6-10

“Position yourself as a center of influence – the one who knows the movers and shakers. People will respond to that, and you’ll soon become what you project.” – Bob Burg

“More business decisions occur over lunch and dinner than at any other time, yet no MBA courses are given on the subject.” -Peter Drucker

Here are days 6-10 of connecting and creating the environment and community that YOU want for yourself!!

• Day 6: Make a list of people you have lost touch with. Sometimes it feels like there is not enough time in a day to stay involved in the lives of our family and friends.  Make a list today of all the friends and family members that you would like to catch up with.
• Day 7: Make a 4 X 4 list and contact these people.  Make a plan to meet with 4 people that you already know and 4 people that you don’t know.  Call and email these people to see if they would be interested in meeting with you over the next month or two. (Remember that you don’t have to meet these 8 people in person, you can always practice your interview skills over the phone also!)
• Day 8: Do research on the 4 people you don’t know.  To make sure that you make a great impression and get the most out of the informational interview, make sure you research their industry, their company and their background.  Linkedin and Google are very useful tools for this.  Remember, the goal of this meeting is to get a referral to speak with someone else, so you must be as knowledgeable as possible and put your best foot forward even though this isn’t a real job interview.  You never know who they might know and be able to refer you to!
• Day 9: Write out the questions you will ask during the interviews. After doing research about who you will be meeting with, make a list of all the questions.  Some great questions are: What is your typical day like?  How did you get your job and how do you recommend someone like me get into your field?  How is the economy affecting your industry?  What do you like most about the company you work for?  Do you know of other people whom I might talk to who have similar jobs?  Save a document with these questions online so that you always have it handy to print or refer to.
• Day 10: Review your interview outfits.  Do you have a comfortable interview outfit that you can be confident in?  Try on what you plan to wear to the informational interview and look at yourself in the mirror.  Do you look professional?  If not, spend some time today at the mall so that you can make sure you will be comfortable.  You will be going on many interviews soon and you want to make sure you don’t have to stress about what to wear!