Author: Paul Nazareth

You’ve invested time and your organization has invested in you to come to this conference – why not make the most of it? Here are three unofficial ways to add a little more learning ( and fun ) to this year’s conference experience! 1) Tuesday night (April 8) dinner! Each year a lot of delegates fly in the night before the conference starts. Why wander the streets with a newspaper? Join us for a no-RSVP no-pressure networking dinner! Dress is casual, we’ll meet in the lobby between 6pm and 6:30pm around the concierge. Bring a spouse, bring a friend. Vancouver fundraisers who aren’t attending the conference please come out too! Let’s warm those brains up and start talking shop. 2) 15 minutes of social strategy education! 4:30pm at the registration desk on Wednesday April 9 I’m giving a quick session on how to get started and do more using social media for yourself and your charity or business. I’ll be giving out free resources and there will be prizes! 3) Take a hike eh? If you haven’t heard about my new love of “netwalking” or “networking while walking” it’s fantastic. Fresh air, gets the brain and conversation going. Co-hosted by local fundraiser ( and internet celebrity curator of the cathartic blog “fundraiser grrl” ) Rory Green! We’ll gather in the lobby at 2:30pm on Friday April 11 and be back for the ‘official’ social event ( which you must go to this year, it’s going to be valuable big-time ) If you use Twitter, we are using #CAGP2014 and have a conference Twitter Team! Find me in the delegate list and email if you have any questions.   See you in Vancouver!    Paul Nazareth

Who couldn’t be excited that we’re gathering together for the 21st time as a professional community! It’s coming up soon and we hope delegates, sponsors, speakers can join us on the world’s most powerful dialogue and learning platform – Twitter! Today, there are a lot of benefits to using Twitter at conferences and a lot of ways it can be used to add value to both attendees and sponsors. So please join myself and the team in tweeting up and around #CAGP2014 ( the official hashtag – click here to learn what a hashtag is ) Not on Twitter? Here are some quick tips but consider this your chance to sign up, learn with your peers. This is our biggest twitter team ever!! Remember if you see us tweeting at sessions, say hi!!

• Follow the main CAGP account: @CAGP_ACPDP
• Leah Eustace @LeahEustace
• Paola Coronado Hass @PaolaCoronadoH
• Peggy Killeen @PeggyKilleen
• Jill Nelson @Nelson_Jill
• Charles O’Neil @CharlesONeil1
• Ryan Fraser @RyanCFP
• Janice Correa @JLBCorrea
• Sherry Booth @Sherry_Booth
• Genane St. Rose @GenaneStR
• Holly Wagg @HollyWagg
• Amanda Stacey @EstatesLaw
• Trina Owens @TrinaOwensSK
• Lisa MacDonald @lisalmacdonald ( editor of @GPinCanada )
• Calvin Fong
• Preeti Gill @Preeti_Things
• Stacey Charles @stacey_charles
• Marcella Zanella @MarcellaZanella
• And Me! Paul Nazareth @UinvitedU

Also! For the first time, many of our exhibitors and sponsors are Tweeting so follow the hashtag to say thanks for making the conference possible and to ask questions to learn from their experience in the sector. Be sure to follow and engage the speakers too! < Click here for list Want to learn more? I’ll be hosting a free 15 min social-media crash course Thursday, 4:30pm at the reception desk for any interested delegates of the conference. Free resources, information and there will be prizes too! Start learning the lingo here and here’s a superbasic video to get you started!  See you “IRL” in Vancouver! Paul Nazareth 

