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June 2, 2009

Get Hired Event – May 27th – Recap

Filed under: Events, Job Seekers — Kim B @ 5:41 pm

Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Time: 12:30 PM – 5 PM
Location: Norris Conference Center
Address: 2525 W. Anderson Lane

Austin, Texas 78757

Scott Ingram (www.networkinaustin.com) and I decided that we wanted to do something for all of the job seekers in Austin.  We wanted it to be high energy and highly motivational.  Thus, the idea for the “Get Hired – Job Seeker Strategies that Work” event was born. (www.budurl.com/gethired)

Things started with us securing Brian Massey – The Market for Me and Christine Lambden & Casey Conner – Extraordinary Interviews to be the other two keynotes (along with me) for the event. 

From that point we were able to secure several great experts to guide our tables:

Monica Carson – The Ginac Group
Catherine Jewell – The Career Passion Coach
Keith Quackenbush – HCI International
Donna Fox – Fox Career Mentors
Stan Tyler – Champions Edge
Julie Lara – Lara Executive Image

The idea was that we would have a keynote speech followed by a round table discussion with an expert of the job seeker’s choosing.  At the beginning of the event Job Seekers choose from sticky notes to identify which speaker they would talk to in each round.  During the round, the table (which contained 7 job seekers and an expert) would have a mini discussion on a variety of topics designed to help the job seeker.  This process was repeated with 2 more keynotes and 2 more round table discussions.

The topics at the table were:

Monica Carson – The Ginac Group: What’s Your Story? How to Define Your Brand
Catherine Jewell – The Career Passion Coach: New Resume, New Career
Donna Fox – Fox Career Mentors: What Should I Be When I Grow Up?
Keith Quackenbush – HCI International: What’s Your Product?
Julie Lara – Lara Executive Image: Appearance is Everything: Making a Great First Impression
Stan Tyler – Champions Edge: How to Expand the Value of Your Job Search
Brian Massey – Cardboard Resume: Using Cardboard Resume to find Your Champion
Kim Brushaber – BridgeATX: Effectively working with Staffing Agencies

If you’d like to hear Brian’s Discussion on “The Champion Strategy- Why didn’t I hear from you”  you can go to his blog at – http://marketformebook.com/job-seeker-why-havent-i-heard-from-you/ .  It’s a good lecture and well worth listening to.   As an extra bonus – at the bottom of the page you can click under my picture and hear me talk about “Networking your way to your next job” -  or click here to just pull the mp3 file.  Unfortunately we couldn’t record Casey and Christine’s lecture because there were two of them and only one mic for recording.  Oh well, next time we’ll plan better! :)

We received some great feedback from both the experts and the job seekers.  If you went I’d love to get your testimonials as comments on this blog. :)

All in all I think it was a great event and met all of our expectations.

Thank you to all of the job seekers who attended as well as all of the experts who were able to participate.  We couldn’t have had the event without you!

Of course, I also need to express my greatest appreciation to Scott Ingram – without whom I could have never pulled this event off.

June 1, 2009

May Bridge ATX Networking Event Recap

Filed under: Events — Kim B @ 9:21 pm

The May Bridge ATX Networking Event was just as much fun as the April one.  Over 100 people showed up to network and the event is now taking on its own personality.

I knew that I wanted to have a group where my friends from other networking groups could come together and network.  However, the group has turned into a connections group.  Frequently people will be having a conversation with someone and realize that that person MUST be introduced to someone that they met 15 minutes beforehand.

One attendee of the event was giddy when he was able to connect two people who then went on to have a 30 minute conversation. He made a connection! This might not seem unusual except for the fact that this individual is a very shy individual. For him to be able to talk to someone he doesn’t know is effort on his part. However, at this event he felt as comfortable as if he were the host of the party.

Smiles were seen throughout the event.  Conversation flowed from one group to the next group. People naturally migrated from one conversation to the next.

Something must always go wrong at an event.  This time it was the fact that I completely forgot to follow up on getting pictures taken for the event.  Oh well, next time!

A special thanks goes out to Travancore Analytics for sponsoring the event:

Sandeep Apsangi
Senior Sales Manager
Travancore Analytics Inc.
www.travancoreanalytics.com

360 Nueces Street,
Unit 1801,
Austin, TX, 78701
Cell: 817-501-7684


Testimonials from the Event

Kim is a “queen of Austin Networking” as there is hardly a soul who doesn’t know her in this town. She was instrumental in getting me connected to the Austin social scene when I started my business earlier this year. I have met many, many good people through Kim that I currently conduct business with, and I look forward to many more to come. If you are looking for a “relater” and a “connector” for business dealings, make sure to check out Kim’s Bridge ATX events!

Lamar Romero

Romero Capital and Funding – Chief Funding Officer


I have attended more than a few networking functions in my life, but hands down, Bridge ATX has them all beat. In the past, there is always that awkward initial feeling one gets, as your stomach feels like it’s in a vice and the palms of your hands begin to perspire as you walk through the door, realizing you know no one. To put you immediately at ease however, Kim and her staff’s easy going manner, make you feel right at home. Once inside, you are struck by how friendly everyone is. This is largely due to Kim’s adroit orchestration, as she effortlessly weaves her way among the guests, making sure everyone is interacting and introducing those who appear outside the loop.

All in all, it is a most enjoyable event, made even more so by the high professionalism of the people you meet. I have been amazed each time I attend just how many business cards I come away with and realizing how many more contacts I have accumulated by attending. It is certainly a bright spot in my job search and one in which I look forward to each month. Who knows, maybe I’ll keep going even after I get a job.

Daryl Putnam

Job Seeker


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