Archive for October, 2005

 
Oct
31
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-31-2005

One thing I like to do to stay current on what others are doing is to read local newspapers and journals. Sometimes when I see a person who impresses me, regardless if I know them or not, I send them a note with a copy of the article and an invitation to connect by phone or in person.

For example, one time I read about a prominent banker in the Roanoke Valley who was planning to move to the New River Valley. As membership chair of my Rotary Club, I thought that he would make a nice addition to our club, so I sent him the note and invited him. He responded and attended one of the meetings. He did not join the club, but I have had a couple of additional conversations with them that has been quite helpful in my own career. I urge you to do the same by reading some of these and any others: Roanoke Times, Blue Ridge Business Journal, Roanoker, Virginia Business, etc.



 
Oct
26
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-26-2005

Keith Ferrazzi wrote a wonderful book on networking and relationship building called Never Eat Alone. I first heard about him in an INC., magazine article some two plus years ago. I later read that the article featuring Keith was INC.’s number one read article in quite some time. If you are interested in CONNECTING PEOPLE, then this blog and book is a must read. 

Link: Never Eat Alone Blog.



 
Oct
19
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-19-2005

Keeping in touch and following up with contacts takes a lot of work and organization, but the fruits of the labor can be sweet. I followed up with a former student of mine who is the recruiting coordinator for the Virginia Tech Development office. She commented that the organization has numerous job openings (click to view) - all of which are pretty good paying jobs. In the NETWORKING STRATEGIES GUIDE, we offer several creative ways to keep in touch.

  • Handwritten notes
  • Send topical press clippings
  • Invite new contacts to attend your group meetings
  • Plan ahead with traveling to schedule a meeting
  • Call when their alma mater wins the big game

Find creative ways to follow up with your contacts and see if they can uncover some professional opportunities. 



 
Oct
17
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-17-2005

In the NETWORKING STRATEGIES GUIDE, I created with friend and colleague David Moore, we listed a section on the benefits of being connected. Here are some that we mentioned:

  • Access to unique information
  • Access to more opportunities
  • Get a job

As an example, I was connected to this entrepreneur in town who was looking to possibly leave the Blacksburg area, but would stay if is wife found a job in computer engineering. I sent the wife’s resume to another contact who was a headhunter at the time. The headhunter was actually trying to fill an open position with Luna Innovations and a match was made. The wife found a job, the entrepreneur stayed in the region and that couple have become good friends. Now, the wife has taken on a new role with the firm and asked for my help in obtaining candidates for the positions below in Blacksburg, VA. 

I urge you to do the same by writing down 2 benefits that you hope to gain through being connected and visualize the results.

If you are interested in any of these positions, then contact the wife and tell her that I sent you.

Administrative Assistant - to provide administrative support to the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, and perform general office duties in an efficient and professional manner.  Requires strong office skills and knowledge of office procedures, obtained through a minimum of 2 years office administrative support experience.  Strong computer skills including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint required.  Excellent communication skills required.

Senior Contracts Administrator - responsibilities include electronic proposal submission and coordination, and post-award administration of government contracts.  This is a senior level position which requires 5+ years of previous government contract administration experience.  Additional qualifications include ability to interpret complex governmental regulations; strong experience with MS Word and MS Excel; and strong detail orientation and organization skills.  Previous supervisory experience in a Contracts environment preferred.

Senior Mechanical Engineer (Advanced Materials) – to make immediate contributions to current programs requiring the design and optimization of fiber reinforced polymer composite structures.  PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related area with minimum of 2 years post-academic experience, or MS with 4 years experience.  Finite element experience including 2D and 3D models along with experience in composite material fabrication, testing, including data reduction and analysis skills strongly preferred.

Software Engineer (Products) – to be a software lead on development projects that utilize PCs, microprocessors and/or DSPs.  Ideal candidate will have a BS degree with 3+ years experience in GUI and general software development.  Familiarity with MFC, LabView programming and data acquisition systems desired.  Experience with TI C4x and/or C6x DSPs a plus.



 
Oct
16
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-16-2005

In discussions about attracting and retaining workers and entrepreneurs in the region, I thought it may be helpful to differentiate between the segments of the workforce. Below is a list in no particular order. Please post a comment if you think there are others. What are the most important segments in growing the Roanoke and New River Valleys?

1. In-Migration Native Entrepreneurs

These are people who return to their home region to start a business.

