Hundreds of Job-seekers from Across the Bay Flock to Career Summit at Community Presbyterian Church

Performance reviews are a miserable science, online networking is a helpful one and a team of supportive people is a catalyst for success.

These were some of the messages imparted to a crowd of at least 1,200 at the 8th annual Job Connections Summit at Danville's Community Presbyterian Church Saturday. The free event included few well-known speakers—including a higher-up from networking giant LinkedIn—and a multitude of people to connect with.

"You never know if someone you meet here is your ticket to a job," said Sara Hirsch, 27, a recently unemployed grant writer. "It's inspiring to hear from successful people about how to be successful, but the main thing is making personal connections right now."

Many in the crowded church sanctuary already had a job, but wanted a better one. Others were among the 12.6 percent of Californians reduced to joblessness by the sickly economy. A few came to network and recruit.

While some attendees came from Danville, where 4.9 percent of residents are unemployed, Danville has a jobless rate better than the nation's at the height of the market.

Most of those in attendance came from elsewhere, said organizers. Some drove from Pinole, San Francisco, San Jose and Marin County to attend. Many said they came from Concord, Dublin, Pleasanton, Tracy and Antioch.

Speaker Amilya Antonetti flew out from New York to share her message of get-out-of-your-comfort-zone motivation and teamwork.

The California High School graduate and mother of two, got her start in the business world when she fond out her young son was allergic to many chemicals found in household products. Many soaps, detergents, air-fresheners and other common products were off-limits in the Antonetti home.

She started making her own chemical-free hypoallergenic soaps. With trial and error, seemingly endless persistence, a $1 million-plus contract at a national grocery chain and enough media attention, Antonetti made it from zero to $200 million—twice.

Though she preached hard work, teamwork and self-starting as the keys to financial success, she emphasized the importance of staying grounded.

"Sucess is about who you are, not what you own," she said.

Patrick Lencoini, the days' first speaker, addressed the skills it takes to become an effective manager. Empathy, he said, is the answer.

"The more you know about who (your employees are) as people, the more they will love coming to work," he said.

Parker Barille, LinkedIn's director of product management, spoke more to the unemployed than anyone else. He said his company's website helps connect users with employers using a smaller degree of separation than the typical recruiter.

Though armed with business degrees from Stanford, Barille said he found himself unemployed after his last web-based venture folded.

"So like some of you, I found myself unemployed in the worst job market in decades," he said, addressing the crowd during his lecture on how to become a "networking ninja."

The Danville-based Job Connections nonprofit hosts the summit every year and doesn't charge people a dime to attend. Between summits, some of the nonprofit's 3,200 members meet weekly in small groups to coach, talk about networking, job-search strategies and interviewing tips.

"It was great," said Ginni Brown, who attended the summit even though she recently found a job thanks to Job Connections. "The speakers were wonderful. I learned a lot, even though I already have a job."

At a glance
For more information about Job Connections, visit www.jobconnections.org.