Anyone can attest to that certain somebody who got the job or landed the promotion because they "knew people" or because they were "in" with the right people.

So, why not you? Are you making the connections that count, marketing yourself, and building relationships that will further your career or company? Don’t worry if your MySpace page isn’t that impressive. For many Pennsylvanians there’s an easier way to make connections with other professionals in their area. If you’ve never tried actively engaging yourself into the local Young Professionals organization, you should get out and see what you've been missing.

Pennsylvania is lucky enough to have over 20 Young Professionals organizations across the state, with almost every urban center represented, from the Young Erie Professionals (YEP) to Philadelphia’s Young Professionals Network (YPN). Across the state, professionals under the age of 40 (generally) are actively meeting other people, making connections, supporting their local communities and having a blast in the process.

I can speak to my own experience as a member of the Harrisburg Young Professionals (HYP), a very active organization that boasts nearly 600 members who have various involvement in committees, sports leagues, dinner and book clubs, and social gatherings at the city’s best watering holes. Businesses recognize the benefits of having their employees connected to other professionals inside regional organizations and willingly pay for corporate memberships so that all of their young employees can get involved with HYP. The city is also supportive of the economic impact an active, young body of professionals can have on a burgeoning city like Harrisburg. The mayor has appeared at more than a few HYP events to display his personal support, sometimes even sponsoring memberships himself to encourage people to join.

Did I mention that most Young Professionals memberships only cost about $30? Many areas, including Harrisburg, offer great discount cards to members as well, so the investment is minimal in terms of the connections and relationships you build while attending a political debate, playing in a kickball tournament, or just enjoying a drink at a member social.

There’s no better way to network than being actively involved in a Young Professionals organization. Like most things in life, it’s really what you make of it, but the opportunity to create both friendships and professional connections while having a great time is well worth the investment. If you're one to agree that, "it's all about who you know," then get out and meet some people! You can find more information about Young Professionals organizations across the state at www.PAYoungProfessionals.com.

Pennsylvania colleges and universities are filled with talented faculty of diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Unfortunately, faculty members who have demonstrated extremely high proficiency in very specialized areas of expertise are often completely overlooked by the business community.

Companies looking to stay competitive or innovative often times search far and wide for that particular expert to improve their product or complete intensive research on their processes, but neglect to seek the assistance of the universities and colleges in their own backyards! These institutions are teeming with established experts that most likely are working on their own pet projects and may have considerable interest in making contact with local businesses.

Working with colleges and universities across south-central Pennsylvania through the Innovation Transfer Network, I've seen faculty from a dozen institutions large and small, research-oriented and liberal arts-focused, all make significant contributions to local companies who had the smarts to look for talent at their local schools. Successful partnerships have been created on projects ranging from solar technology and skin sensors to dietary treatments and dental tools. Over the past two years, the Innovation Transfer Network has facilitated more than two-dozen such collaborative projects between school faculty and private sector companies. Whatever your business dilemma might be, there is most likely a faculty member in one of Pennsylvania’s nearly 300 institutions of higher education that's an expert in your industry, however obscure or specific.  

A perfect example of how this type of academic/private sector partnership can work is Express Dynamics, a startup company located in the greater Harrisburg area that has created an easy-to-use customizable software platform called WorkXpress. The company wanted to produce an upgraded version of their software with very specific capabilities, so they recruited two IT professors and two interns from local Shippensburg University and put together a very effective team to tackle a new generation of product. The interns got great experience and possibly a job offer in the future, the faculty members earned some supplemental income and business contacts, and the company can now produce a fantastic product.

Of course, not all faculty members are willing or able to participate in collaborative projects with the private sector, but the experts are out there, and with the help of organizations such as the Innovation Transfer Network, successful collaboration between academia and the private sector is possible.

So who's not "connected" or "linkedin"? Millions of people around the world are using social media platforms to share ideas, make new friends, find information and more--much more, in fact. Is your business utilizing the power of these mega networks? If not, it's time to create a user name and password.

Companies that aren't using blogs, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, StumbleUpon or other media are keeping their organizations very old school--and I don’t mean that in a good way! Think of it like this: do you ever read newspaper ads? Do you instinctively change radio or TV stations to avoid commercials? I know my eyes are skilled at reading right around ads on websites, even when they are placed in the center of an article. More than ever, organizations need to think outside the box to get their brand out to places where people actively spend time.

