The Rule of 50

Submitted by mauzenne on Thu, 06/18/2009 - 20:44.
in

This cast explains a simple way to stay in touch with your professional network.

After the dust settles and the air clears, the one regret that SO many professionals have is not their out of date resume, though there is that. It's not the unprinted contact list still on company computers, though there is that. It's not the one month (versus SIX) of cash on hand. It always ends up being the regret that managers and professionals have failed to stay in touch with their friends and associates – even those who are always glad to hear from them. And now, when they need them, they have no significant network to call on for job transition help.

This cast is about helping you avoid THAT pain.


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morloff's picture
Submitted by morloff on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 19:25.

Rule of 50 success

I gave it a try and took an hour one day to compile my list of 50 and set up task reminders in Outlook. This week, my first week, I contacted a former employee whom I hadn't spoken to in a year or so. She was really happy to be contacted and thought she might have a need coming up for my company's services. A very positive beginning to the exercise. And I was so encouraged that I contacted a few more people I happened to think about this week, so I could be on my way to 150! Thanks, guys.

ABQ_Andy's picture
Submitted by ABQ_Andy on Sun, 08/23/2009 - 19:58.

Additional Tip

This is a great way to start your network outreach - it also works well for those of us who have to maintain a network of liaisons as part of our jobs.

I've implemented this but there is one additional thing I do when sending emails: BCC my emails and forward their responses to my personal Gmail account (as long as there is no sensitive information in the email, which there shouldn't be any way for this type of contact).  Many of my contacts only know to contact me at my work email but if I lose my job and, as a result, access to that email account, I lose any record of our discussions.  Besides, Gmail searches work so much better than Outlook searches.

--Andy

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