How to network your way to your next job.
Practical advice for those who have never done it. Based on life experience and the spiritual laws of the universe.
In my career before coaching, I had many different jobs in the technology industry. And 100% of my full time positions came from my network. And by that I mean it came from one-to-one outreach and conversations. Here is what I have learned along the way:
Who you network with doesn’t matter as much as you think.
It matters more that you do it. You will never know in advance who is going to lead you to your next role. And most likely, it will surprise you. Your peers are a great place to start your networking. For instance, if you want a job in PR, start networking with your cousin who is a lawyer in an unrelated field. It doesn’t matter as much as you think. I cannot stress this enough. Why? For a few reasons.
First, as mentioned above, you do not know who is connected to the person who is going to hire you. So everyone is equal from this perspective. The spiritual Law of Inspired Action states that to achieve our goals we must let go and be open to outcome. We then make room for a new way to achieve our goals. Therefore any thoughts or calculations about who is a good use of your time to network with is completely unnecessary.
Second, networking with people who you are close to is a stress-free way to practice telling your story and to improve it.
And third, generally connecting with people who are one LinkedIn degree removed from you will ‘fill your bucket’. And when it’s full the connection and support you feel will help you as you eventually network with people you don’t know well (see my next point below).
Have fun with it.
This is a requirement. If you aren’t having fun and you aren’t feeling sufficient, safe, and optimistic then please stop the networking. Humans are born intuitive first and it never really leaves us. When you aren’t believing you are ok, you are not fooling anyone. The spiritual Law of Vibration and of Perpetual Transmutable Energy will tell us that people can sniff desperation out whether they realize it consciously or not. No one wants to hire the person that is desperate for the job. In essence your energy is repelling what you want and attracting more of what you don’t want.
So if you find yourself in that energy, take a break and go back to your inner circle or whatever else fills you up and helps you get back to the belief that nothing is going wrong.
Help others help you.
Be as clear as you can on what you are looking for. The people you meet in your networking truly want to help. When you are clear and can simplify what you are asking for, you are making it easier for them to help you.
For example, in 2009 when I was looking to switch from enterprise software to digital media, I told all my close friends one evening. Then that weekend I wrote them an email that more clearly described the industry I was looking to get into. In that email I also gave examples of companies in the industry and I shared keywords of roles that would be a good fit for me. A friend who read my email was running to the NYC subway one day when the train door was held open for her. Turns out that door was held by someone she had gone to college with. And it turns out that person worked in digital media. She wasn’t familiar with his line of work but the words he used as they made small talk triggered her memory of my email. Long story short, she made an introduction and I was offered an interview and then a position at his company a few weeks later.
The spiritual Law of Compensation tells us that we reap what we sow. I invite you to get still and consider what the people in your network need from you to be helpful. It will be worth your time.
Give first, receive later.
A networking meeting where you just listen and are fully present and curious about the other person is a success. Typically people will feel energetically that they have received your generosity and will want to reciprocate and help. And even if they don’t, the universe has noted your genuine, energetic output and according to the spiritual Law of Cause and Effect what you put out will come back to you. So give first and know you will receive later. Sometimes much later and sometimes from a person different than the person you gave to.
Be truthful.
Spend some time digging into what is true. The truth feels a certain way in your body (ask any lie detector). While you may be telling yourself that you were laid off as a result of dirty internal politics and backstabbing, that likely isn’t the whole truth. There is another truth that is more neutral. Perhaps it’s that you had outgrown your role and there were no other opportunities at the company and your company knew it before you did. Or perhaps your values weren’t aligned with your company’s and it took a re-organization for both parties to realize it.
Once I left a company completely convinced that my CEO didn’t value my work. For a year I told myself this painful story. It wasn’t until I examined the opposite story of “I left because I didn’t value my work” that I felt my entire body relax into the kindness of what was really true.
The spiritual Law of Polarity tell us that there is always an opposite and tuning into it can give us some perspective. I invite you to look beyond the reactionary story and the cover-up story and ask yourself how can the complete opposite be true? Find the kind truth. And go with it.
This list above is what helped me the most in all my job searches. It isn’t exhaustive and there are certainly many more spiritual laws at play that I haven’t included. (For a summary of them all check out this piece.) If networking can work for an introvert like me who didn’t know how to do it, then it can absolutely work for you.
I’d wish you luck but you don’t need it. Because you have the laws of the universe on your side.
Hello, I’m Serena. I am a life coach. I help high achievers figure out what they were truly meant to do. If you would like to receive thought-provoking content, join my email list. If you are interested in 1:1 coaching, get in touch with me here.
