One Lesson About Well Digging That Can Save Your Career

One of the most powerful phrases I’ve encountered (apart from “You’re the pilot in the meatsuit!”) is: It’s not about what you know, but who you know.

It’s an interesting concept. For the longest time, I’ve prided myself in becoming a ‘one man army’. I’ve been building up all sorts of skills – becoming a swiss army knife if you will. Of course, over time, I’ve built up a number of additional areas of deep expertise to kind of even it out.

But this concept – where ‘who’ you know matters more than ‘what’, is an intriguing one. I notice that I’ve been lacking on this front. I’ve not been investing enough time into networking – and it’s starting to show – somewhat.

I realize that I’ve been approaching this a slightly different way – and I’ve ended up with a small group of people who can help me achieve my goals. And that’s when I thought… Macha.. we should scale this up.

With that, I present to you: Biggest Career Mistakes To Avoid #7: Not Digging Your Well Before You Need It.

Read on.

Situation

• Others seem to have a wonderful network that gets them everything
  • One post on LinkedIn gets them everything they need
  • They always know someone somewhere
  • They’re able to get the right job, referral, pitch, contract – anything they need
• Your network is not as useful as you would like it to be
  • You notice some reluctance to help you
    • And when the help comes through, it may not be as good
  • After a while, your contacts don’t help
    • They may stop ignoring you as well
• You don’t have the right connections
  • The right doors do not open for you
  • You don’t get the right opportunities
  • And even if you had the connections and the opportunities, things move forward at a snail’s pace

Cause

• You’ve not networked right
  • Remember: It’s not about what you know, but it’s about who you know
    • And how well you know them
    • Someone who doesn’t know you well will not help you much
  • You’ve not invested in the relationship
    • You reach out to people only when you need something
    • You are transactional in your relationships
    • And rarely do you offer anything in return

Answer

• Networking is not just about establishing contact
  • You have to age and ascend the relationship as well
    • Think of them as a friend
      • Build trust
    • Not an robot to do your bidding
  • Invest in the relationship
    • Help them achieve their goals
    • Give before you ask
    • Do NOT connect only before you need it
  • Deposit goodwill into the relationship account before you withdraw
    • Kinda like the mafia bosses
    • You want people to owe you favours
    • Otherwise, why would people want to help you?
• Network strategically
  • Look at what you may need in the future
    • Who could be helpful to know in the future?
    • Who could be the…
      • Gatekeeper?
      • Decision maker?
      • Influencer?
      • Ally?
      • Potential competitor?
      • Potential enemy?
      • Quest giver?
        • Someone who has a problem that you could solve
        • Role Playing Game term!
    • Think long term
      • At least 6 months
      • Even longer!
  • Look for people who can benefit by what you have to offer
    • If you’re unsure of your skills, think of…
      • Your connections
      • Your ideas
      • Your effort
      • Your visibility
      • Your network/influence
    • Try to think of the world from the other person’s perspective
      • What could be useful/beneficial to them?
      • This is a learned skill
  • 30 E.P.I.C Career Upgrades
    • Entire upgrade about networking
    • Includes tools and templates you can use to do this well
      • Companion Workbook & Template sheet

Result

• You have a group of people
  • In whom you have invested your time and effort
  • From whom you have asked nothing, but only given
  • With whom you’ve built a relationship
  • With whom you’ve established trust
  • Whom you’ve helped
  • And most importantly
    • Who are willing and able to help you
      • Use this relationship well

Your Turn

• Look at your existing relationships that you want to strengthen
• Identify new relationships you want to build
• Start to invest in those relationships
  • Give before asking
  • If you need more help
    • 30 E.P.I.C Career Upgrades
    • https://www.epiccareerlabs.com/buy

Brought to you by Epic Career Labs

Run by Arvindh Sundar

• Goal: Increase Job Security With E.P.I.C Transformations
• Mission: Liberate a million millennials from an unsatisfying career
• Get in touch at arvindh@epiccareerlabs.com

There’s a course that can help fix most of these

• https://www.epiccareerlabs.com/course

Did you know?

• You can take a free assessment to figure out what’s your career risk level?
  • https://www.CareerRiskLevel.com

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