Affinity Circles’ Blog

Starting a new job isn’t the easiest thing, particularly when you realize that years of lawn mowing and babysitting won’t necessarily transfer to the fast-paced world of an internet start-up. So I figured I could use a little advice before starting my summer tenure at Affinity Circles. With a little help from my friend Google, I got some pretty good tips on how to get the most out of my time at Affinity.

Monday, June 15. First day. Sales reps Mike Torres and Justin Brown show me the ropes, and I jump right in. Performance reviews, importing data, exporting data, creating user tutorials…it’s a whirlwind of Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Captivate. There’s a lot of work to do.

*     *     *

Tuesday, June 23. Now, with a successful week under my belt here at AC HQ, I think it’s time to share some of the best advice I received:

Show up on time.

Remember people’s names.

Now this one was easy, especially when the weekly Team Meetings feature personal recaps from everyone on staff. Not only did this allow me to learn more about everyone’s specific responsibilities and specialties, but the welcoming applause I received on my first day certainly helped ease the transition. Sitting there at the table, only a day into my new position, I couldn’t help but smile as they clapped for me, thinking, “I could get used to this.”

Unfortunately, this sort of applause is not a regular thing – apparently doing your job correctly is expected rather than cause for celebration.

New Goal: Earn another round of applause.

Also, as my name (spelled correctly!) was featured on one of Affinity Circles’ Twitter feeds, I figured it was simply good manners to return the favor.

Bring your own lunch. Except on Fridays.

Be nice to the intern.

Be open and willing to work hard.

As an English Major, working for an internet-based social networking company may not seem like the most natural fit, but I’m quickly finding my footing. Just because a week ago I would have told you that Java and ColdFusion were things that you ordered at Starbucks, doesn’t mean that, armed with the right attitude and ready to learn, I haven’t been able to pick up a few useful skills. After only a week, I’ve gone from barely managing one laptop in my college dorm room, to working with three separate computers at the same desk – one for e-mails and data processing, one for graphics, and one for designing web tutorials. Also, Affinity Circles has quickly proven to be so much more than programming. Working with the Sales Reps, I’m getting a chance to put my skill set to use – by writing this blog, for example. It’s so cool to have real responsibilities, to actually be a contributing member of such a talented team.

And, if you’re really computer-challenged, working in an office with almost a dozen computer whizzes helps a lot.

Now more than ever inCircle members are turning to their alma mater for help in their job searches. With the ability to easily connect with companies, connect with alumni who are hiring and explore career paths, inCircle provides the perfect forum for career networking, no matter where members are.  Here’s one member’s story:

“At one of Concordia’s numerous networking activities I learned about CU Circle and because at that time I was deliberately unemployed, searching for a field and job where I could start a new and long term career, I checked out CU’s website and joined the Circle. I picked a potential employer and gave them my e-mail address and phone number. In two days my cell phone rang and I scheduled an interview for the next week. I am thankful that CU Circle gave me the opportunity to connect with people in the industry that I was interested in, and helped me to get a dream job.”

You can read the full story here.

We couldn’t help ourselves. We are now on Twitter.

@AffinityCircles – for company updates.

@inCircle – for updates on our networking service for associations

@inCircleRecruit – for updates on our recruiting service

We promise not to flood your timeline with too many updates.

Recently its been hard to read the news without coming across a story about layoffs.  Since November 1st, Fortune 500 companies have alone laid off more than 500,000.  Combine that with the number of layoffs at small and mid-sized companies and it’s easy to see why the job market is filled with individuals looking for work.  Unfortunately, finding a job has become very difficult in this economy forcing candidates to explore previously ignored services.

As a result, one recent trend is that alumni are turning to their former university for help in finding their next job.  The Chicago Tribune recently posted a great article (Link) on this exact topic, discussing how alumni associations are responding to these requests from their members.  In the recent months we’ve seen this trend first hand through a noticeable increase in both overall usage and interest in the career focused functionality of our inCircle communities.  While we definitely hope the economy turns around quickly, we’re glad that we can be part of the solution by helping alumni leverage their educational background to find their next job.

Our inCircle community administrators are always thinking of new and creative ways to get the word out about their inCircle communities to their members. inCircle has even made its way onto YouTube! Check out what the University of Washington has done on their alumni web site to promote the HuskyConnect community here.

Affinity Circles is continuing its webinar series this Friday with a webinar on inCircle Datasync: How to upload, download, and utilize data to better connect your members and keep your central database as up-to-date and current as possible. The webinar will be this Friday, February 27th, at 10 a.m. PST, and you can register for it here. We had over 75 people attend our first webinar on February 6th about the inCircle Connections Facebook application so we hope that this and future webinars will be informative for you as well. We look forward to seeing you there!

Affinity Circles is proud to announce the addition of UC Hastings College of Law to the inCircle team!

“University of California Hastings College of the Law is a public, coeducational, full-time law school in downtown San Francisco. We are one of the top-rated law schools in the United States.

Hastings was founded in 1878 as the first law department of the University of California and is one of the most exciting and vibrant legal education centers in the nation. Our faculty are nationally renowned as both teachers and scholars.”

The last couple weeks have been incredibly exciting here at ACI in preparation for the launch of the inCircle Connections Facebook application.

This week we opened our beta of the inCircle Connections Facebook application to all Facebook members.  inCircle Connections is the easiest way to learn about opportunities at top companies and connect directly with staffing teams who are looking to hire.  Getting the most out of the application is simple:  first tell us about yourself, then sit back and watch the opportunities come to you based on what you filled out in your profile.  If an opportunity sounds interesting, click on the “I’m Interested” button to let the company know you want to learn more.  It’s that easy.

For associations, we offer a co-branded version of the application that allows their members to gain access to career opportunities and connect with other members in their community, all on Facebook where most members already spend considerable time.  Members can easily import data from their Facebook profile into inCircle, giving associations access to current profile information for their members.

You can learn more about the application by viewing our webinar here:  inCircle Facebook Application Webinar

To date, we have launched 26 associations with a co-branded application and have 25+ planned to launch over the next two weeks.  The application is available to all association clients. To sign up, contact your account manager.

“The inCircle Connections Facebook application is a quantum leap in alumni online networking.“ – Rita Kroeber, University of South Florida

Affinity Circles is proud to announce the addition of two new associations to the inCircle Team!!

Oklahoma Bar Association

“The Oklahoma Bar Association, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is a nonprofit organization created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to advance the administration of justice and to foster and maintain learning, integrity, competence, public service and high standards of conduct among Oklahoma’s legal community. The association has approximately 11,000 active attorneys in Oklahoma and a total membership of more than 15,000. The OBA provides education and development programs for the legal profession and the public. The bar and its members are committed to serving the public by making sure the voices of all people in Oklahoma are heard in our justice system.”

John F. Kennedy University

“JFK University is all about transformation. All about growth. All about change. We help you get from where you are to where you want to be. At JFKU, you can achieve your career goals while satisfying your heartfelt need for purpose and fulfillment.”