Build a better network from home

Working from home? You can still reach out and build career capital

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how you can build a bigger
network even if you're working from home. In fact, especially

(00:25):
if you're working from home. While working from home can
sometimes be isolating. With a little strategic planning, you can
realize that it doesn't need to be. Most of us
know that we should be spending more time networking. We
know that a robust network can help with finding jobs,

(00:46):
landing clients, and figuring things out. Plus it's just fun
to have people who are cheering for us and to
have professional friends that we get to watch succeed too.
But when we get busy, it is always easier not
to reach out. This is especially true these days when
many people are working from home and possibly juggling personal

(01:09):
responsibilities like kids, remote learning too. It feels like there's
just never enough time. But here's the thing, if we
are smart about it, we can build a more robust
network of people external to our organizations while working from home.
In some ways, it's easier then if you're in an office.

(01:32):
When you work in an office five days a week,
you spend a lot of time with your immediate colleagues.
Of course, right you go to lunch together, you grab
coffee together, and that's great, but you also start to
feel like your need to meet people in your industry
is well met. Many offices also have pretty strong time

(01:57):
norms that make it hard to meet eternal people during
the work day. If you leave the office at four
pm to grab coffee with someone else, people wonder where
you're going. If you skip lunch with your usual crew
to meet someone else, people wonder what's going on. It's
not that you're going to get fired for this or anything,
but needing to explain yourself always puts a little damper

(02:21):
on the impulse to do these things. When you are
working from home, however, you can completely escape these time
norms these days. Of course, we're not really supposed to
be eating and drinking maskless with people outside of our households.
But if you want to meet someone to go for
a walk in the middle of the day, well you can.

(02:42):
You can have a social coffee by zoom with someone
and not have the people in the next cubicle here
are you. And since you are not automatically socializing as
much with your colleagues, you'll feel more of a need
to arrange to talk with people, and that is a
good thing. It can nudge you to reach out, So

(03:05):
do just that. My friend Molly Beck wrote a book
called reach Out that advocates doing something like this every
work day. Reach out to one person, send an email,
or you could text or call. And this can be
someone you know from the past, someone a friend recommended
you meet, or just someone doing something cool in the world.

(03:28):
The point is to build the habit. If you reach
out to two hundred forty people in a work year,
maybe a hundred will lead to responses, probably more, but
let's say a hundred. Maybe twenty of those will become
solid connections. But twenty connections a year for five years
means you have a hundred people in your professional network

(03:50):
who really feel solid about you. That would be an
impressively robust network. And you can do it all even
if you're working from home. So today, build in a
few minutes to think about who you'd like to get
in touch with. Think about who else you could get
in touch with two over the next few work days.

(04:11):
None of this needs to take much time. A few
emails a week, one virtual coffee. But this investment will
pay off in so many ways over the long call.
And if you use working from home as a reason
to reach out more broadly than to just your colleagues,
your network will be stronger. Because while we all hope

(04:33):
that everything will go well in our careers, no one's
job is a certain A robust network means you don't
have to worry about that if things don't work out well,
there are a hundred people you could call who will
help you take the next step. In the meantime, this

(04:54):
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

(05:15):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

(05:41):
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows