Reach Out

Submitted by wendii on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 02:27.
in

At a conference recently I talked to someone who is looking for his next career step. When I asked who he'd talked to, he told me he was looking to find the right people to talk to in other departments.

There's definitely value in finding the right person - we'd all love to find the perfect mentor who jumpstarts our career first time out. Meeting the right mentor is like other kinds of relationships though - you have to kiss the frogs before you find the prince. Instead of finding the right person, just start meeting people. Use any introduction you can get.

I've noticed in the US, people are much more likely to speak to strangers than I'm used to. That's how I found out how delicious black raspberry icecream is - a guy recommended it to me, when I was just stood in the supermarket. It never hurts though, even though I find it odd. So reach out - you never know what the positive result might be.

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jzklein's picture
Submitted by jzklein on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 03:06.

Right on!

This week I started picking up hitchhikers on my way to college. I also try to stop for people broken down waiting for help. Its a great way to meet people.

Jake

tmartin's picture
Submitted by tmartin on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 03:43.

Just start meeting people

WOW, great Information.   Just start meeting people. 

The next meeting may just be the prince you been looking for.

Tim

mrs_schow's picture
Submitted by mrs_schow on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 13:55.

The importance of reaching out

I am the climbing coordinator for a non profit and we have two nights a week where my staff and I belay the public. I choose this period of time to just start talking to people: the kids climbing, the parents of the kids climbing, and anyone else who even gets close to the climbing wall. We talk about everything: Manager Tools Podcasts, current politics, the economy, parenting styles, schools, places to go and have fun, etc.. Through this my husban, who comes to cheer everyone on, and I have found great places to eat and hang out as a family along with people who were willing to bring his resumee by different hiring managers in the local area when he was laid off. This last part was been highly effective since we moved half way across country for him to accept a possition, only to have the company layoff over half their employees 7 months after we moved.