@rotolo meets @biz

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Originally uploaded by LuxBellaVita

The highlight of attending this past weeks Mirror Awards,was when I snapped this picture of Anthony Rotolo, Social Media Strategist for Syracuse University, meeting Biz Stone, founder of Twitter. Biz was graciously posing for photographs after the luncheon ended and then slipped into the crowds of Manhattan unnoticed. The man who helped changed the world was unassisted and unable to hail a cab in front of The Plaza.

One more thing of note. The AT&T coverage in New York City is notoriously awful, and proved itself again to be so during the Mirror Awards. An award for Twitter, and we were unable to Tweet.

There is a huge Apple store right across the street from The Plaza too. And guess, what — my phone said ‘no network coverage’ right there in front of the home of the iPhone & iPad.

 

Career Advice for New Grads in 140 Characters (more or less)

Has another year really gone by so quickly?  This post first appeared on May 14, 2010, but the advice still applies to 2011 grads.  If you contributed in 2010 and would like to update your advice, tweet at me using #Advice4Grads or leave your comment here.  Thanks again to everyone who contributed last year and best of luck to the Class of 2011!

The class of 2010 is graduating on Sunday. In their honor and in the spirit of true alumni networking, I asked many of the alums I interact with on Twitter to tweet me their best career advice for 2010 grads, in 140 characters or less.  

I got a great response and each is a little bit different.  Some of the alums couldn’t stop at just one,  and I included them all.   Us twitter folks are very good at writing concisely, and that is evident as you read through these snippets of advice.  Obviously, 140 characters of advice is not going to land you a job, but it can help you tweak what you are doing in your job search or how you behave in the workplace, to make that experience more successful.

Instead of providing the names, grad years and majors of these alums, I offer their twitter handles.  If you are interested in hearing more of what they have to say, follow them on Twitter; the vast majority have a link on their bio to a LinkedIn profile, website or blog.

You will also see a couple of longer bits here from a couple of alums who e-mailed me their advice, and a few more from some Non-SU alums, but nonetheless great people who I know from Twitter and wanted to help out.

Many thanks to all my Twitter friends who contributed to make this possible!  Many of the alums quoted here I have met on campus or at one of the SUccess in the City events, or spoken with on the phone.  Some I only know through Twitter.  All are wonderfully giving people who wanted to share what they have learned with you.  I would love to have your feedback in the comments section ~ let me know what your favorite bit of advice is and why.    (you’ll probably be able to guess what my favorite is 🙂

 

Weekend at the Playhouse

This past weekend I participated in a design charrette co-sponsored by the Syracuse University iSchool and COLAB, which is part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at SU.  What we termed #SUCharrette on Twitter was a coming together of 36 students from across campus who spent 36 hours thinking about “Social Media Futures.”

While I was there as an official observer, blogger and tweeter (I had my social media maven hat on), I did learn a few things that I would like to pass on to whomever is willing to listen.  I know that both of the Deans of the schools co-sp0nsoring the event were there, so it was kind of a big deal.  And these are a few of the reasons that everyone involved had an awesome experience.

COLAB-oration.  Social Media Futures was one of the first and only events that I have seen on campus that brought together students of all disciplines, freshman through senior, undergrad and grad, to work on a project.  And this wasn’t just your run of the mill ‘group project.’  This was an intense, focused project that would live or die based on how well the team members connected and worked together.   While some groups did a better job than others of coalescing and compromising, all agreed that the opportunity to work with others they don’t normally interact with offered a fresh perspective.  Almost every group included NEW, iSchool, MAX & VPA students (with a smattering of EDU and Whitman thrown in).  This does not happen every day.  Students who have a single major in a single school or college may never have the opportunity or inclination to take classes with those outside of their discipline.  And that is great ~ to an extent.  But surrounding yourself with people who all pretty much think in similar terms will only take you so far.  In any workplace where you might find yourself after graduation, there are going to be a variety of people from a variety of educational backgrounds.  This event mimicked the real world much more than the traditional classroom.  And guess what?  The students loved it! The results were A-MA-ZING!  And they talked about how much they learned from each other!  And they are still talking about it!  Point made.

