Face-to-face networking just as valuable as internet for job hunters

DAYTON — Looking for a job? Turn off the computer and meet people face to face.

That was the advice of Russ Hadick, a professional recruiter who also coaches companies in providing outplacement services. Hadick was one of seven presenters who spoke Thursday, Aug. 27, at Motivate Dayton, a networking event at Sinclair Community College.

Hadick, the president and founder of Russ Hadick & Associates and Outplacement Training Resources, doesn’t discourage people from hunting for work through the Internet. But up to 70 percent of jobs are found by networking through others, Hadick said.

Don’t just network through professional contacts, he said. Rather, expand your job-hunting network to include friends, family, clergy and others from your life, he said.

“Anybody and everybody can be a source,” Hadick said.

Others addressed the economy. Though times are difficult, the region will bounce back, said Marty Grunder, president and chief executive of Grunder Landscaping, a company he started at age 16.

Grunder, the event’s keynote speaker, said he believes Dayton has more leaders in the mold of Clay Mathile, who in 1999 sold the Iams Co. to Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion, who will rise up and help drive the region’s future success.

“We’re going to be back,” he said.

Grunder, also an author and motivational speaker, said leading by example, operating with integrity and doing work you feel passionate about helps people lead during tough times.

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