How to turn networking from sleaze to steeze
flickr / halaita
Networking has got a bad rap. You know this because you can just feel the sleaziness of it. I’m sucking up to so-and-so to get a job. You feel like the brown-noser you always hated.
I’m here to speak out on this. Networking is not sleazy if you don’t think about it as trying to weasel your way into a job. I’m not, however, the first person to try to convince you to reframe how you think about it. So maybe reframing your mindset is not enough. I say just throw the word “networking” out. If you feel bad about it, you’re never going to do it, and networking has long lost its usefulness as a word. I’d argue there is a significant psychological block to networking for a lot of people, so just forget it.
Instead, let’s reconnect to where my last two posts leave off. You’ve first gathered your passions and skills and then curated memorable stories based on those passions. Right? So the question now is how to apply your stories to the people you know.
Who do you know? Who would help you without a thought in the world? That is your core group. Chances are you see or speak with this group almost daily or weekly and it includes family and friends. These are some of same people you turned to in discussing your passions and they care deeply about your well-being. Read more
