04 Aug

Manage Your Network

Do you have a network? I hope so. And I hope that you stay in touch with everyone in your network. A new Gmail plugin, Rapportive, helps you do just that!

A network can be comprised of many different types of individuals. Most of my peers, Generation Y students and recent graduates, have networks composed of fellow students, professors, parents, family friends, past employers and mentors in addition to their online connections.

The transitional period between senior year of college and the real world proves to be a challenging time to stay in touch. Whether you are moving across the country from family and friends or sending out resumes to hundreds of human resource departments it is necessary to keep track of email exchanges.

It can become very difficult to stay organized while engaged in so many different conversations. I personally recommend opening a Google email account, Gmail, for those in need of a very simple User Interface (UI). The online-based software is accessible from any computer and displays exchanges in chronological chains. Furthermore, just like content on the web, Google indexes all incoming and outgoing emails for quick reference in the future – via a built in search engine.

However, a plugin for Gmail, Rapportive, just raised the bar:

“Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox. You can immediately see what people look like, where they’re based, and what they do. You can establish rapport by mentioning shared interests. You can grow your network by connecting on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and more. And you can record thoughts for later by leaving notes. Imagine relationship management built into your email. For free.”

While the software has been available for some time now, it is expected to be improved in future iterations. Rapportive has just received significant funding from a very powerful group of individual investors and Venture Capitalist firms: Gmail creator Paul Buchheit, Scott Banister, Jason Calacanis, Gary Vaynerchuk, David Cancel, Dharmesh Shah, Shervin Pishevar, Roy Rodenstein, Dave McClure’s new fund 500Startups, Nivi & Naval Ravikant’s VentureHacks, Charles River Ventures, Kima Ventures, Zelkova Ventures, and BOLDstart Ventures.

So, stop using an outdated Microsoft Excel file to keep track of your job search communications and upgrade to this easy-to-use, simple-to-install plugin for Firefox, Safari, Mailplane and Chrome.

Links

–        Rapportive – Link
–        Google Mail – Link
–        Firefox – Link
–        Safari – Link
–        Mailplane – Link
–        Chrome – Link
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