PSCDA October Speaker

October 11, 2007, 6:30 PM

Topic: Lassoing LinkedIn

Speaker: Matt Youngquist

Location: Community Center, Mercer Island, WA (For directions, click here)

PSCDA begins its 2007/2008 year by inviting Matt Youngquist of Career Horizons to share his techniques for enabling clients to maximize their effectiveness in utilizing the technology of the LinkedIn.com social networking system in expanding their job search.

Matt Youngquist founded Career Horizons in 2004 following 12 years with Moore & Associates, a leading Northwest organizational consulting firm. He helped pioneer the company's highly regarded programs covering career transition and outplacement. Matt currently works with clients at all levels on how to strategically assess their careers, explore their occupational options, and reach their professional growth potential. Matt uses a strong passion for the career transition field and a gift for helping clients develop practical solutions to their job search challenges. A frequent author and speaker, his work has been featured in numerous publications including 101 Best Resumes by McGraw Hill, as well as in a monthly "Conscious Careering" column in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Through his experience in advertising and technology, Matt became an early adopter of LinkedIn and has found it extremely useful in helping clients network and find jobs more quickly.

LASSOING LINKEDIN

Throughout his 15-year career in the employment counseling field, Matt Youngquist has evaluated the pros and cons of thousands of on-line employment websites – and would unquestionably award the gold medal to LinkedIn.com in terms of its usefulness to today's career changers and job hunters. With over 13 million business professionals and leaders now using the system, no other "social networking" site on the planet has gained more traction or acquired more converts in the business world than LinkedIn, making it an indispensable tool in one's career transition arsenal.

Despite this popularity, however, many career coaches and job seekers still struggle to understand and apply the powerful features of the LinkedIn tool to real-world career problems. Matt will also help us master the etiquette required for fully utilizing the process. In this 90-minute session, Matt will share his top tips for how job seekers can best leverage the LinkedIn site to conduct market research, uncover fresh job leads, receive expert career feedback, and take their personal contact networking efforts to a whole new level.

During Matt's presentation, he will explore many of the more advanced nuances of LinkedIn and share advice on a range of topics that include:

* The reasons why "social networking" websites like LinkedIn have become an essential component of modern-day job hunting

* How to use the LinkedIn site to help your candidates uncover a whole new world of useful contacts, job leads, and target companies

* Advice on avoiding the common mistakes, traps, and abuses that new users often encounter in using the system

* The secrets of using LinkedIn to answer some of the most complex and eternally-challenging questions about professional career development

* Tips on mastering the site's etiquette and ensuring that your networking requests (and those of your clients) have the maximum chance of success

Come see your old friends, meet new people, and enjoy some fine food. We'll be featuring pizza and Thai food with sufficient options for both meat lovers and vegetarians.

This is an open invitation to all of your fellow career development professionals, your clients, and anyone else who might be looking for work. Members are admitted without charge, and non-members can attend for only $10. Of course, we encourage everyone to become members.

Plan to attend and be inspired!

We thank Tom Washington for arranging the October speaker. Please contact him if you have any questions about this meeting: tomw@cmr-mvp.com.

Meetings are open to the public--free to Members, $10 to nonmembers.

Questions about membership can be directed to our Membership Chair: <pugetsoundcareer@gmail.com>

Please Note our new venue at the Community Center on Mercer Island! (For directions, click here).

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