Playing Catch Up

Media is starting to really annoy me. Mind you, I try not to even watch television news because it's almost never good. Except for the rescue of the trapped miners (which has been a symbol for 'never give up hope' lately), it seems as if the stories I read are increasingly pessimistic. Bad news sells more ads, yes, I know that. But with the economy the way it is, every day harbingers of doom deliver story after story about everything wrong with the world. It seems REALLY out of whack.

Depression, obesity, illness, mortgage and financial market crises, war, hunger, government problems~~~I have enough to worry about without being bombarded by doom and gloom on an hourly basis. Even when I log in to go on-line, all these negative stories find a way to creep into my consciousness. ACK! ENOUGH!!! It is incredibly difficult to maintain positive momentum when it seems as if the world is going to collapse around me at any given moment. Sometimes I just want to scream, "STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF!!" But we all know that the world will always spin, and getting off is not an option. The only way to get where you want to go is to KEEP GOING!

That's where playing catch up comes in. Losing any ground whatsoever is not a good idea, and I'm disappointed that I haven't made time to do this sooner. In the last three weeks, I have had two phone interiews and a face-to-face with a CEO. Nothing has materialized of it, but I am grateful for the practice. Even getting a face-to-face lately is a huge victory. I am hoping to land a good phone interview soon, as well.

I've been targeting a company since January of 2009. I read an article that a new medical device was in final stages of the approval process. I googled them and found out that they were looking for their top level management, so I sent an email to their general mailbox, addressed to the President of the company by name, expressing my interest in discussing a sales job with them. Six months later when they were searching for a Director of Marketing, I sent another email. Things were quiet for about a year until all of a sudden, the news of their FDA approval was plastered all over the medical pages. Well, armed with the knowledge that now they ready to actually SELL the device, I knew to be on the lookout. Sure enough, their West Coast Sales Manager joined the LinkedIn group I manage (which now has, by the way, just shy of 8,000 members!). I contacted her to enlist her help. She read my profile and wrote back, "I'm very impressed with your qualifications. I sent your information to the Director of HR and the East Coast Sales Manager. Good luck." Well, HALLELUJAH!! That was just over a week ago. So, today it's time to follow up.

Here's a unique networking story. All those beauty products I keep winning are generally a source of wonder (where I'm going to put them all) or laughter (do you REALLY need 3 pairs of false eyelashes?), but you never know where things may lead. Case in point: One of the products I won has a 'real' facebook page set up (not a 'fan page') for their company. I 'added them as a friend' when I won their product because I saw that it was the VP of the company running the page (small company). Well, they are re-launching their line as well as launching a new product. When I saw a tweet (I follow her on Twitter as well) that the launch was just a week away, in NYC, I re-tweeted it and gave it a thumbs up.

Well~~~keeping in touch with that page somehow got me invited to the launch as a VIP! Even better, I am introducing her to a very well connected woman from the Spa industry that I met on a previous trip to NY, also through networking. It could well be a match made in heaven for the two of them. Now THAT is some good Karma!

But that's how networking works. Find a target, and keep your eyes on the prize. Even if you don't hit the bullseye right away, at least keep your sights locked. You never know!!