I’m so excited to announce the release of my friend’s book, The Perpetual Paycheck by Lori Rassas. She’s my guest blogger today and I hope you enjoy her post.
In my new book The Perpetual Paycheck: 5 Secrets to Getting a Job, Keeping a Job, and Earning Income for Life in the Loyalty-Free Workplace, I spend a lot of time talking about building meaningful relationships with the people in your network, just as you spend time building meaningful relationships with people in your personal life.
Think about it. We appreciate it when our spouse gives us a gift for our birthday, or when a friend sends a get well card when we’ve been home sick for a few days. But doesn’t the gesture mean just a bit more when it comes when we least expect it? Suppose your boyfriend sends you flowers today “just because,” or your friend drops off a freshly baked pie, because they thought you might enjoy it. These little acts not only build and solidify existing relationships, but make it more likely that we’ll remember the gift-giver in the future—not only on pre-determined occasions, but also “just because.”
In The Perpetual Paycheck, I present this information within the context of my advice that the best time to network is when you are not actively looking for, or desperately looking for, a new job. Instead, anytime you come across information or an opportunity that might be valuable to someone in your network, you should send it along….just because. I call these small gifts T.O.Y.s (short for thinking of yous), and it is these small gestures that will open the doors to unprecedented opportunities.
Remember when you send someone in your network a thinking of you at a time when you’re not looking for a favor, chances are they’ll remember your kindness down the road, when you actually do need their help. You can think of it as a “favor bank”—and while I am certainly not suggesting that you keep a ledger, in the loyalty-free workplace it’s always better to have more favors owed to you than the other way around.
So if you hear about a job opportunity that would be a perfect fit for a friend you lost touch with over the past few years, pass it along. Or, if you read about a company’s search for summer interns, why not send a quick note to your former supervisor, just in case her son is still looking for summer work?
There are jobs in the modern workplace but the competition for them is fierce, and effective networking is the best way to stay one step ahead of the competition. And, networking in today’s workplace is much more than looking for a job or collecting business cards. It’s about building relationships with the people behind those business cards and LinkedIn profiles. It’s about being generous when you do not need assistance, so that others will return the favor (and send you T.O.Y.s when you need them most.
Lori
Lori Rassas is an employment attorney and workplace consultant who recently published her second book, The Perpetual Paycheck: 5 Secrets to Getting a Job, Keeping a Job, and Earning Income for Life in the Loyalty-Free Workplace. You can connect with Lori on LinkedIn, visit her website at lorirassas.com, connect with her consulting practice on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/loribrassas, or follow her on Twitter @lorirassas.
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