Helping people with career development and job searches is a daily part of my life. So, I meet a lot of job seekers and I talk to a lot of people in hiring positions. Many have courage, some are leaders… FEW innovate. Enter Heidi Tsao. Heidi is a marketing professional. I know what you’re thinking be let me share that some of the most unoriginal, 1950’s style job searches I’ve seen have come from ‘creative types’ on both sides of the hiring table. Heidi was different. Frustrated with the now 100 year old hiring process Heidi, who already had a well-read blog decided to engage in a totally transparent and digital job search. See the first edition of : THE INTERVIEW STAGE Her videos are entertaining and the quality of the content is better than most paid video-blogs out there. Both the content and the format, this is what a job search needs to look like in 2014. I’ve suggested to so many people that they need to start blogging as job seekers, starting to use Twitter and of course using LinkedIn. Most ignore me and choose the “safe, comfortable path” of sending out 1000 resume’s, talking to employer-focused recruiters and going on futile interviews. I refuse to pull people to their own success. So let me share how inspirational what Heidi has done is to me and many others. Watch her videos, visit her site, her LinkedIn and Twitter profile. This is a case study in career awesomeness. Job seekers – pay attention to the content of this video series. It takes apart the interview process and tackles many of the frustrating part of a job search. From THE dumb question, common questions to the sometimes odd experiences, to staying motivated. And now, at the end of Heidi’s search, she has done the most powerful thing possible. Something networkers, hiring directors and yes even charities don’t do well – say a powerful thank you. I choke up every single time I watch the video below. Heidi you are so witty, intelligent, inspiring and amazing. I look forward to getting to know you better but for now, thank you for allowing me to walk with you on this adventure and being courageous enough to share your challenges, frustrations and insight that I know will help many others in the future. With gratitude and respect,       Paul Nazareth

Ps. Thanks for the very kind shout-out!

We live in a wired, hyper-connected world. My network knows I’m a social-business enthusiast. But I was a networking enthusiast years before social media and I’m the first to admit that this media will always lack the true core of being “social” – time spent in-person with a real human being. “We should grab coffee” is a century-old phrase uttered by business professionals around the globe in every language. It’s evolution has arrived, enter Ten Thousand Coffees. Ten Thousand Coffees was instantly noticed by the national media and has some heavy hitters registered as experts. The President of Twitter Canada, CMO of McDonalds and astronaut Chris Hadfield to name a few. But what’s awesome is that it’s about all of us, you and me and the next generation too. Last week I embarked on my first meeting through this amazing platform. A young professional named Camille reached out to learn more about the world of nonprofit which I have worked in for over a decade. We met and talked ( these days I take my coffee to go and network while walking ). It was a great talk, I was happy to dispel more than few myths about ‘saving the world’ and saved her some time and effort on her career journey. Camille, a 2nd year university student shared it was daunting to reach get that first meeting before Ten Thousand Coffees. We certainly would never have met each other any other way and not many people can just jump into face to face networking. I agreed that cold calling isn’t a great idea and that investing in long-term networking is important. I shared why you need to start networking before you ‘need’ a job , some secrets of mine about how to conduct a great coffee meeting and the reminder of course, that it’s certainly not about the coffee or the food. My most-read post of this blog ever is about how to create your own personal board of directors. It is about the benefits of being a mentor and having mentors, that you can be both at once. I would encourage people singing up with Ten Thousand Coffees to do both, be a mentor to propel someone forward and reach out ahead to meet with someone who can pull you forward too. Are you an introvert? Many of the world’s smartest professionals are! International expert Susan Cain reminds us that networking en-masse at conferences and industry events isn’t just unhelpful to introverts, it’s unhelpful to most business professionals. One on one connections is how business gets done. If you haven’t read her book or watched her TED Talk, check out these many resources from her if you’re someone who identifies as part of the ‘thinking-class’. This truly is an evolution in networking, bridging the best of the digital world with purposeful human connecting. Camille and I had a great walk, I’m going to open some doors for her, we’re going to keep in touch. One coffee down, 9999 to go. Join me would you? ‘Cause we can’t drink all this coffee by ourselves!  Thanks for reading….   Paul Nazareth

It’s not about the food. After getting in this argument for the 1000th time someone asked me to share my meeting secrets. Click here for podcast (4mins) I hope these tips are helpful, here are some basics for meetings: Other items mentioned in the podcast:

• What not to eat at networking meetings
• Walking meetings
• Why Starbucks rules for networking
• The power of handwritten cards in a digital world

Thanks for listening! Please comment here or tweet your thoughts. Good luck with your next meeting!   Paul Nazareth

