150:  How to Cultivate Professional Relationships with Jenn Smith

Jenn Smith here with a solo episode! Today I am stopping by to dig into cultivating professional relationships. When it comes to moving into a career you love, building relationships is a critical component. I’ll break down rebranding the word “networking”, resetting your mindset to one of service vs. self-promotion, the hidden job market – what it is and how to tap into it, and informational interviews – what they are and how to leverage them in your job search.

Show Notes:

• Informational Interview Guide
• Roadmap to a Fulfilling Career eBook

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Transcript

Lisa Lewis Miller  0:04  

Welcome to the Career Clarity Show. If you want to create a career path you’ll love you’re in the right place. I’m Lisa Lewis Miller, career change coach, published author and your host, and each week, we’ll bring you personal transformation stories, advice and insights from experts about how you can find a more fulfilling, soulful and joyful career.

Jenn Smith  0:30  

Welcome back to the Career Clarity Show. I’m your host, Jenn Smith. And today I am stopping by with a solo episode about cultivating professional relationships. So when it comes to moving into a career you love building relationships is a critical component. Some people call this networking. But I recognize that that word causes a lot of stress and people, myself included. In fact, I believe it’s time to rebrand the word networking. This one word alone has caused people to overthink, rethink and sometimes held people back from making a change, because they’re not good at quote, unquote, networking. I recently had a meeting with a job seeker. And the first words out of his mouth were all these reasons why he’s not good at networking. So he said that he was an introvert, he felt too shy to reach out to others. He didn’t want to bother anyone, anyone. He didn’t have that time to network. And all of these stories, all of these things have held him back from making a change in his career for the last five years. And this is just one example. I have heard so many stories of the reasons why networking has held people back from making a change. And part of the reason that it feels icky is because most people think of networking as asking strangers for favors or for a job. And so of course, it’s going to feel awkward if you call someone up and ask them for a job. So we’re not going to do that. Networking isn’t about asking strangers for jobs. It’s about connection and building relationships and cultivating cultivating community in a way that’s comfortable for you. I recently spoke with my career change group abroad about this very topic and words like slimy, it makes me sweat uncomfortable all came into the discussion. Personally, when I think of the word networking, I think of being at a stuffy hotel conference, wearing uncomfortable clothes, with a lanyard around my neck pretending I want to be there and awkwardly meeting new people. So trust me, I get it, and I am here on a mission to rebrand this word. Here at Career Clarity Show we call it building strategic relationships. Networking is not about going to a stuffy meeting with a lanyard asking strangers for a job. It’s about building relationships in a way that’s comfortable for you. And the bottom line is if you approach building relationships in an authentic way, it can be really exciting as you plan and create your new career path. So today, I’m going to walk you through the steps on how to make this less daunting. First, I do want to make a note that strategic relationship building requires courage. I get it that this is not an easy thing. And with courage comes action. And with action comes competence. So a lot of times, folks, don’t tell me they don’t have the confidence to reach out and make new professional connections. And I totally get that this does take courage. And the competence is not something that we get overnight. It’s a result of taking action. So you must first believe in yourself bet on yourself to be able to take some tiny action and make it happen.

