Discovering Your Strengths

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Discovering Your Strengths The Power of
Networking

• TIPS COMPASS Program
• November 15, 2006
• 830 1000 AM
• Kathleen Sexton Meghan Chrisman
• Stanford Training OD Department

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Agenda Outcomes

• Introductions
• COMPASS News
• Discover Your Strengths
• Create Your Personal Sound Bite
• Speed Networking session

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COMPASS Updates

• 2007 course schedule
• CCN program news

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(No Transcript)
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Discovering Your Strengths

• Purpose
• Investigate what strengths have helped you be
  successful in the past.
• Use these strengths to help you with your future
  career development, be that exploring career
  paths, education, or job searching.

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Discovering Your Strengths Instructions

• Find a partner.
• Read the interview instructions (page 2).
• Select the 1st interviewee.
• Interviewer 1 just asks questions 1 2 from
  page 3.
• Switch roles and do Interview 2.
• Allow 10 minutes for each interview.
• Each interviewer writes notes on Summary Sheet
  (page 4) and gives it to the interviewee.

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Strengths Skills Resources

• Additional resources to explore your strengths
  skills
• Skillscan test on the Compass website
• https//hrweb.stanford.edu/training/desktop/career
  selfset.html
• Work with a CCN counselor

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Personal Sound Bite

• Why create one?
• To be clear about you and your strengths when
  meeting new people
• When would you use it?
• Informational interviews
• Networking at conferences
• Meeting introductions

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Creating Your Personal Sound Bite

• What do you include?
• Name
• Organization
• Your role
• Something about what you do and your
  skills/strengths (pulled from the previous
  exercise)
• Take 5 minutes to jot down what you would say in
  your personal sound bite

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Networking

• Why network?
• Types of networks
• Strong-tie network
• Folks you know well and engage in ongoing
  resource exchange
• Weak-tie network
• Folks you know but there is no regular exchange
  of resources
• Studies show that more often you find jobs
  through your weak-tie network

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How Do You Network?

• Think about what do you have to offer
• Your skills, knowledge, own network of people
• Think about what are you looking for
• Advice
• Information
• Suggestions
• Feedback
• Insight
• Leads

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Speed Networking Purpose

• A format for building internal and external
  business connections.
• Quick way to share your strengths and practice
  your sound bite.
• Learn about other departments and meet other SU
  folks.
• Make possible career connections.
• Pass along information from one person to another
  for the purpose of being of value and service.

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Speed Networking Set Up

• Form tables of 8 people
• Count off 1 -2, 1-2, 1-2,1-2etc
• Number 1s will move clockwise
• Number 2s stay put
• 5 minutes per round -- 2.5 minutes per person
• 4 Rounds

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Speed Networking Format

• 2.5 minutes per person
• Share your sound bite
• Optional
• Anything you want to ask for
• Any information you can provide
• Do you know someone this person should talk to?
• Exchange business cards

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Keys to Successful Networking

• Follow up stay in touch
• Remember to offer something to the folks in your
  network
• Build your community by going to events to meet
  people
• Explore online networking tools like
  www.linkedin.com
• Building a network takes time