*Warning,this is always my longest post of the year. I am blessed to know with certainty, why I’m on earth. I exist to: Promote purposeful passionate people to help them reach professional and personal potential while enjoying life to the fullest. I do this by creating a network, an army of passionate professionals to aid me in this task. Each year I name my ‘most valuable players’ in this network in gratitude for outstanding awesomeness that year. I call them “my golden crabs”. I know, it’s weird. Check out past posts from 2010, 2011, 2012 to learn more about the origins of the award. What I get asked the most about however is the criteria ( or rather ‘why not me Paul?’ ). These are people who keep in touch about their goals and needs, make time to get to networking events (just a couple, not all) and who help and push me to achieve my goals (and let me help with theirs).  I’m happy to name four GC’s this year… in no order they are: Emma Jenkin was an ‘honourable mention’ last year. This year it was as if we were both on a mission. I’m not a runner, but I imagine this is what it must feel like to run with someone. Emma stepped up her game in 2013; a new job, new personal skill development and she has become my official ‘artist in residence’. Her design skills have been used for my networking projects and even to help my wife and I launch an exciting new project, “Pocket Style”. I still don’t understand how she exists ( see what I wrote about her last year ), truly a renaissance woman for our times. Her grasp of culture, art, business, digital, social is a constant inspiration for my personal life goals. Another name that is not new to my network is Ahmed Nizam. I met him a few years ago when he was the official photographer for an amazing fundraising concept called “TimeRaiser” which is now a big Canadian success story. He took what was my first professional headshot. Since then he has so kindly taken headshots for over 100 peers at my networking events and he has helped me understand the power of this simple medium in a social media age. Now, look at this guy. Would you think that he is an MBA who works on Bay St. in financial services? His passion for photography keeps him busy but he always makes time to live life, try new things, give back to his community and help others. And yes, because we keep in touch about projects we’re working on, he’s also the official photographer of “Pocket Style”. I have been sitting on a dream for several years, and it was called “Director School” for fundraisers. As much as I love the many associations in my profession, many individuals would never go to a personal career development workshop because a dysfunctional nonprofit management environment means no employer would pay to send them and it’s ‘bad form’ to attend them during work hours. The wonderful work of Penelope Burke aside, that’s a load of garbage. I’ve known and felt it for years and wanted to be part of the solution. Enter David Hutchinson. Although I have great relationships with Canada’s best nonprofit executive search firms like Crawford Connect, Philip JW Smith, the West Coast Phil’s Careers and Goldie Company, no one keeps in touch and has served as a sounding board and mentor as David. When I pitched the idea of ‘Director School’ he got it, was on board and was a big part of making it happen, along with 2013’s exciting new find, Janice Cunning, fundraising coach. David’s commitment to making sure leaders in fundraising find the right place to use their skills, and finding the right skills for charities and his dedication to networking in a sector that rejects good network building is something I consider to be a rare gift. Last but not least, the youngest recipient of the GC Award is Shannon MacInnes. I’ve waited 13 years for my college at my alma mater to give birth to a fundraiser who loves our profession. When I met Shannon she was one of the now hundreds of Humber Fundraising Management students to come out of this amazing program (I’m proud to say in 2013 that I became the Chair of the Advisory Committee with). I wasn’t sure she was special. Like my twitter handle and motto “You invite You”, I waited and she proved herself time and time again. She kept in touch, she made time to invest in her career, she generously invested time in being both a fundraising learning partner and volunteered with me to cook for now several dozen University students as part of a cool alumni networking program that I love called “dinner with 12 strangers” at UofT. So many great leaders have said to me “I want to mentor someone who is open to learning, who will walk through the doors I open, who will not embarrass me when I vouch for them and who will make me proud to be associated with”. I mentor dozens of young professionals each year, and Shannon is one of the finest I know. In the end, this is an expression of extreme gratitude for a year that brought great personal growth and the chance to help others — my main mission. Honourable mentions go to: Fundraising leader Kimberley Mackenzie for facilitating a dinner that was meant to be networking but ended up being the single most powerful personal growth event of my year. The ladies of Tweetcottage, for bringing me along ( a la weekend at Bernie’s ) and making me feel welcome and loved as a friend after so many years of being a peer. The chance to share ideas with my professional community was a dream I never thought would become possible. But in 2013 I had the privilege to publish articles in Canada’s Fundraising eNews (Hilborn), Gift Planning in Canada, the Association of Fundraising Professionals eNews, the Globe and Mail Giving Guide , the Canadian Donors Guide and most exciting a chapter in “The Vigilant Fundraiser” – all on my most beloved topics of Planned Giving and Social Media for Social Profit. Speaking of dreams come true, I have just one more on my professional bucket list before I die ( yes, just one ) and it is to teach Canada’s Original one week Planned Giving course. And in 2013 I have started on that path as an official instructor with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, a community I have dedicated my professional life to. Teaching this course is the single greatest professional joy in my life. And I wouldn’t be there without the continued support of the Georgian College Fundraising program where I get to teach the online national course in Planned Giving, now for the fourth year in a row. This year on evenings and weekends, I spoke at several student leader conferences on the power of networking. As someone who had trouble at school, it was so wonderful to help students find their way. Most of all it was a high point of the year to host my 112th student at “Dinner with 12 strangers” after being an alumni host for the past four years. A special thanks to someone I don’t know that well. Nilofer Merchant and her ‘networking while walking’ TED Talk and article changed my life. How? Well, networking is my life ( you knew that right? ) and moving out of the coffee shop ( we still always start at Starbucks ) and into the natural world has been powerful. I’ve had over 100 ‘netwalking’ meetings and they have all been fantastic and yes, great for my health too. LASTLY, 2013 was the year that ALL the Golden Crabs from previous years returned in full force. From Alan Kay’s video, to Brock’s new blog, flying to Regina because of Christina, to speaking sessions with Leah and John, Krypton College with Promod, walking with Ann, Lisa’s national media coverage and the ever present Clare Mcdowall. I am forever grateful and in the debt of all of you. I exist at the service of others. But I can’t do my best without all of you. As we start 2014 please hear my voice, sincere and passionate – thank you!!! Paul

