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Hispanic Career World Magazine, launched in 2001 is the recruitment link between students and professionals who are Hispanic and the employers that seek to hire them. This publication offers career-guidance columns, news, and feature articles that profile Hispanics in all fields.

This magazine reaches students, graduate students and professionals in all careers at their home addresses.

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 The Future of Students in High Gear

 
Dot-connecting is the fancy term for making friendships in business and being genuinely interested in other people. You can’t pretend to be genuine, especially online, because people can tell if you’re selling or if you’re engaging. Because I started my public relations firm at age 40, after staying home raising our three sons for 15 years, I had some serious dot-connecting to do to catch up to my peers. And I didn’t have the luxury of 20 years to figure out the art of entrepreneurship and doing business. I had to find the most influential, most experienced business people I knew and ask them to be on my personal board of advisors.
My story about Jillian, the high school senior who was my intern, is the perfect illustration of dot-connecting. She saw an opportunity and connected the dots to an introduction to me and then secured an internship. There’s no magic bullet to this process, and it’s no respecter of status, race, position, gender or earning power.
As you advance your career, you’ll reach high gear sooner if you begin to introduce yourself to influential people and superconnectors. During college you’ll be establishing in-person connections and simultaneously building your online community. You’ll need them both to build your personal brand.
Who are some of the superconnectors with whom you should build a relationship? Start on your campus:
1. Does the president of the University know who you are? If not, then schedule an appointment to introduce yourself. Make sure his or her admin knows whom you are. Attend an event where he or she is speaking and then live tweet it using the event hashtag.
2. Do your professors know your name and your career goals?
3. Do your parents’ business colleagues know your career goals? Have you sought their advice at all? The 50-year-old business executives are reaching half-time in their careers. They’re looking for younger people in which to invest, to share the wisdom of experience. Lucky you if you can be that recipient of hard-won knowledge.
4. Do the executives you do business with know your career goals: the president of the bank you use, your physician, your dentist, the owner of the car dealership, your deans? You should introduce yourself to each of these people and stay in contact with them. They can advance your career.
5. When the college or business community needs a volunteer, are you first on their list? When a young person is sitting at a township meeting, a non-profit board meeting, a school board meeting, a college press conference, he or she stands out. Be the young person who’s memorable for his or her earnestness, willingness to jump in and help, and leadership skills. Be well-informed.
A great way to begin to make a name for yourself and be noticed by superconnectors is to write an editorial or letter to the editor for your regional or college newspaper. If you have an unusual experience with a topic, then go higher gear and submit it to a national newspaper such as The Wall Street Journal. Although students now are considered digital natives, the power of print isn’t dead. The Wall Street Journal has the largest print circulation in the U.S. with 2.2 million subscribers and a digital audience of 36 million per month. Being published in print or online helps increase your network and your digital tattoo.
About the Author: Amy D. Howell is CEO of Howell Marketing Strategies, a public relations and marketing firm headquartered in Memphis, TN. She’s the co-author of Women in High Gear: A Guide for Entrepreneurs, On-Rampers and Aspiring Executives, as well as The Future Belongs to Students in High Gear, with Anne Deeter Gallaher, who’s CEO of Deeter Gallaher Group LLC, a public relations and marketing firm with offices in Harrisburg, PA and Nashville, TN. Passionate about entrepreneurship and high gear work environments, Gallaher was recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business. This piece is an excerpt from chapter nine of Howell and Gallaher’s book.
 
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