Do you schmooze?

[mimitabby]

yeah, i wanna know too. I'm very introverted in person and have been painting A LOT. People tell me it's very nice stuff
but clearly you have to network to find people to buy.

so tell me about how you picked Spotlightmama?

[spotlightmama]

yeah, i wanna know too. I'm very introverted in person and have been painting A LOT. People tell me it's very nice stuff
but clearly you have to network to find people to buy.

so tell me about how you picked Spotlightmama?

It's a reference to the Captain Beefheart song, "The Spotlight Kid." My mom always sang that to me growing up; now that I have kids, I figure I'm no longer the Spotlight Kid, but now a Spotlightmama.

ETA: What type of things do you paint, Mimi? Is any of your subject matter cycling related? I was just thinking that there is a new little restaurant in my area that is cycling-themed. Maybe they would be interested in some pieces? Here is their site: http://www.bikesbeansandbordeaux.com/ They seem like really great people.

[mimitabby]

It's a reference to the Captain Beefheart song, "The Spotlight Kid." My mom always sang that to me growing up; now that I have kids, I figure I'm no longer the Spotlight Kid, but now a Spotlightmama.

ETA: What type of things do you paint, Mimi? Is any of your subject matter cycling related? I was just thinking that there is a new little restaurant in my area that is cycling-themed. Maybe they would be interested in some pieces? Here is their site: http://www.bikesbeansandbordeaux.com/ They seem like really great people.

that's REALLY cute about your name.
thanks for the link. I paint all sorts of stuff, but mainly people. I wonder what a cafe in Florida would think of paintings of bicyclists all dresssed up in their winter garb in In Seattle??!
http://mimitabby.blogspot.com (scroll down a bit to see bike paintings)

[spotlightmama]

that's REALLY cute about your name.
thanks for the link. I paint all sorts of stuff, but mainly people. I wonder what a cafe in Florida would think of paintings of bicyclists all dresssed up in their winter garb in In Seattle??!
http://mimitabby.blogspot.com (scroll down a bit to see bike paintings)

Oh wow Mimi - those are beautiful!! The Auras ones in particular are absolutely stunning - I can completely see those in this little restaurant! Do you have any cards or anything I can take and drop off? I'm not entirely sure how those things work, but maybe you can hang them for sale?

Oh, and they'd just think it was December here, lol. As soon as it hits 65 degrees, everybody is in a ski jacket.

(And look at us - we schmoozed a little! )

[Mr. Bloom]

mimi, that is good stuff.

Hmmm, is that Raleighdon I see in Rush Hour?

[NbyNW]

Mimi, your paintings are beautiful! Have you tried Ugly Mug in the U. District or Bottle Rocket Cafe in Wallingford (it was Asterioid Cafe before it moved to Fremont)?

Years ago, I worked for a political consultant, so there was a lot of "schmoozing" involved. The boss liked to emphasize that it was about relationship-building. It was a mix of getting good at small talk and also meeting some really genuine people. One time, we all took the Myers-Briggs test as a little professional development exercise and when we shared our results, turns out I was one of only three introverts in the company . . . and the boss was another!

I was raised also not to toot my own horn -- my mom likes to say there were jobs waiting for them when their generation finished college, and she thinks some of the things I put on my resume sound like bragging. But these days, you HAVE to be proactive. And it's not bragging if it's true.

I say be proactive rather than aggressive. Find an approach that works for you, that you're comfortable with. Try doing some informational interviews. They're a great way to learn about an employer and practice talking about yourself without the pressure of whether a job is on the line. Send thank you notes and stay in touch with people! Those are things you can do without feeling like you're doing the icky-schmoozy thing.

[Geonz]

You've had great answers~~~ what they said about selling yourself short
I think that what kind of job you're looking for matters. I got a job online because a mom I knew frm a forum about reading knew that I had gobs of phonics expertise and dashed me an email... a week later I was getting $35/hr for making up stories for a phonics series. (Paid to be cute, even!)
So... can you put your skills into words?
I found lots of good ideas and encouragement from _What Color Is Your Parachute_.

[Ciao]

yeah, i wanna know too. I'm very introverted in person and have been painting A LOT. People tell me it's very nice stuff
but clearly you have to network to find people to buy.

so tell me about how you picked Spotlightmama?

So, do you see the perfect example of networking by Mimitabby? Stating to everyone in this forum:
1. I'm a painter
2. I'm looking for venues/people to sell to

(P.S. Mimitabby... We made one of our closest friends through purchasing 3 of his paintings at an art show... about 5 years ago I helped him with some marketing / event planning and still have the spreadsheet listing all of the US art shows/ venues and their "traffic". Also have the listing of event coordinators and a form email to bulk send out to get on their mailing lists/radar. PM me if you're interested and I'll email them to you.)

Another example of effective networking is through a very talented guy that I used to work with indirectly in a global company at my first job. Years later, this colleague was the ex-CFO of a company that was acquired. He sent an email out to e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e with a brief update and letting us all know that he was looking for a specific position like "X" and provided a link to his current resume/CV. Within a very short period, he had his dream position.

Frankly, except for my first job out of school, all other positions including executive level were through people that already knew me and my value and contacted me rather than vice-versa.

So, I'd recommend getting back in touch with people... on your terms. One very good resource that aids business networking is LinkedIn*com. Sign up and start searching for people you know based on previous companies and schools. The system allows you to send a little email note to them to get them to 'accept' you as a valid colleague.... and from there it grows. You quickly have a base to announce that you're "jumping back into the frey" so that those that can help will. People that know you are now in advanced roles and may have or know of a position opening...