 

Wouldn’t we ALL like to be mentally stronger in 2014?! Cheryl Conner of Forbes spoke with Amy Morin about her tips from LifeHack.org – the article on tips for “Mental Strength” went crazy viral. Read the Forbes article here. As we start the New Year, maybe take a moment to consider these 5 simple tips Amy shared with Forbes in a follow up discussion. I loved them because there were some tips in there I think will really help me in 2014 so I asked my spouse ( a newly minted photoshop wizard ) to make a poster to say thanks to Amy! Here it is below, if you want a larger version, tweet me at @UinvitedU and I’ll email it to you. The article sparked more great discussion, like here in Fast Company. Thanks for some helpful wisdom Amy and Forbes, as always, you rule. Lastly, Forbes sat down with Amy for a quick 5 minute chat about what IS ‘mental strength’ in our busy digital age (below). Best of luck in 2014 my friends – thanks for reading! Paul

There’s someone I want you to meet. Her name is Lisa Taylor and her team at Challenge Factory is changing the way Canada works. Two years ago she helped change the direction of my career. Lisa also helped me create positive impact in my sector (philanthropy) by teaching people about a career in fundraising outside the traditional channels who often don’t create ways strangers can learn about what we do. In gratitude and admiration, I named her one my networking MVP’s of 2011. I have sent dozens of people in my network, some in my family to Lisa and her team. Her work has been featured in every major national newspaper, a CBC documentary and more – check out this resource page I’ve made on the impact of her work! 2014 is on your doorstep, if you want it to be a blowout year – it’s time to contact Challenge Factory. Not sure it’s for you? Read this. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Lisa was kind enough to reach out to me and offer my network a personal discount if you are referred by me. She’s already offering one right now, this referral is ON TOP of that. Just mention my name when you call or email her team lead Cayla Allain at cayla (at) challengefactory (dot) ca or call them at 416. 721 –8494 or tweet Challenge Factory . Look, things have changed in the working world. You know this. We can’t treat our careers like ‘something that just happens’ any more because there aren’t any jobs for life. It’s time to invest in YOU and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, it costs nothing to have the discussion about where you want your career to go and is CF the right team for you. Email or call Lisa and her team TODAY. Don’t wait. Especially if you think it’s time to change sectors, her “test drive a career” programs are ground breaking. I want to thank Lisa for being an unwavering support in my work and career. For being a northstar for Canadians who want to find more than just a job.  Don’t forget to sign up for Challenge Factory’s enews, or follow Challenge Factory on Twitter and LinkedIn . I leave you with some words from Lisa on finding meaning in your career. Can I be of help in 2014? Has it been a while since we talked? Let me know, January is a great time to take a walk and talk about you and where you are going. Thanks as always for reading, keep in touch, Paul