Case in point: Flying Dog Brewery. They do everything right with social media. Not only does the company actively blog about anything and everything they do that might be of interest to beer enthusiasts, but they communicate with people on twitter, let fans and customers interact on Facebook, and bring people back to their Web site with timely and interesting email newsletters chock-full of quality videos and other content. Admittedly, Flying Dog makes fantastic beer, but is it any coincidence that they’ve had record beer sales since utilizing a number of social media platforms?

My advice to any company that has an interest in utilizing social media is to create a basic presence wherever you can, but to focus on one or two platforms that you can really put some time into keeping fresh and interesting. Maintaining a blog with quality content takes time, but it's an easy and free means to pushing your brand to the top of the search engines. Newsletters are becoming way over-used, but timely information that's of interest to your audience can be an effective and cheap way to define your brand or sell your product. Want to promote an event? Facebook is a great way to allow attendees to interact and spread the word among friends. Twitter is a (somewhat addictive) tool that allows people to communicate and build relationships with others around similar interests. Social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Delicious can also funnel people to your Web site.

The list goes on and on. There's no end to the kinds of creative tools and platforms available to companies online. Some will work better than others, but the key is to think outside the box and creatively brand your organization online. This isn't just kids' stuff anymore.

Speaking of buzz words, brain drain in Pennsylvania is a topic you’re likely to have heard so many times you might just be ready to leave the state yourself. The monotony is unfortunately necessary; Pennsylvania has a shortage of knowledge workers for the new economy we’re living in. And although the strategy for encouraging more talented young workers to choose Pennsylvania differs across the state, there’s one approach everyone should embrace: internships.

Sure, you say, it’s on your to do list, you’d like to take a student or two into your organization but you just don’t have the time, right? Absolutely not.

In fact, a five year study by the Internship Institute found that, "a qualified manager can gain 225 full 8-hour workdays of productivity in a calendar year by effectively utilizing college interns." The benefit of taking on interns isn’t just about saving time, either. Establishing a regular internship program is a cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate potential employees. Not only do students find out about the company and gain valuable real-world experience, companies receive a free or low-cost trial period with a potential new hire. And the cost per hire is decreased when you hire an intern because they transition into the company and become productive much faster.

Around Harrisburg, we encourage employers not to shy away from internships because of time constraints, but to create efficient programs that free up valuable time for them to pursue projects that most require their attention. Local employers can get assistance with communicating their open positions to regional college career centers through a free forwarding service on StayInventCentralPA.com. The site also offers a comprehensive manual for download to anyone who wants to start or improve an existing internship program.

Bringing students into Pennsylvania companies is an excellent approach to reversing brain drain. Call it a brain gain strategy: not only do students benefit from the experience, but employers get an opportunity to screen potential employees, free up time, or just infuse the office with young, creative talent.

Consider rearranging your to-do list; you probably don’t have time not to have an internship program. 

Innovation is a catchy word nowadays; it defines a lot of advertising campaigns, strategic plans, and job titles. As the coordinator for the Harrisburg Market Keystone Innovation Zone, I’m no exception. In Harrisburg, the KIZ specifically seeks to promote entrepreneurship, retain young talent, and facilitate partnerships between business and academics.

Any company that wants to be defined as innovative needs to keep those three goals in focus. Truly innovative companies like the all-powerful Google recognize the importance of a meaningful internship program, entrepreneurial collaboration, and harnessing the expertise of local universities. Allowing for collaboration and encouraging communication through new forms of media is essential for any company seeking to compete in the global marketplace.

Exciting things happen when communication is not just allowed, but encouraged. Creative entrepreneurs flock to places like the Silicon Valley in California or the Research Triangle in North Carolina to learn from and share with collaborators and competitors alike; they realize the value in having a critical mass of people thinking outside the box.

Harrisburg might not come up on the first page of search results for innovation, but the area is gradually accumulating that critical mass of creative companies, entrepreneurs, young talent, and academic collaborators necessary to create some real business growth and economic development. Our world-class business incubator, the Murata Business Center, is home to a host of entrepreneurial startups, many of which are growing out of the place at an astounding pace. The Hershey Center for Applied Research is also attracting a number of faculty entrepreneurs and bio-tech companies into the first-constructed building in the research park, adjacent from the Penn State Milton S. Hershey College of Medicine. Clearly, these companies benefit from and are willing to locate into an environment of collaboration and creativity.

Companies of all sizes and industry can benefit from poking around facilities like these to form joint ventures with other companies and startups. Projects and ideas that may be put on the backburner at larger companies can be perfect for smaller enterprises willing to take on new work and create future business partners. The payoff for those willing to open communications with other players in the business and academic world is essential for Pennsylvania’s new economy; without it, innovation is destined to remain a buzzword.