Updated 2025. *WINNER - International Book Award - Career category! *WINNER - National Indie Excellence Award - Career category! *FINALIST - Foreword INDIES Book of the Year! *FINALIST - USA Best Book Award - Career category! *SILVER - Axiom Business Book Award - Career category! Welcome to The 20-Minute Networking Meeting! Whether your meetings are virtual or in person, this book will successfully serve any job-seeker from any background—field sales to customer service; doctor to bartender; teacher to derrickman; legal aid to construction; retail to management. All you need is desire; the rest is in this book! Built using the acclaimed The 20-Minute Networking Meeting—Executive Edition networking model lauded by business leaders around the world, the Professional Edition puts you in control of your job-search discussions and, ultimately, your career. Taking the best elements of the best networkers from a multitude of industries and professions, combined with 40 years of the authors’ own experience, the Professional Edition culminates in a highly productive networking approach from a hiring perspective. In this book, learn what networking ( really ) is, and how to: •Master the 5 most important parts of a networking meeting •Create a networking agenda •Construct key questions to lead a discussion •Expand a professional network with more names •Break into the “Invisible/Hidden Job Market” (where over 70% of all jobs are obtained) •Make a networking meeting more effective, efficient, and mutually beneficial •Execute the above (and much more)— inside of 20 minutes •Maintain your new network throughout your career! Chock full of real-world scenarios, short stories, meeting examples, and dozens of tips and observations from hiring authorities and recruiting experts, the Professional Edition is an end-to-end lesson on job-search networking, founded on the premises of gratitude, positivity, and reciprocity. Specifically constructed to clarify and simplify networking for job-search, the Professional Edition was written for even the most introverted networker and is rounded out with a complete set of readiness worksheets that guide the reader through actual networking preparation, with fully written stories that show the entire The 20-Minute Networking Meeting model in action. Also from Career Innovations Press: The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Graduate Edition The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Veterans Edition The 20-Minute Networking Meeting - Executive Edition Foreword Clarion Reviews - 5 Stars (February 1, 2017) The 20-Minute Networking Meeting should prove extraordinarily beneficial to job seekers at any level. A quick, concentrated how-to guide designed to maximize the efficiency of job searches. Management consultants and debut authors Perez and Ballinger aim to help unemployed people crack the mysteries of"the invisible job market," which consists of job openings that aren't publicly announced. Companies fill these quietlyand internally, they say, through private recommendations or referrals: "a whopping 70% of all jobs are obtained throughpeople you know!" Hence the overwhelming importance of networking, which the authors say is "more than important.It is vital. It is the lifeblood of your job search and, in the big picture, your career." As the book's title indicates, one ofthe key elements of successful networking is brevity, and Perez and Ballinger lay out strategies to help job seekersstreamline their approaches. They illustrate their recommendations--such as avoiding passivity during the interviewprocess or finding an "evangelist" willing to sing your praises to potential employers--with fictional interludes thatshow how they might play out in real-life situations (or not, if the character chooses not to heed their wisdom). Some ofthe advice can be off-puttingly blunt ("Save the irrelevant chitchat," and the like). However, at other times, the authorsassure readers that networking is "not about being slick and smooth" but rather about forging personal relationshipsthrough quick, meaningful encounters over stretches of time. It adds up to a well-rounded approach that touches onelements of business relationships that other job-search guides often overlook, particularly in a section on following upwith contacts. All of this advice will give job seekers, especially new ones, a great deal to think about. A straight-talking, highly supportive networking manual. -- Kirkus Reviews Nathan A. Perez  is an award-winning author, national speaker and executive career and job-search coach at Career Innovation. Prior to his Career Innovation consultancy, Nathan worked in the executive search industry in the Research function. Responsible for the first step in the executive recruitment process, Nathan researched and "found" the candidates for recruitment. Networking is a day-to-day function of his job, connecting with leaders across the country on a regular ba