Jenn Smith  4:18  

So in this episode, you’re going to learn practical details when executing a proactive approach to strategic relationship building. So we’re going to start with mindset, which is half the battle if not more, then we will dive into why your network matters when you are in a job search. Specifically, I want to talk about the hidden job market. It’s kind of a buzz term. I want to explain more about what that is and a little bit more about why it’s important. And then the majority of our time we’re going to spend talking about informational interviews, which is your golden ticket to a thoughtful relationship building strat Do. So let’s get to it. First things first, you have to shift your mindset when it comes to building strategic relationships. So, as I mentioned in the beginning, it’s not about asking strangers for jobs. It’s about genuinely connecting with other humans that you are interested in talking with. And the best way to approach this is to lead with a service mindset. So approaching the conversations with curiosity, and purpose. So if you genuinely want to learn more about somebody’s career path, or you genuinely want to learn about what it’s like to work at an organization, that’s great. That’s that’s curiosity. That’s purpose. It’s not about self promotion. And this can become especially effective when there’s no job at stake. So if you are going through a proactive and personalized job search process, you likely have some organizations or some people that you would like to gather some more information from. Doing this before there’s even a job open at one of those organizations is going to take the pressure off of you selling yourself or feeling like you’re asking a stranger for a job. So if you can proactively plan out the organizations you’re interested in, start to build relationships before there’s a job at stake, it makes these conversations much more comfortable. Most people genuinely want to help other people, when I talk to job seekers, you know, and ask them what they want to do with their career. Most people tell me, they want to help others in some way or another. So what better way then to start when you first meet somebody, especially if it’s at an organization that you’re interested in working for. So talking to real live humans, at the organizations or in roles that you’re interested in is the best way to figure out if a role or an organization is going to be a fit for you. And when you lead with that curiosity, and you lead with service and helping others and figuring out what that organization needs or what that person needs, that’s a great way to start to build that relationship from a really genuine place. And so in terms of leading with a service mindset, and some ideas that might help you think about how you could support or how you could add value is pretty simple. So for example, if you’re meeting somebody for the first time, and, you know, obviously, this would be around a topic or role and organization and industry that you’re really interested in, share useful information. So it may be you read a trending article, and you wanted to share it with the person after the conversation. Or if you are meeting with someone who shares their own content, you know, letting them know that you took note of their content, and even sharing that or paying them a compliment on that content? Would be value added and lead with a service mindset?

Jenn Smith  8:01  

Can I connecting people to each other is leading with a service mindset, endorsing someone or providing a recommendation? Better yet solve a problem. So if you are lucky enough to get on a phone with the hiring manager of an organization, or a decision maker at a company that you’re interested in offering a solution or was sharing ideas on how to solve a problem and an intro meeting, or one of your first conversations is a great way to add value and start to present yourself like someone they would want on the team. So just a quick example of this if I’m, you know, a career coach, and maybe I’m meeting somebody at an organization that I want to partner with from a career coaching standpoint. So I’ve done some research, and I know that this organization is going through a reorg. And I can help people you know, who are maybe getting displaced with finding new jobs. So if if that was the situation, I could say something like, Hey, I know your corporation is going through a reorg. And you might have people looking for jobs. Just want to let you know, I’ve been facilitating, you know, resume renovation workshops to help people confidently showcase their transferable skills. And I’ve done a few of these have gotten really good feedback. So if you need any help, I’m happy to offer it. So something just as simple as that starts to open the door and showcase your service mindset and leading with that mentality of curiosity and purpose rather than self promotion. It’s a simple way to plant a seed and let people know that you’re available for them. And when it comes down to it, nothing beats actually doing something for somebody else. Which guess what, that is networking that is building relationships in a really authentic way. A couple more quick tips to help you reset your mindset is one thing that helps a lot of folks is if you’re feeling nervous about reaching out somebody that you don’t know, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. So what if somebody you didn’t know reached out to you for help in an area that you’re an expert in, or they wanted to know more about your career path because they were aspiring to be in a role similar to yours, most likely, you would feel honored, and you would do what you could do to support them. Most people genuinely want to help other people, they just need to know how to help you. So putting yourself in the other person’s shoes is a helpful way to kind of reset your mindset. The other thing is that you don’t have to quote unquote, network or build relationships the way everybody else does, you can do this in a way that’s comfortable and exciting and fun for you. So if you prefer to talk on the phone and have a chat, while you’re walking around the block, do that, you know, if you prefer to kind of break the ice over social media, go ahead and do that, you know, some people are even more comfortable, you know, joining groups that are volunteering for a cause. And if that’s the way you want to meet, you know, professional folks in your area of interest, go ahead and do that. There is no right or wrong answer to this. And so the bottom line is that cultivating relationships from a place of service, and doing it in a way that feels comfortable for you will help you get started. And it will also help you stand out.

