My Networking Isn’t Working!

This short article might save you a lot of grief. You might be fired or laid off without warning.  

That happened to Jim, who worked in a company in Evanston. One day that seemed like just another day at work, he was called into a conference room. “We have to let you go–sorry.”

A security guard escorted him to his desk to grab a few personal belongings, then to the exit. Boom! He was locked out.

Jim lost access to his (invaluable) contact list. Documents he wanted to keep were lost. Sentimental items–gone. References? He didn’t have their contact information. Those interesting people he’d met at the conference last month? Their business cards were in his desk–now, probably in the garbage.

He had to start networking pronto (his company gave him no severance). Unfortunately, he had to reconstruct his contact list. That was a whole lot of work–and valuable time wasted. Of course, he could only remember a small fraction of his contacts.

What about work samples? He had nothing with which to create a portfolio or a web site to display them. 

Whether you think your head is on the chopping block or not, take action. Today! Make sure you have that contact list and your references’ contact info at home. Copy key documents, business cards, and anything else you might want. Make sure your work samples aren’t lost. Store them on a flash drive or email them to your home. 

This is your career equity. Protect it.

But more importantly, always be building your network. Keep in touch with people who are already in your network. Be in action. Build your network—now. This is a topic for another day.

Is it time to take control of your career?

Do you want to talk? Set up a no-obligation conversation today –https://calendly.com/steve-frederick