The women adminstrators and faculty of the Fox School had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Liz Dow, President of LEADERSHIP Philadelphia, and I wanted to share this information with you as well!
Liz completed a project called the “Connector Project” which aimed to find the connectors in Philadelphia. For any of you who have not read The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell (which I definitely suggest you do) let me explain what a “connector” is. Connectors’s are the people who “link us up with the world … people with a special gift for bringing the world together.” Liz Dow has been called, by Malcolm Gladwell, Philadelphia’s #1 connector and she wanted to find others like her. In completing this project, she compiled a list of CONNECTOR COMPETENCIES that all connectors have.
CONNECTOR COMPETENCIES*
C Community Catalyst
O Other-oriented
N Network Hubs
N Navigating Mazes
E Empowering Passion
C Curious
T Trustworthy
O Optimistic
R Results-achievers
S Self Starters
Think about that list above and think of those in your life that holds those competencies, they may even be competencies that you hold (Find out if you are a connector HERE). The important think to realize here is that the Connectors in your life are going to be the most helpful for you in your job search and in other areas of your life where it is important to know the RIGHT people. We always speak about networking here in the CSPD and sometimes it is a daunting task but if you can find just one of these connectors amongst your friends, teachers, acquaintances, etc. than you will have opened up the doors to numerous possibilities. Leverage your current relationships to help you as best you can. Especially in this current economy, the people we know will be that much more important in your job search. If you know anyone on THIS list than you are off to a great start! Think about it….
*Copyright Liz Dow: President, LEADERSHIP Philadelphia
Tags: connectors, networking
Jena joined the CSPD as the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Professional Development with over 4 years career services experience including a background in corporate recruiting. She is excited to work collaboratively with the Fox School students regarding career search strategies and hopes students gain some additional insight into the job search through “Opportunity Knocks”.
Kel is an undergrad majoring in Management Information Systems, graduating in 2010. He is very involved and hopes to share some of his experiences with other students. His goal is to motivate others to do their best. He believes that with a little inspiration you can get where you want to be. Through this blog, he wants to show you that opportunities are out there.