The FC Club
Colin Friedman: United Kingdom
Aside from running his own company, China Expert International, Colin’s the man behind the FC Club, a group of volunteers who stage networking nights for anyone looking to make the connections they need to take their career to the next level. CW put him on the hot seat.
CW: So what does the FC Club do?
Colin: The FC Club is basically designed to help people help themselves by making the connections that might improve their lot. Pieces of paper are great but it sure helps to know the right person, or even to know that a new possibility now exists.?
What's the atmosphere like at FC Club networking events?
In a word, fantastic. It's an amazingly friendly and relaxed atmosphere of like-minded people sharing ideas and exploring possibilities.
Where's the FC Club going from here?
Plans for 2008 are to do more than one social networking evening per month in Beijing
You probably hear a lot of "elevator speeches". What separates the good from the bad?
The secret is in knowing how to leave a strong first impression so that the other person will be interested in continuing the dialogue. You cannot present all your skills and abilities if a few seconds.
Any other advice for potential job seekers?
To find a job is easy. To find a suitable job is harder. Be flexible and try to think outside of your current box. I like helping people so I looked for a job that allows me to do that. I couldn't find what I wanted, so I made my own box by founding China Expert International. The FC Club is just one of the ways for me to help other people.
www.fcclub.com
eventbj@fcclub.com
Tel: 5120-0834
© 2007 Beijing Ringier International Advertising Company. All rights reserved.
京ICP备05061149号
City Weekend thanks for the interview.
I am only the "man behind the FC Club" (Beijing). The FC Club started in Shanghai in 2002 long before I started organising events in Beijing on behalf of them.
The FC Club (Fortune Connection Club) is one of China's oldest networking organizations. It serves a rapidly growing community of over 10,000 active members in Shanghai and over 3,000 in Beijing.
The FC Club is dedicated to bringing together business professionals, business managers, expatriates, human resource managers, and headhunters for its monthly events. We run a diverse programme of monthly Social Networking Evenings. The programme includes Career Development – Headhunter Evenings, Media Evenings, Business & Financial Evenings, I.T Evenings and more all on a regular basis.
The FC Club was founded in 2002 and is recognized as being one of the major hubs of connectivity. FC Club members are typically in their late 20's to early 50's. They are highly educated and motivated individuals. Many of them are the most active mid-career, international professionals in their respective communities. People often also attend the events for purely social reasons – to meet old friends and to make new friends. They know that often it is not what you but whom you know that helps in life and at the FC Club you will find the right type of people.
Above all FCClub events are a good place to learn new skills, to catch up with old friends or make new friends, to discover new things about your city and the world, and simply to have fun in a sociable and friendly atmosphere.
Colin