I didn't follow my own advice to connect with my network over the holidays.
I MEANT to, but then I got busy. Hypocritical, right? Here I am, advocating for you to do it, then making excuses for not doing it myself.
I've made so many fabulous connections, especially in the past year, people I truly WANT to stay in touch with. Just on any given day, there always seemed to be things that were "more important."
Friday afternoon, I decided enough was enough, and reaching out was my priority. I sent dozens of messages, each just a couple of sentences, saying Happy New Year and checking in.
The response was AMAZING and INSPIRING!!
Many of my connections, people I now consider friends, have recently landed jobs, some after being unemployed for over a year— great jobs, in their desired fields. I admire their grit and tenacity. I'm so happy for all of them!
Even those who are still looking were upbeat. And happy to hear from me.
A surprising number of my brief notes turned into great conversations, rekindling and strengthening relationships, and the results completely exceeded my expectations.
💙 I received offers for help with my marketing and suggestions for improving ZenSearch, both of which I'll be pursuing.
💙 I heard stories about hiring from the "other side," providing me with material for a future post.
💙 I learned about exciting new resources for understanding my AEO and optimizing my AI usage, which I'm exploring.
💙 I scheduled follow up Zooms with people who can help me spread the word about ZenSearch.
💙 I even received an unexpected donation to the ZenSearch cause.
My simple outreach yielded so much positive energy!! Can't we all use more of that??
If you still haven't reached out to your network, if you're "too busy" or just procrastinating, DO IT TODAY. Who knows what your outcome will be!
Check us out at ZenSearch.jobs and share our platform with anyone looking for something new. Together, we can make job searching a little more zen.