2. In-Migration Non-Native Entrepreneurs

These are people who come to the region to start a business

3. Retain Native Entrepreneurs

These are people who stay in their home region to start a business.

4. Retain Non-Native (Colleges) Entrepreneurs

These are people who stay in the region (after coming for college) to start a business.

5. In-Migration Native Employees

These are people who return to their home region to work for a company.

6. In-Migration Non-Native Employees

These are people who come to the region to work for a company.

7. Retain Native Employees

These are people who stay in their home region to work for a company.

8. Retain Non-Native (Colleges) Employees

These are people who stay in the region (after coming for college) to work for a company.



 
Oct
15
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-15-2005

I think we have a serious problem in our region. Good bright people who want to stay are too often leaving. I have had dozens of friends and acquaintances - particularly young professionals - leave the Roanoke and New River Valleys over the past few years. Most of these individuals are holdovers from their time as college students in the region - the very same educated people we all know we need to better retain if we are to prosper. I fear we are losing our future leaders. When I hear of a new case, I now ask these folks for a list of things that would keep them here. Here are some key pieces of what I have heard in response:

1. Integrate meaningful local internship programs into higher-ed curriculums.

These programs are win-win solutions for everyone. They provide students with experience to make them better job candidates; they provide universities with outreach opportunities in the community; and they offer local businesses and organizations additional help along with a working relationship to a major university.

2. Job fair for college graduates.

A common perception of college students is that there are no jobs for college graduates in this area. The reality is that there are opportunities.  Our unemployment rate is comparatively low, but we do have far too much under-employment—people working in jobs for which they are overqualified. We just aren’t matching those who want to stay with local needs very well. Local graduates love the area—they are often far more motivated to stay if they have some reasonable chance at local growth than they are to race off to Washington D.C., Richmond, and Charlotte. After Virginia Tech’s Department of Management internship program provided 200 local opportunities for its students, those people were surveyed as to whether they would stay in the region for work. Sixty-two percent (62%) said yes!

3. Provide a much more fertile ground for entrepreneurship.

We’ve simply got to be better at leveraging our universities—especially Virginia Tech—into local commercial jobs. Ninety percent (90%) of new jobs are created through small businesses. With the universities supporting research initiatives and encouraging commercialization, there are examples of successful start-up companies, but we need a regional commitment that ties local business leaders to helping Tech launch local ventures. Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center houses over 120 small businesses with 1800+ employees, but we need to do more. We need seed funding, advisory boards, and venture incubators that really encourage students and faculty to get something meaningful going—not in California or abroad—but right here. Somehow we need to build better bridges between local leaders and the incredible talent from around the world that come to Virginia Tech as students and faculty.

4. Encourage civic and community involvement by young graduates.

Formal organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Jaycees, etc. are not sufficiently revitalizing with young members. Commitment may be lacking on both sides. We need to figure this one out because these groups provide a key outlet to plug into a network of leaders who care for the community, and they also provide a range of volunteers for service projects. We’ve got to open up more to people from outside—and help them get started.

5. Establish a new and suitable social network for young graduates.

It seems to me that there are dozens of groups particularly of young people that drift into unconnected pockets even though they might want to have better links in the area. Through the New River Network, we found that within one degree of separation, young adults know practically everyone in the area. But the connections break and fray as people move away. Instead of interactions that lead to new opportunities, we end up with people sensing the action is outside our region—and that those who stay are somehow not up to par. Other places like Athens, GA are growing into vital places where entrepreneurs, artists, and people who just want to start a family and work in a professional and healthy place can get an opportunity.

6. Encouraging families to grow with the region.

Families love this place! We have great schools, amenities, fine local government, safe, clean streets, etc. Too many graduates feel that finding soul mates, etc. must take them out of the region to where odds are better and there are more venues for meeting people who might want to grow together. We need to encourage people to plant here and to grow. To do that, we need to make couples feel at home and we need to assure that the region aids in transitions from student life to family life when people are interested and ready.

7. Do we want young graduates and young adults in the community?

A lot of people who are leaving doubt whether “locals” want to have a great place to live. They wonder if they are welcome or if people just want to empty the pockets of students and send them on their way. I hope it isn’t the latter. I had several conversations with the late Reverend Al Payne on this fundamental topic. His vision was to develop opportunities for various generations to gather and have discussions—to hope for and to build a vibrant place.