Jenn Smith  11:29  

So now that we’ve talked about mindset, let’s move on and talk about the hidden job market a little bit because this is really more about the why in terms of why relationship building is so important in the job search. So the hidden market is a the hidden job market is a buzzword, and it’s really used to describe jobs that aren’t obviously advertised. So as a side note, I don’t love the term, the hidden job market, it is a little bit misleading. Although I know a lot of people are curious about it. So I definitely want to share more and dig into this concept. So as I mentioned, the hidden job market is basically jobs that aren’t obviously advertised or aren’t advertised at all. And it’s really an opportunity to be considered for a job before it’s ever posted. And the reason it’s slightly misleading is because most companies do need to track their hires and their jobs for compliance reasons. Although this term does give a good perspective as to why building relationships is so important. So again, it’s jobs that aren’t obviously advertised, it could be through word of mouth referrals, and again, an opportunity to be considered for a job before it’s ever posted. So a couple scenarios, just to put this into context that maybe you have even encountered recently. So for example, you are in the market for a new job, and you start taking a look at your top companies careers pages, and you notice a job posting that you’re super excited about. So you feverishly update your resume and you get ready to apply and you go back to the job board and notice that the job was taken down after a handful of days, this could be an indicator that they already had somebody in mind for the job, that person applied, and then the job came down off the job board. Another situation that you may have encountered is say you are on a team and you have your weekly team meeting, you all get together either zoom or in person. And your manager starts with a team update that you know somebody is retiring in the next couple weeks or months and they’re late that leaves an opening on your team. After that announcement, the first thing your manager does is ask the team if they know anybody who would be a good fit. And everybody looks around and looks at each other. And they’re like they’re going Oh, who do I know that would you know that would be able to join our team. You’re also thinking if you’re one of those team members, you’re very happy for your teammate who is retiring. But deep down, you know that not having someone on the team in that role is going to cause a lot of extra work. And as a teammate, it is in your best interest to help think about potential candidates to quickly close that gap. And when you as a job seeker are one of the people the team thinks of for that role. You’re going to get a text or an email or a phone call that there’s an opening and that you should apply for the job. This is how the hidden job market works, right wrong or indifferent. This is what’s happening behind the scenes.

Jenn Smith  14:45  

Another quick story I partnered with a client who was in the job search process. She was interviewing for a role and ended up to be the runner up so she didn’t get the job. But she was the second in line basically and Then the hiring manager that she went through the process with saw a lot of potential in her and definitely wanted her on the team. And the hiring manager knew there was a role coming open in the future, and knew that this person would be a really good fit for that job. So the hiring manager went and quickly got approvals for that headcount posted the job reached out to my client and encouraged her to apply, she went through the process very quickly, because she had already just interviewed for a different job. And she’s now working with that team. So that was a job opportunity that wasn’t, quote, unquote, advertised. And so talking with people about who you are, and what you want is the opportunity to be considered for a job well, before it even goes on those big job boards. I wanted to share just a little bit about why this happens. And just a few perspective points from the employers side. So as a company, one of the best ways to fill the talent pipeline with engaged super smart colleagues is to have their current engaged, super smart employees attract more people, to the team and to the organization. And companies will do this, some companies will do this through referral programs, where they pay a pretty decent bonus to current employees, when they bring new employees into the organization, and they stay for a particular amount of time. So I’ve seen some companies pay referral bonuses to their employees up to $7,000 for certain levels within an organization. So a lot of companies have these smart talent strategies where they know long in advance, they’re going to be hiring for a certain job. And they can leverage their current employees to help. So that’s an aspect of, of the hidden job market. companies realize that they are more likely to get high quality applicants from current employees. So current employees understand the needs of the job, they understand the company, and they have a vested interest in recommending good candidates, especially if they’ll be working with whoever gets the job. So go back to that scenario, where they have a teammate that’s retiring, it’s in that team’s best interest to go find good candidates to fill that gap as quickly as possible. So employees who are motivated to give good referrals, especially if there’s, you know, that referral bonus on the back end, and as a company, I would much rather pay my current employee, a $7,000 bonus, you know, then have to, you know, have all the stress added to the team, you know, having a job posted for, you know, 30, or 60 or 90 days. The other thing is some companies, you know, pay for advertising, which can be really expensive, some companies pay an agency to fill that job or to go out and source talent to fill that job, that can be really expensive. So last I looked at agency costs, it could cost you know, 10 to 30% of the salary. So if a company pays an agency to fill a job, you know, where the salary is $100,000, they’re gonna have to pay that agency, you know, up to $30,000. So turnover is expensive, recruiting can be expensive. And again, it’s in the company’s best interest to leverage their current employees to fill their talent pipeline. Another example, just to keep in mind is that, you know, some companies are going to want to keep hiring decisions confidential. So they may not post a job online, if they want to keep it confidential. So if they have a new division opening, that’s not public knowledge yet, or they have upcoming retirements that aren’t public knowledge, or they want to just start filling their pipeline for a role that they know they have open, you know, quite often, or they have a lot of, they may not post those jobs, on the big job boards. So tapping into this quote, unquote, hidden job market through building relationships is definitely in your best interest. So in summary, the hidden job market is jobs that are filled through word of mouth or aren’t obviously advertised. Employers do this because it saves time, it saves money, and they know their current employees are the best way to get more great employees. Your network is the best way to tap into these potential job opportunities. And so now, we’re gonna go a little bit deeper into online networking and conducting informational interviews.