Looking for a job when you need one is like looking for a parachute after you’ve jumped out of the airplane, it’s like looking for a date the morning of Valentines day, like looking for someone to kiss at 11:55pm on New Year’s Eve….you get the point. Anyone who has ever seen the very popular show “How I Met Your Mother” has heard of the move “the naked man” ( surprising someone on a date naked ) which apparently is successful two of every three tries. I know it sounds lazy and uncouth, but this is what our current interview system is. We skip the getting to know each other part and try to ‘seal the deal’ too quickly. How does this work out? Most people leave jobs because of work environments and supervisors that “don’t fit”. Well wouldn’t we know more if we took the time to get to know our potential boss and workplace? A resume read and couple of interviews is not enough time spent to get to know each other and decide to spend 8+ hours a day for the next few years. These days when I speak with hiring directors, they constantly express that they don’t want to post a mid level or senior job but they just can’t think of one or two ideal candidates let alone five to interview. And so they turn to the decades-old horrible HR dance made MORE unbearable by the Internet which encourages people to spam-cv the world. I was helping a peer who was thinking a year out for a new position. This person is kind of a celebrity in my profession. I have heard dozens of people say “oh I’d LOVE to work for” this person or this organization. And yet very few of them has ever said hi at a conference, asked to meet for coffee, made an impression and none of them kept in touch with this person. I’m not talking about sucking up here. I’m talking about thinking ahead… My magic three steps:
1. Say hello at a conference or networking event
2. Follow up with a note, then connect on LinkedIn
3. Have coffee twice a year and use email/social media to keep in touch That’s it!!! In the end this person is going to have to do way too much work to meet the right people….and so they’ve turned to the HR dance when this job could have gone to someone with true passion for the leader and the role. So dear network, lets get to work. In 2014 I know you’re thinking about a change. Think about that top five list of leaders, employers, companies, charities and lets get networking! It’s holiday networking season, get thee to events! Step one is NOW. A great job move takes six months to a year to cultivate,  it’s your whole life! Start today.. In the mean time, here are some great networking tips for the holidays from the Wall St. Journal. Enjoy!    Paul Nazareth

