If you leave your job – whether by force or by choice – your first questions are often “what do I do now” and “where do I go from here.” One new online networking community claims to help you find those answers.
FiredNetwork.com is a business networking community that not only allows members to network, but also provides informational resources. The site caters to those who are considering a professional change, whether by choice or necessity. FiredNetwork.com offers a comprehensive set of resources to help plan your next career move and a professional network to provide support.
“FiredNetwork is a business network community similar to LinkedIn, but on steroids,” Founder Matthew Pizzi said. “The difference lies in the fact that the networking revolves around a resource wiki. Right now there are 1,500 information items that were researched and posted by our team … as the FiredNetwork community continues to grow so will the quantity and usefulness of its resources as members can add their own resources, post a comment and rate each resource.”
FiredNetwork.com’s free information resources currently range from head-hunting firms to venture capital firms to graduate school test preparation courses. The interactive forum allows members to post book and resource suggestions and participate in discussion boards.
The site itself is split up into five categories. Each section contains its own discussion board, recommended reading list and resources database:
The employment section allows users to discuss best practices for finding another job or see who is hiring; recommends books on how to get your career back on track or how to find another job; and provides resources on headhunting firms by industry, job search engines, career counseling and resume and cover letter services.
The entrepreneurship section allows users to discuss the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and the potential solutions; recommends books on how to start a company, including the legal aspects, how to boot-strap it and success stories; and resources for business incubation firms organized by state, Web site development companies, marketing firms and outsourcing services.
The company purchase for owner operation section allows users to discuss how to identify a target for acquisition, conduct due diligence and avoid common mistakes; recommends books on how to buy a company with little cash or how to structure and negotiate a transaction; and resources that will help you identify small companies and assets available for purchase.
The fundraising section allows users to discuss the tricks of the trade and the difficulties of raising money; recommends books on how to raise capital from friends and family or institutions; and resources on the different investors, including angel networks and venture capital firms that specialize in seed and early-stage investments.
Finally, the post-graduate education section allows users to discuss whether or not a degree is right for you and what school would be the best fit; recommends books on study guides or how to get into a top school; and resources on test preparation courses, Web sites with free tests and companies that will help with your essays and applications.
Perhaps most importantly, FiredNetwork.com allows job seekers to connect with employers, while at the same time allowing entrepreneurs and company buyers to find investors. Members can search the site’s entire directory by profession, reason for joining, university affiliation and location. The site also allows members to tap into their “extended network,” which consists of everyone that is two degrees of separation away from them.
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June 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I found FiredNetwork.com such a useful website. It’s definitely worth checking out and browsing through its resources.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Great post. I loved reading this. I read a book about Bustin loose from the business game this fits. Might be a good read. Anyways, thanks for this post. FiredNetwork is a niche that needed to be filled.