Jenn Smith  19:41  

So online networking can be a little bit scary for folks. Some people actually like this way, and it’s not a super hard way to get noticed by your top companies. But it’s important that you spend your time thoughtfully as you as you think through this online network strategy. So It’s a really using social media and you know, the internet is a great way to learn about companies. And it’s also a great way to start to break the ice, especially leveraging LinkedIn. And what the reason I like this, this approach is because you can really start small, with simple likes, comments and shares to break the ice. And so I’m going to give you a quick example here. So I was in my last corporate role, I was recruiting for a job on my team. And part of our role as a recruiting team was to share content on LinkedIn. And so I shared content pretty regularly. And I noticed a young woman who was commenting on my articles, or what I had to say, very thoughtfully, and it was consistent. And so I started to notice her, she definitely stood out. And most people who share content will notice who comments or likes or shares their, their, you know, their posts. And so, so anyways, she she continued to, to engage with me in this very simple way. And then finally, she messaged me and reached out and asked if I had 20 minutes to talk with her about what it was like to work at my company. And because I had seen her thoughtfully commenting, and liking my posts, I definitely made the time for her. And then we had a conversation and went great, and it led to an interview. So something really simple with consistently breaking the ice on social media can definitely help get you noticed. And it’s a form of networking. The other thing you can do is after you started to break the ice with folks, you know, you could you could schedule or ask for those informational interviews, which I’m going to talk about in a minute, you could also extend your reach with a letter of interest. So going back to, you know, learning what people need at an organization and just kind of sharing what you have to offer. So instead of applying to a job, you know, reactively, a letter of interest is a more proactive approach to share who you are, what you do, how you can solve their problems, and let them know you’re interested in the company. The other thing that I like about online networking is that it’s a great way to just nurture these relationships. So I call this Strategic scrolling. So instead of logging into LinkedIn, and doom, scrolling, whatever’s in your feed, you can strategically find the humans that work at your ideal companies or in your industry that you want to move into, or in a role that you’re excited about. And find out what they’re talking about online and continue to like, comment or share on their posts. And that will help you not only learn more about them, but also stay top of mind. This is actually a really good strategy, when you’re in the interview process as well. So a lot of times you interview and you’re all excited, and then you’re not hearing anything you know what to do. And so nurturing your network or connecting with folks that you’ve interviewed with and staying in touch with them through social media is a really good way to stay top of mind. The other piece with online networking is that online communities are a thing. And they will continue to be a thing. I’ve had a couple clients that have just really tapped into these online communities, and it’s gotten them great jobs. So give you a couple examples here. So I had a gentleman who was relocating and relocating cities and joined a Facebook group for newbies in their new city, introduce themselves ended up with a handful of like virtual coffee chats and intros to companies in this new city. And that started planting seeds for when they did relocate, they were able to pick up those conversations, and then eventually move into a role in that new city.