I got a chance to take my Dad for a drive in a new mustang once – his comment on owning an original 1960’s Mustang and being in the current version was… “sure the original was great, but it was bare-bones. With today’s improvements this is an outright better car” I was expecting nostalgia. LinkedIn is ten years old, check out this awesome look back at the company that started with 4,500 profiles in year one and today is fast approaching 250,000,000. Like the updated Mustang, it’s an outright better platform today. My personal tips last year are totally out of date. As we end 2013, here are my personal tips to help you get in shape for the new year ahead! 1. Titles are so last century. Who are you really? Are you going to work one job for your whole career? Then why are you using goofy HR language to define yourself? Sure there’s the whole SEO argument but I truly feel you need a more realistic, holistic description. Same thing goes for a photo if you use one. Do NOT crop a wedding, graduation or group shot. Lastly, customizing your URL. It’s the secret handshake between fellow users, take 30 seconds to customize yours. 2. Your summary is NOT a cold blob one big bio. It needs to reflect the story of your past, present and future career told yes, in your own voice. Make it engaging, it’s not a novel it’s a 20 second ‘digital greeting’ especially in a world where your next client or employer WILL read it before meeting you. 3. Consider using the amazing new rich media portfolio and slideshare options to give your profile personality and colour. A picture tells 1000 words, your summary should be short, here’s how to say more with less. 4. Introductions. Never, and I mean NEVER use the standard “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” – customize EVERY single invitation. Start with people you worked with, mentors and expand outward. Slowly! If you wouldn’t invite them to your office, don’t let them in your network. Lastly, most LinkedIn users have some sort of post-secondary education. Never have I seen so many people invest so much money in a network they don’t use. LinkedIn has a powerful new alumni search function to help you reconnect with that nerd roomate turned tech-billionaire buddy from back in the day. 5. Managing your contacts. This is NOT a numbers game. You are CEO of You Inc. and this is your org-chart. Who is on your personal board, who are your generals, lieutenants and new recruits. Don’t forget to keep that tree trimmed, dump deadwood at least once a year. Most of all, use LinkedIn’s new contact features – they are outrageously awesome. It now reminds you about your last conversation and when to contact them again! You have a CRM at work, this is your career-relationship-management system! 6. Endorsements Vs. Recommendations. As I write this, I have 1,619 endorsements. They make me feel nice but they don’t really indicate expertise, rather how my network regards me ( thanks network!). More important are recommendations, they have become as important as that list you give HR when you’re applying for a job. You really need to focus on getting a few from previous employers and mentors in your sector. 3 to 5 are the minimum, over 20 is too much if you’re on the job hunt. 7. Time management. The number one thing people ask me about social media for business is “Paul how do you make the time?!”. My answer? As in all things, be strategic. Schedule a few minutes, I mean like 15 minutes a month to start. 15 a week to scale up and 5 mins a day if you plan on being a power-user. But first, go to settings and turn off ALL notifications, you drive the car, the car doesn’t drive you..it will bother you less, believe me. What do you do when you’re on? Just 1 ‘status update’ with an industry article per month, or week but max, one a day. Be active in groups, start and comment on discussions of just one or two, even if you’re a member of many.Consider using schedulers like Hootsuite to save you the time with updates ( it’s my Twitter secret ). 8. LinkedIn’s Company pages are no longer a ‘nice to have’. If you are a business owner, or PR/HR for a company or social-profit charity you NEED to have and maintain a company page. You can upload free marketing and product information and even have company updates. There is even new free analytics to help you keep track of activity. The ability to target your updates is just one of the many awesome business benefits of this feature. Working in philanthropy this is one of my reminders to charities, you are incorporated so make sure you have a page!! If only that when you create one, LinkedIn automatically links ALL current and former employee pages to your site. Here is a quick awesome video link. 9. Use Content! When I speak about social media for business audiences always ask “how do you get such amazing Twitter content from our sector?” Again, strategy says, if your own network and LinkedIn’s own amazing ‘Influencer’ network is producing SO much great content why not use it? Cross-functional use of schedulers like HootSuite allow you to take great content (from your ‘home’ page) and re-use it ( and engaging your LinkedIn network on Twitter with promotion of their services thrown in ) on other platforms like Twitter, or Pinterest etc… 10. Master mobile… these days I spend less time networking in coffee shops and more time on the go ( after all, sitting is the new smoking right Nilofer? ). I’m not saying I don’t use LinkedIn on a desktop but learning how to use your tablet to read content and your mobile phone to ‘look up’ someone before a meeting means you’ll be a better networking ninja on the go. As Mitch Joel says, we’re approaching the ‘one screen’ integrated world, be ready. Great news for tablet users, LinkedIn JUST launched a whole new iPad app and a new mobile introduction tool! If you haven’t seen LinkedIn’s videos they are fantastic. And I often introduce myself at events by saying “hi, my name is Paul, networking is my oxygen and LinkedIn is my lungs” because the platform has done so much for me personally and the world of business networking these past ten years. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there. It’s a key tool in the future of social business. If you haven’t read co-founder Reid’s book, do it, it was written for you. LinkedIn, it’s your personal career engine. I’ve given over 100 talks on using LinkedIn for business. If I can help your charity, your company or with your own profile, please reach out. Hope this post was of value, share your tips in the comments below!  Thanks for reading, Paul Nazareth

Ps. A shout-out to Clare, one of my LinkedIn mentors who now has a business helping executives and managers get their personal profiles in shape! Want to get on the LinkedIn fast track? Call Clare.