Networking never landed me my next job.

I wasn’t meeting people who pulled jobs out of their pockets and handed them to me.

However, here’s what it did give me:

🪴 Opportunity:
To get me outside of my comfort zone to talk to people
To learn from people in the fields I was interested in
To meet leading experts in those fields
To learn to read a room full of people
To help others

🌸 Clarity:
On what I truly wanted in my career
To help me embrace my personality
To build up my confidence
To communicate better

👥 A dream team
People who are invested in my growth and want to see me succeed
People who got to know me and would refer me if I asked
People I know who I would happily refer if they asked me
People who have helped me along my career

🤝🏼 Interviews
At companies I directly applied to
At companies that I never considered
At companies that I considered my dream to work at

It was only after an accumulation of all of this did I see more opportunities turn into actual jobs.

So as a reminder: Networking ≄ Jobs

It’s the time, effort, and intention you put into networking that sets you up to be your best self around others. Then it’s a perk when people begin to naturally think of you for opportunities.