Environment. The majority of this weekend’s event took place in the COLAB space.  For those who have never been to the 4th floor of The Warehouse, you need to schedule a visit (or ask for a tour…however that works).  This place is really something to behold.  Yes, it is an old industrial warehouse…but they don’t call it the COLAB Playhouse for nothing!  In addition to it being a state-of-the-art design space, it is bright, welcoming, colorful and FUN.  There is a huge sailfish on one wall, what looks like a new Vespa, a foosball table, half-wall partitions made of corrugated cardboard-ish stuff that is really a piece of artwork, and many many beanbags and soft cubes upon which to sit.  In short, this is an amazing space to work in.  Most of the students involved in the charrette had never been to COLAB before and thought it was just really, really cool.  They also thought it might be a little distracting…so much going on in terms of color and texture….that maybe they wouldn’t be able to concentrate.  But they were all pleasantly surprised that this space actually enhanced their experience.  I heard more than one of them say that even when you are doing something else, like playing foosball, you’re still thinking about why you’re here.  I see this as another takeaway for how we educate students.  Why the sterile, all one neutral color classrooms?  Does anyone (well maybe someone) decorate their home like this?  I would say that based on the experience of the 36 students I spent the weekend with, we need to at least take out a can of bright-colored paint and go to town.   What’s wrong with being comfortable while you’re learning?  I’m not saying every classroom should have a foosball table front and center.  But I am saying that we need to look at the way our classroom environments affect learning and creativity.  And in today’s information economy, we all need to be creative.

Alumni. Yes, I may be biased being the Alumni queen of Career Services and all, but I must point out how much was added to the atmosphere of the event by the alumni presence.  The alums added that elusive real-world connection to what the students were working on.  They offered their expertise on panels.  They mingled and circulated and had meals with the students, offering advice and guidance (and maybe even the stray job offer).  And though I won’t name names, certain alums added, how shall I say, an energy level heretofore unseen on a Saturday morning.  Students always love interacting with alums, and vice versa.  If I’m not mistaken, Syracuse University has about 190K living alums; that’s a huge untapped pool of experience and talent from which to draw.  From my work with SU alumni, I have found that there is an amazing love of this place by its former students.  They stay in touch, they network, they help each other, and they want to give back when they can.  One of the ways the University can leverage that love is by inviting alums to participate in events like this, asking them to come and speak on campus, meet with student and Greek organizations and present in classrooms.  I understand that sometimes it’s hard to fit in a guest speaker because of the demands of the curriculum.  But professors have a great deal of pull with their students.  If offered extra credit for attending a lecture by an alum, many students will jump at the chance.  And they are learning while doing.  SU alumni are the ultimate career connection for our students, and we should be offering them these connections as often as possible, whether on campus, through social media or at remote location events.  The real-life experience and fresh perspectives on the work world and the job search that, especially, young alums can offer is what many students crave knowledge of and stress out about not having access to.  The cost to incorporate more alumni into the student experience is minimal, but the benefit to all parties can be great.

These are just some of the takeaways from an incredible weekend of learning, connecting and collaborating.  And I didn’t mention one thing about social media, which was the subject of the weekend.  Because while we were all surrounded by a social media bubble this weekend, it was really the people and the place they created inside that bubble that made it special.

I invite your comments; whether or not you were inside the bubble.  ~ Kelly Lux

 

Rolling with the Punches

Today’s post is by Gary A. Pudles,  A&S ‘84

In talking to other founders and CEOs of fast moving companies, you quickly understand that rapid growth is often caused by the luck of being at the right place at the right time. Many successful entrepreneurs share an ability to seize opportunity when and where it presents itself, even if it comes in a way that was not part of their original plan.

I first realized that seizing opportunities was paramount to being a business owner when I sought to purchase my first business. After spending several months trying to strike a deal using traditional venture fundraising and business planning, my plans crashed and I embarked on a journey that would be completely different than what I had anticipated.

In the Beginning
Before AnswerNet’s inception, my journey to business ownership began with weekly breakfast meetings with a friend to discuss start-up ideas a year before my first transaction crashed. Like many entrepreneurs, I was in a job that just didn’t fit me right—I was vice president and general counsel for a specialty real estate leasing company—and I knew that I wanted to work for someone I really liked and respected: Me!

