Mondays are new beginnings but for many people right now, Monday is just the continuation of the COVID slog. The carrying of ourselves from our bedrooms to our kitchens to our computers with another day of staring at the same faces on our monotonous Zoom calls.
But you can change up the faces and you can make the Zoom calls far more interesting. The way to do this? Commit to building your network.
Here's why you should build a meaningful network:
- Hiring. Your company may not have open head count right now but you will in the future. Smart CEOs are always networking to build their bench and smart business leaders seek relationships with A+ players who sit within the competition.
- Career Building. You may love your job today but one day, you will want to make a change. Think about where you want to be in 2 years. Who are the types of people you want to work with? What industries get you excited? Does a change in geography sound fun? Do you have intent to level up? Start building your network in the direction you want to take your career and opportunities will naturally unfold.
- Learning. Education is everything. Networking gives you the opportunity to stretch yourself and learn from others.
- Giving back. Networking is an exchange of information and ideas. When networking you should be sharing your talents, ideas, experiences and more in a way that helps the other person. It feels incredible to help others. Share your talents and your network will naturally build itself.
Here's how you can build your network:
- Join LinkedIn and Facebook groups that are relevant to your industry and participate in the conversations and activities.
- Directly follow people on LinkedIn and Twitter who are relevant to your work, industry and ambition. Comment, like and share their articles or posts. This is the beginning of building a virtual relationship and shows you are interested in their work.
- Start a blog or post on social networks. Get your ideas out there. Don’t be shy in sharing your talents or your expertise and people will organically come to you.
- Directly connect by email or LI Messages. Ask for a :20 call and be specific about why you are asking. Share one key sentence on your strengths or background that will bring value to them or their work in your outreach.
- Share your network. If you know somebody who is looking for a hire or needing to learn something as they grow their company or division, open your network of experts to whomever is asking for it. Your generosity will pay you back tenfold.
Here's who to add to your network:
- People you would want to hire – even if you don’t have the headcount today.
- Industry peers.
- People you want to work for.
- Leaders at companies you admire that may get value from your expertise.
- Industry influencers that your knowledge and experience can help.
Networking has a compound effect. When you bring value to others, they share your talents and introduce you to others. Commit to networking a minimum of 1-hour a week and you will quickly see the results.
Make this Monday different than last week. Take the time today to carve out a list of people you want to network with and start reaching out. What's the worst that can happen? They won't respond. No biggie because the one person that does respond can be the game-changer for you, your company or your career.
P.S. For CEOs that need help developing a network of people that complement their top players and build their bench, we offer talent mapping as a service. Email me directly at kristine@shinetalent.co if you want to chat more about talent mapping and to learn how we can help plan for your growth.