Jenn Smith  23:59  

Another example, this was an awesome one, this was through a Slack channel. So um, so this particular example was for somebody that was changing roles and industries. And they found a Slack channel and I think it was through hashtags, found a Slack channel or a couple of Slack channels for job seekers in this new industry and in the new role, and ended up with three inter informational interviews through the Slack channel. And one of them led to an internship which led to their first six figure job. So that was just another example of how an online community led to a great opportunity. And one more I had a client who works in the movie production industry joined a very specific Facebook group within that industry. Ended up with 11 interviews, not even informational interviews, interviews, so joined the Facebook group through their elevator pitch right into the Facebook group. And it led to 11 interviews. So online communities are definitely a thing, it’s a great way to find your niche in terms of role industry company, and really start to build those relationships.

Jenn Smith  25:12  

You can also find, you know, industry specific websites. So, you know, Sherm comes to mind for human resources or medium for writers and bloggers, you can also find those industry specific sites and start to gather information, find out who you know, is doing cool things in those areas, and then leverage, you know, leverage that information to start building those relationships. So you want to follow the people that you’re interested in, you want to engage with them, and really just contribute where you’re comfortable. So cultivating this community, from a place of, you know, curiosity and passion for the work will definitely stand out. So let’s talk for a few minutes about informational interviews, informational interviews, or as I like to call them advice, chats, which I heard somewhere, are a fantastic way to build strategic relationships. So if you’re not familiar what an informational interview is, or an advice chat, it’s a couple, it’s a very casual way to learn more about a new industry, a new company or a new role. They’re typically pretty casual, but still planned, definitely less stressful than a regular job interview. Pretty short in duration. So I always recommend 15 to 20 minutes. And they are a smart way to build strategic relationships. So again, if you have your top organizations identified that you want to work for, you can start engaging on social media, break the ice with some folks and then eventually ask them for 15 or 20 minutes of their time, to learn more about what it’s like to learn to work at that organization. So this is actually, you know, a double whammy here, because you’re gathering more data points about an organization or a role or an industry, and you’re building your community in a way that could potentially lead to a referral, or for you to get thought of when those jobs do open up. So I like to think about these conversations, again, as just creating professional friends, you’re building your network from a place of genuine curiosity. So now that I’ve explained kind of what it is, let’s talk about some of the details. And I’ll share some of the frequently asked questions that I get here. So one of the most common details people ask me about is who Who should I reach out to. And so I always recommend you want to be selective and smart about who you’re reaching out to. So a lot of times people think recruiters, and then they get frustrated, if they don’t hear back from a recruiter, the issue there is that recruiters are probably inundated with requests to chat about jobs, because they’re the gatekeeper for a particular job. So one approach you might think about is talking with peers or peer level folks in the function or the department you’re interested in. So this, again, will give you information about the day to day from appear, or somebody you would potentially be working with and get really good insight about what it’s like to work at that at that organization, or in that role or in that industry. And then when you think about that, go back to the beginning where I share that scenario, when someone leaves the team for whatever reason everyone looks at each other and says Who do you know, you start to build relationships with the peer level, your name comes up in those conversations, when there’s an opening on the team. You can always try to find hiring managers, or other decision makers are great people, obviously, to start a relationship and start building, building community with. And then the other thing you could do is find the person who does the job you want to do and reach out to them, and talk to them about how they got their foot in the door and understand their story and get that helps you gather information and build that strategic relationship. So that’s a couple ideas on who. Now let’s talk about the how. So, you know, I mentioned kind of breaking the ice through social media. You know, quite obviously, I think here, the best way is to have a warm connection or someone to introduce you to that person or that organization that you’re interested in. So LinkedIn is really powerful for this because you can see if you have a first or second level connection with anyone at a particular organization, all you need to do is search the company and then see click people and then see who comes up there. Or you can search a certain job title and click people and see who comes up there. Or you could even search a certain industry and see who comes up there. So if you do have that first or second level connection and you can get that warm introduction, that’s probably going to be your best bet. If not, it’s completely normal to connect with folks or follow folks on LinkedIn. That’s what the platform is for. And especially if you’ve already been engaging with them before you actually connect with them, they’ve already seen you, they’ve put a name to