In early January 1998, I had executed a term sheet to buy a business in the functional music business, which wasn’t a huge stretch for me since I had run a similar business, Muzak in Washington, D.C., for five and a half years. Within a week of signing the term sheet and separating from my job, the transaction fell through. The seller made certain claims that, through due diligence, we found were not accurate.

Thus, by mid January, I had a wife, two kids, a mortgage and no job or company. At that point, my wife and I agreed that I would work on starting my business through the end of July 1998. If not successful, I would become an employee again. But until then, my focus would be starting my own business. With the first transaction dead, I went back to my list of things I wanted and didn’t want in a business. Primarily, my goal was to run any kind of business and have some ownership stake in the enterprise. I hit the businesses-for-sale websites to search for another opportunity, and within two weeks I was actively working on raising capital to acquire my first telephone answering service business. We started due diligence and fundraising in late March, in addition to finalizing the business plan, meeting with potential investors, and learning everything I could about the telephone answering service industry.

One of the most important things I did was read the trade publications related to the industry. In a spring edition of a leading industry publication was an article about an established owner of multiple answering services, Bill Robertshaw, who liked entrepreneurial people and situations.

I had my investment banker set up a meeting with Bill and the two of us hit it off like old friends. We talked about running multiple locations and how to ensure each one ran profitably. In fact, we talked about all aspects of running and building businesses.

Over the next three months, I had completed raising the $2 million I needed for my first transaction and was working toward finalizing a deal. At the end of the second week of July, the accountant completed the due diligence report, and the results were not what we had hoped for. So once again, my dream of being my own boss using other people’s money fell through.

Changing Directions
My accountant then suggested I call Bill again. I called Bill, told him my transaction was on its last legs and asked him if he had something we could work on together. We agreed to meet the following week. I arrived at his office late in the day, and I explained to him what happened. We talked about how the transaction was going to be funded and how much—actually how little—of my own funds I was willing to invest.

At that point, he asked me if I would prefer to purchase half of one of his companies and form a partnership with him and his family. After talking about some opportunities he could offer, we settled on an Allentown, Pennsylvania answering service business, Tel-A-Talk TAS, Inc. We agreed to exchange information and meet again that Saturday to see if we could put a deal together ourselves. The following day he faxed me the financials of this business, and I spent most of Friday reviewing the financials and talking to my advisers.

Saturday arrived and I told my wife that I was going to do this transaction if the price was right. It was now July 25, and I was going to keep my promise of being in business by August 1. Bill and I met at his office, and after some quick small talk we agreed on a price. When he told me how much he wanted I said, “That’s a high price.” He responded, “That’s your price of admission.”

From There to Here
Realizing my dream of business ownership certainly wasn’t a smooth process. It taught me that sometimes, in order to get what you want, you have to change your idea of what you want and how to get it. I also reached back to my education at Syracuse University as a Policy Studies major – a program designed to teach students how to analyze a situation and determine the best course of action – to guide me through the process.

The willingness to remain flexible and open to possibilities has fueled the growth of AnswerNet, which now owns and operates over 50 call centers. Whether it is being open to new acquisitions or being willing to push ourselves to deliver our services in new and unique ways, the spirit of flexibility and seizing opportunity is inextricably woven into the personality of AnswerNet.

Gary A. Pudles is President and CEO of AnswerNet. He founded AnswerNet in 1998 and has driven the growth of the organization through sales, acquisitions and partnerships. Gary has won the prestigious “Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award and has led AnswerNet to Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies and Customer Inter@ction Solutions Magazine’s Top 50 Teleservices Firms on multiple occasions.

Gary is also a nationally recognized speaker and presenter on telecommunications, business motivation and business operations and is a regular contributor to the award-winning website Inc.com. His articles have appeared in well respected industry publications, including Connections Magazine, Contact Management, Customer Inter@ction Solutions, DM News, Multichannel Merchant and Risk Management. Gary has also appeared and been quoted on television, radio and in a number of newspapers. He regularly addresses leading associations and conferences, among them; the American Teleservices Association, the Association of TeleServices International, the Canadian Call Management Association, Disaster Recovery Journal’s Spring World and Fall World, and ICCM.

Gary remains very active outside of AnswerNet, instructing students at the Wharton School of Business’ SBDC and participating on the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Technology Advisory Board. Gary earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Syracuse University and a Juris Doctorate Degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.

