(the late) Bob Podgorski: Prepare for 1 on 1 Networking Meetings

On September 3rd, 2019, we lost a pillar of the job search community. A founder and facilitator of the St. Hubert Job & Networking Ministry, Bob Podgorski passed away.

As a tribute, this video is a full seminar Bob did in 2015 for our JDNG group about how to prepare for one-on-one networking meetings. The advice he shares is spot on, and timeless. These tips will apply to effective networking strategies for decades.

What is NOT obvious from this video, is that Bob was actually helping us with this presentation in more ways than one. Our JDNG networking group was just getting started in 2015, still trying to get off the ground. True to form, Bob volunteered to help us by giving this great presentation.

If THAT wasn’t enough, I told him we had a 25-minute time limit, so he took the best parts of a full one-hour seminar and packed them all into this talk – within the time limit! If he seems a bit rushed, but that was MY fault for self-imposing a time limit on our meetings.

All this, and he was suffering from severe allergies at the time, and had to drive a great distance to get here. If a friend ever asked for help, Bob showed up, regardless of the circumstances, and delivered.

To see and be a part of the amazing job club he helped create, which still meets regularly in Hoffman Estates, IL, visit: https://sainthubert.org/job-networking

I am humbled and grateful to be able to share this video with you all. I hope you will take lots of notes, and share them with everyone you can so Bob’s advice can live on for generations to come.

Please watch this all the way through because the tribute at the very end ties in from something he says half way through about how he closes his networking meetings.

Bob Podgorski had an enormous impact on the Chicago area as he helped thousands people in job transition. We lost a good one that September 3rd, but we are blessed that our paths crossed. If you never had the opportunity to meet him, my hope is that this video gives you a brief glimpse into his dedication and sincere heart to help job seekers. It is just one small part of a great legacy left for all of us. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with his family.

God Bless you Bob, and until we meet again dear friend, farewell.