I know you will all find this hard to believe, but there was a time when The FENG only had 20 members.In May of 1995, I was invited by Ed Devlin, the then Chairman, to join what was at that time The Fairfield County Financial Executives Networking Group. (Ed had recently taken over from Do...

I know many of you will find it hard to believe, but we are now in a golden period for networking, networking and MORE networking. So, I hope you will please have at it.A lot of people believe that holiday times and especially the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve are the worst ti...

As you may remember from the song of this same name, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. I know they thought of it first and popularized it, but it is very much like your membership in The FENG. The only difference is you can check out, but I hope you won’t.If you ...

For those of you who have had the pleasure of earning frequent flier miles, I can understand that you may no longer be paying strict attention to the very helpful discussion that precedes take off. Personally, I don’t think that anyone who doesn’t know how to work the seat belt should real...

The FENG, as our name implies, is a networking group. I know some of you may be fooled from time to time by the fact that we publish job leads, but please don’t be confused.The sharing of job leads is an act of friendship, plain and simple. As much as we make every attempt to make the job ...

As I mention from time to time, The FENG is a NETWORKING group. It isn’t a job board.Just as Kermit the Frog found out that it isn’t easy being green, no one ever said it was going to be easy being a member of The FENG.Membership in our little society comes with a price. Sure, your cash co...

Networking is a process by which you can create meaningful business contacts and relationships to further your career and enhance your professional life.It is unfortunate that many of us only become aware of the importance of networking when we first become unemployed. And then, many of us...

When you are out in the middle of the ocean, it is easy to think of the world as being endless. Every direction you look there is only water. (And yes, water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.)However, the truth is that although over 70% of the earth’s surface is salt water, 30% o...

I had lunch a long time ago with one of our members. I always enjoy meeting and talking to the members of our august body because I am reminded of issues that I have discussed before that bear repeating. And, when I discuss them again, it is usually with a different twist because I continu...

One of the biggest half-truths in this world is the idea of saving your business contacts. The truth is that unless you “work” your business contacts they don’t know you exist.Sure, you don’t want to “bother” them, but unless you call once in a while with something they actually can do for...

In the days of wooden ships and iron men, the determination of longitude was thought to be an impossibility. The simple solution was creating a clock that was accurate enough to keep track of what time it was in Greenwich, England. If you knew what time it was at a fixed point and you knew...

Since The FENG has been built by friends introducing friends, I imagine that as an organization we are probably more sensitive to networking abuses than most people. Still, I thought it might be helpful if I took a little time tonight and suggested a few ways to go about this delicate proc...

I try to take a few minutes of your time every year at this holiday season to remind you what a gold mine this time of year is to your networking efforts.Whether you are working or not working. Whether you are looking for a job or very happy where you are, this is the time of year when you...

The amount of follow up to do with recruiters and networking contacts is always a tough call.It is hard not to feel like a pest when you call. (After all, you ARE being a pest.)However, if you aren’t persistent and keep in touch with those who might be in a position to help you on the day ...

I’m not sure why it is, but most financial folks think they are terrible networkers.The truth is that scattered throughout our newsletter every night are ideas you can harness in your daily life to earn the title “Master Networker.”All of us are amateurs, I suppose, at most things we do in...

I try to have several phone calls every week with members seeking advice about what to do about their job search.It is a good question and one not easily answered even if I know you very well. In the course of a conversation (speech is the slowest form of communication), I don’t know how m...

As a season, summer is sure hard to beat.The days are warmer here in the Northeast. The days are also longer. No more getting up when it is pitch black and coming home when it is pitch black. (Winter is so depressing!) And, outdoor activities like sailing, tennis, and golf sure can’t be be...

In my distant past I remember seeing a commercial in which an Abraham Lincoln look alike was sitting in an employment agency office. As the recruiter was flipping through his Rolodex he was telling old Abe that without “that sheepskin” he really wasn’t going anywhere. I guess the same thin...

I often get the feeling from talking with members about their job search, that many of you are reluctant to use our Member Directory Search feature to full advantage as part of your job search. I only wish I understood why.The FENG membership directory is honestly the pot of gold at the en...

Over the many years that folks moved off the farm and the security of their local communities to the “big city,” a rather significant shift took place in American society. Please understand that I am an accountant by trade and not an historian, but I believe that 90% of all Americans lived...

A few years ago, I got a lovely note from one of our alumni members lamenting the fact that he rarely gets any phone calls from his fellow members requesting networking assistance. Even though he was feeling unloved, he asked me not to mention his name for fear that all of you would call h...