a face, and they’re more likely going to accept that connection and be willing to chat with you. The other thing is to find something in common with the person. So maybe you went to the same college or you’ve lived in the same town. I recently connected with someone my freshman year of college, I went to Plattsburgh state, and Plattsburgh State University, and someone reached out to me on LinkedIn, and we had this whole conversation about the local pizza place, and Plattsburgh, New York. So, you know, if you can just find a little nugget that you have in common, that will definitely go a long way. If you don’t have anything, you can at least pay the person a compliment, that is going to go a long way. Especially if they share content, paying them a compliment about the content, maybe you listen to a podcast that they were recently on, maybe you read one of their blog posts, maybe you read their book that just came out, any of that is going to go a long way when you’re reaching out to folks. So that’s kind of the initial connection and some ideas on how, and then when you’re ready to ask for that advice, chat or informational interview, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person to say yes. So you don’t want to just reach out to somebody and say, Hey, I like your company, what what jobs do you have? For me, that’s not gonna get you anywhere. And trust me, that used to happen to me all the time. So you want to be professional, you want to be brief, you want to be super courteous of the other person’s time. And bottom line is that you want to make it as easy as possible for the person to say yes, so be clear in your ask. So you could say something like, you know, maybe if I was reaching out to someone, I might say hi, so and so, you know, it’s great to connect with you. I love you know, something about them? And then you know, I’m really interested in moving into SO and SO industry, would you be open to spending 15 minutes on the phone with me to talk about, you know, that industry? Set the expectation, I know, it’s only 15 minutes. And that’s an easy ask for somebody to say yes to. If you don’t want to talk on the phone, you can even email so maybe connect with the person and then, you know, ask them for, you know, a couple of minutes to respond to five questions that you send over in an email. That’s okay, too. But just make it as easy as possible for the person to say yes to. Then from there, you want to plan out thoughtful questions ahead of time. So the last thing you want to do is get on the phone or get on a zoom or email someone and just have it be all rambled, jumbled. So think about what you genuinely want to know. And then ask those questions get curious about them and their company, people love to talk about themselves. And people love to talk about their company, especially if they’re working at a company that they love and want to share with the world. So you want to use the conversation, you know, as a way to gather more information, and lead with that service mindset. So share ideas on what might be helpful, you know, for them and their, you know, role or in the industry, approach it with that curiosity and interest and what they’re doing. And that will make the conversation go really well. The other thing you can do here in terms of planning is think about an ask. So in closing, asking for another connection or another name, or how the person would like you to follow up with them is a really good way to continue to build your network in a very thoughtful way. So you could say something like, you know, so and so would you mind introducing me to the hiring manager or, you know, would you mind if I followed up with you in two weeks, you know, whatever, depending on the conversation and kind of what you’re looking for, you always want to either ask for another connection, or make sure that you’re going to stay in touch with the person.

Jenn Smith  34:16  

And then I can’t stress enough, you definitely want to follow up with a thank you email. So this is a really critical component that’s going to make you stand out when you want to make sure you follow up and thank them for their time and, you know, reiterate that you want to stay in touch with them and really build that network and leave a great impression. So I want to just to share a couple two examples here of folks that have leveraged the online networking and leveraged informational interviews that led to a job and then I’m going to wrap up with one key thing you can do to get started today. So there was a client who was another relocation this was from Washington State to South Carolina. They were changing from technical writing into internal comms. indications. And they ended up finding key players in the communications department at their top companies. They also found these players on other social platforms, Twitter and Instagram specifically, they started adding comments add value to their posts, and they did this consistently. And when I say consistently, I’m not talking about once a month, I’m talking about maybe twice a week, maybe once a week, you know, depending on on your schedule, but they did it on a consistent basis. And then they also found out that one of them had a podcast and started listening to that podcast and gathered so much information. From there, they wrote a really thoughtful letter of interest, which led to an informational interview, which led to an actual interview, which led to them getting the job. So this was a big one, because it was a it was a cross country relocation, they were changing functions. And they were also changing industries, which I didn’t mention in the industry was actually a really competitive industry as well. So taking those extra steps to nurture their network through social media, before, you know reaching out with a letter of interest. And before just asking for an informational interview really started that relationship building, which led to a job.