 

Don’t take chances with your chances

I say this time and time again, but I will say it again.  The more people that know you are looking for a job and what kind of job you are looking for, the better.

Here’s a success story.  A recent grad came to me a few months ago on a drop-in basis.  She was somewhat depressed about the fact that she hadn’t yet found a job.  I assured her that it wasn’t her fault and that many people from her graduating class were in the same boat.  By the time she left my office she said she was feeling better and more confident.

Over the next several weeks, I helped her connect with a couple of recruiters, gave her some advice on writing an e-mail to a networking contact and tried to buoy her spirits whenever I could.

Yesterday, a recruiter from a national corporation came by my office and talked about what her company looks for in candidates for their management training program.  The recruiter happened to be from exactly the field my new grad has been looking for work in.  This recruiter was in town to conduct on-campus interviews and was also doing an informational session last night.  When I asked if she would consider a May grad, she said right away that she would, gave me her card and suggested that I invite my new grad to the informational session.

After passing along the information, I heard back last night from my alum that she just finished an interview with said recruiter and had been selected for a second round!  You can imagine my excitement when I heard this news!!

The moral of this story is, talk to people.  Go see someone in your career center.  Talk to your former colleagues, classmates, friends and family.  Let them know what you’re looking for.  For every person you talk to, you increase your chances that an opportunity will arise that they can connect you with.   It may seem a coincidence that a recruiter for the exact type of job my alum was looking for appeared in my office.  But it wasn’t a coincidence.  What happened was a direct result me having the information I needed when I met with this recruiter.  If the new grad had never visited my office, I would never have had the opportunity to connect her.

People want to help you.  Give them the chance.

 

College Career Fair Preparation: How to Make the Most of What’s Offered

I am writing my very first ever blog post as a response to a post by Rich DeMatteo of Corn on the Job fame. Since I work in a college career center, I wanted to add my two cents to the conversation.

First, I totally agree with trying to make connections with employers ahead of time. You really have to make yourself stand out in one way or another, and making a personal connection in advance is a great way of doing that. Our career center lists all of the employers who will be attending on our website, as they register. No need to come by the office to pick up a piece of paper. Just check the website. Make sure to keep checking back, though, because employers register all the way up to the day before a career fair (sometimes the day of).

While you may (and I emphasize MAY) be able to get the contact information for the person who registered the company for the career fair, it won’t do you much good. Most companies list their recruiters as TBA and decide on who will be attending at the last minute based on staffing needs. Alumni are often sent to recruit at their alma maters, no matter what type of position they hold within the organization. Better to try to make some connections with alumni at the company through your college career center, alumni relations office or LinkedIn.

I agree with Rich that you should make sure your LinkedIn profile is in order prior to connecting with any potential employers. Internet savvy (and who isn’t) recruiters and alums will google you before they decide whether or not they will return your call or make the connection. Hopefully you realize that LinkedIn profiles come up very high in search results. Having a great LinkedIn profile that isn’t just a recitation of your resume will give them a good reason to want to connect with you.

Connecting with company representatives prior to the career fair is essential. Many companies will hold information sessions or other special events the evening prior to the career fair. These are not just ‘fluff’ events. They are excellent networking opportunities! So few students take advantage of these events because they don’t understand what they’re about. There are also business plan competitions and dinners and other professional settings in which to get yourself noticed. Most of these events are sponsored by companies because they are aware that the connections made at the career fair itself can be nebulous. They are actually handing you the opportunities to make more meaningful connections: take advantage of them.

Trying to meet with recruiters post-event may be difficult. In my experience, most recruiters are on the first plane out after a long day at career fair. Only if they are on campus for multiple days and you haven’t had the opportunity during scheduled events would I advise this.

Finally, I can’t stress enough how important follow-up is. Send that e-mail, or better yet, send that hand-written thank you note. The biggest complaint I hear from alumni mentors and recruiters is that students don’t follow up. What else can they conclude but that you aren’t really interested? Following-up is another really simple way to make yourself standout. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t take the time to do this.

As a student, what types of events are attractive for you to meet with employers? And employers, what makes an impression on you outside of career fair?

Is this where you want to connect?