I love the Roanoke and the New River Valleys and think of it as my home. None of the responses I have heard seem too far off the mark for our leaders to work toward, and none of them threaten the great life that many people have here now. We aren’t going to win with more manufacturing jobs. We need a modern and vibrant economy refreshed with the enthusiasm and energy of some of the many people passing through as students. We need to work harder at it. I’d like to see Reverend Payne’s vision grow and prosper. I’d like to see us talk about keeping people here. I’d like to see us try harder to make the Roanoke and New River Valleys work for more people and more firms. That’s the way forward.



 
Oct
14
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-14-2005

“One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.” – Fred “Mister” Rogers

In a recent Blue Ridge Business Journal article titled “Region’s IT Workers in Short Supply,” by Deborah Nason, the story suggests that local business owners do not feel the candidate pool is large enough to fill the staffing demand for skilled IT workers in the region. To support this argument, a Blacksburg-based company’s primary reason for relocating to one of three areas (NOVa, Charlotte or Richmond) is because of the larger labor pool.

On the flip side, I have experienced numerous times, the number of young professionals in the region say that there are not any job opportunities in the region and thus they move to locations with more opportunities – you guessed it – NOVa, Charlotte or Richmond.

Why are these two groups not connecting in Southwest Virginia? What bridge can be created to foster these relationships so that more companies and individuals stay in the region?

The Roanoke and New River Valley has 42,000 students enrolled in its colleges and universities. That equates to roughly 8,000 – 10,000 graduates per year. Virginia Tech ranks nationally has one of the best engineering and technology schools. Why are so many leaving this region and going elsewhere when a survey of students participating in the Virginia Tech Pamplin Department of Management internship program showed that 62 percent of students who performed a local internship while an undergraduate student suggested that they would stay in the region with that firm if a full-time opportunity existed?

At the university level, there are two distinct views on the career placement of graduates. First, deans/department heads typically want students to gain employment with large, multinational firms, which builds the college or department’s reputation in its field. Thus, employment with local firms does not provide the same image boost.

Conversely, economic development and outreach representatives fulfilling the land-grant mission of Virginia Tech may suggest that retaining a larger portion of students who come from across the Commonwealth and other parts of the world may aid economic development efforts in the Roanoke and New River Valleys.

Most of the jobs mentioned would range in annual salaries between $20,000 and $50,000. It is my opinion that this job segment is not being adequately served in the Roanoke and New River Valleys by the following groups:

· Outplacement Firms – typically deal with highly paid executives as part of termination, or are extremely costly for the average worker.

· Executive Recruiters – typically will not place jobs for firms at less than $50,000 in starting salary, plus, is a company willing to pay 20-30% of an annual salary of $30,000 for a recent graduate?

· Temp Agencies – typically lower skilled/hourly workers for a limited amount of time

· Virginia Employment Commission – typically help those who file for unemployed benefits in low-wage jobs

· Online Sites/Media – poor success rate (less than 10%) and a passive way to make connections

· Word-of-Mouth – best way to get jobs (70% get jobs through networking), but most younger people are not connected

· University Career Services – typically only deal with graduating college students and with companies located out of the region

How can this issue be resolved?

This blog will be used as a bridge between people wanting jobs in the Roanoke and New River Valleys and firms needing qualified candidates. I would ask all readers to pass along these contents to friends, collegaues and anyone you know who is intersted in employment in this region.



 
Oct
07
Posted (admin) in Uncategorized on October-7-2005

The mission of CONNECTING PEOPLE is to provide a bridge of communication between individuals (primarily young professionals) seeking employment opportunities in the Roanoke and New River Valleys with individuals and firms with available opportunities.

This blog will provide helpful hints to job seekers, news and information on opportunities within the region, and it will provide a forum to share and connect with others.

Ultimately, by the creation of this connected community, coupled with spin-off events, more employment opportunities will be promoted to interested job seekers, more individuals will stay in the region after graduating college, and more people will move or return to the region. Per capita earnings will improve. Population growth will occur. More representation of the region at the state level will occur. The region will grow and prosper. This is the vision.

Subscribers and readers of the blog include: students, young professionals, government officials, friends, existing contacts, human resources professionals, headhunters, former students, etc.

NOTE FROM AUTHOR

I have been blessed with a gift to help people to connect with others in forming mutually beneficial relationships, especially as it relates to searching for employment and/or candidates by bridging generations that will influence people to focus more on addressing regional issues. Further, we are not given gifts for our own benefit, rather we should use our gifts to build up others. It is my intent that my gifts can be of service to members of the community in connecting to others to create mutually beneficial relationships.

Stuart Mease