Jenn Smith  36:25  

Another example, had somebody that was working in a had a very academic, scientific, academic background, and they wanted to switch into wellness at a startup organization, she ended up going through LinkedIn and finding the right people, you know, within the space that she was interested in, started connecting with folks joined a particular company had some free webinars that they were doing. So she joined those webinars learned about the trends that they were talking about, followed up with the webinar presenter, shared what she loved about it, and then asked for that informational interview. And it opened the door and made this career change happen. And it was a drastic one coming from a highly scientific academic background, moving into an up and coming wellness organization. So when each of these examples they did what worked for they did what was comfortable for them, and it worked for them. So those are just some examples to help kind of put this in context. So let’s talk about how you can get started with this kind of proactive relationship building strategy. really simply, the first thing you need to do is create a contact list. I know it sounds simple, but a lot of times we have all these people kind of running through our heads or we see them on LinkedIn. And we just don’t take the time to stop and write it down. So make a contact list. Make a list of your, you know, your recent and your former colleagues, friends and family. Don’t forget about your friends and family. They are your best allies, who is in your community or your neighborhood. Maybe you have some acquaintances, maybe future colleagues. So you want to make a list of all of the people that you you know, that you have that you want to think about connecting with. And then leverage LinkedIn to find peers or decision makers at your top companies. Having this organized is the first step. And really, when it when it comes down to it starting with this list, you find one person that you’re most comfortable to start this process with to connect with. All it takes is one conversation, one conversation could lead to another and another and another and before you know it, you are off and running and building a new professional network. In closing, I know that this is courageous. I know that this can seem daunting, but the truth is, you are your best advocate. Nobody can do this for you. And I know I talked to a lot of folks who say that it’s so much easier for them to advocate for someone else than for themselves. But trust me, if you can advocate for someone else, you can advocate for yourself. So in summary, when you’re thinking about building your new professional relationships, you want to lead with a service mindset you want to offer to help and add value. Referrals are a great way to get your foot in the door with a new company. Informational interviews are the best way to gain real inside information about your top companies, and a fantastic way to build strategic relationships that could lead to a referral. And before you know it, you’re on your way to your next best job. Leveraging the power of social media in the Internet can be very beneficial through online groups or breaking the ice to get noticed. Ultimately building a strong network of people People who are gonna vouch for you, and who know what you’re capable of is the smartest way to engage in a job search. So what I would say here is to challenge yourself making just one new connection each week equals 52 and a year. That’s a whole new professional network that you can start building just by thinking about making one new connection a week. So that’s all for today’s episode. I hope that you found it helpful. And as always, you can find the show notes at get Career Clarity show.com/podcast. Talk to you next time.

Lisa Lewis Miller  40:44  

And that’s a wrap. Let us know what you thought about today’s episode. Leave us a review on Apple podcasts. Because not only can your stars and words help us find great guests and topics to feature on future episodes. Your input also helps other people find the resources they need to discover the work that lights them up. And make sure to check out my book Career Clarity: Finally Find the Work That Fits Your Values and Lifestyle. For the link to order it go to GetCareerClarity.com/book And don’t forget to get your other tools resources and helpful goodies at GetCareerClarity.com/podcast. Thanks again for joining us for the Career Clarity Show today. And remember, if you don’t love your work, we should talk because life is too short to be doing work that doesn’t light you up. Talk to you next time.