Staying in touch - reconnecting
Staying in touch – reconnecting.
Ray Nicholls
Growing and nurturing your professional network will be one of the best investments you ever make, particularly through 2021 and the reopening of society.
Remembering to stay in touch with the network you have created is crucial and you need to hard-wire it into your professional routine.
If you are at the very beginning of your career, knowing what a complete network should look like can give you a real head start in your professional development*. You can be alert to people you meet along your career journey that specialise in different operational functions and stay connected to them. If at some future point you work in an early-stage business, having access to a broad range of professionals is priceless.
You might be at the stage of your career where you have had some success, however you have a burning desire to pivot and do something completely different. A mid-career MBA program is a popular choice and the eclectic group of peers you meet on this life changing experience is something you must retain and nurture. The route to your pivoted, evolved career role very often can present itself through connections you make here.
Perhaps you have dedicated your career to one business, have been loyal and climbed the executive ranks, only to be restructured out in the twilight of your career. This is a fantastic opportunity to reflect and re-engage colleagues you might have lost touch with. Work your way back through the friends you have made along the way and create new and interesting opportunities for yourself. Make sure they know the current you, rather than you of ten years ago.
The world can often feel stacked against the individual. To secure an ‘opportunity’ (your ideal job or piece of consultancy) the generally accepted process is:
Apply online via a job portal.
Convince a recruiter to meet you to get onto a shortlist, ensuring you satisfy
most of the ‘role brief’ hurdles.
Complete a competitive interview process.
You might not get the job, or you may have to defend your salary requirement.
Or you put together a LinkedIn profile in the hope of being found. You create an online generic CV to showcase to the world of recruiters, both agents and in-house talent managers.
Instead of trying to get the attention of people that you do not know using these processes, use your network to get introduced to people you do not know via people you do know.
MyExecLoop is a platform that puts you in control of your networking, finding opportunity or new connections through people that you already know.
* 20 years ago, individuals built their network within the business they worked for. Your boss championed people they hired for achievement, contribution and loyalty to the business. Since the workplace became more transient, this type of networking shifted. The boss that left for a pay hike would poach their favourites and bring them on the journey.
