Speaker #0Hi, welcome to The Pulse, the podcast where we explore the heartbeat of life and work. I'm Julie, your host, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this journey. Every two weeks, I will bring you a regular dose of inspiration, practical tips, and regular stories about personal development, wellness, and career growth. Whether you're looking for motivation, fresh perspective or just a reminder that you're not alone, you are in the right place. So welcome and let's dive in. Hi, welcome to The Pulse. I hope you are doing well and welcome for a new season of The Pulse. I'm very excited to start. It was a bit of a weird feeling. to do a bit of a break. I've been used to recording on a regular basis and taking a few weeks off was a bit strange, but I'm very happy to be back and I'm happy to be refreshed. And I think it was time well spent in order for me to find a bit more creativity as well and find new topics to talk about. And I'm very excited for this season two, this new year of The Pulse. Let's start with the first topic, which is going to be networking. Here I will share with you a little bit about how to boost your network, what you should think of when it comes to network. Of course, the list of what I'm going to share is not exhaustive. This is mainly based on my experience. Here I would also love to afterwards exchange and share you sharing also with the others from the podcast. people, the listeners, what you do for your own networking opportunities. So let's dive in, as I like to say. So you can think of networking through different layers, right? Networking, you are first going to do that within the job that you currently do, within the organization that you currently are. And usually it starts by the fact that in order for you to do your job, you need to network to meet other people. Either people already do the job or do similar jobs or with whom you have to interact on your day-to-day or from whom you would need some information in order to do your job better or improve, etc. And this is really your first layer of your network, right? The one you're going to have to focus on whenever you join a new company, whenever you are in a new job. You want to ensure that you've built a network of people around you that you know well, that you're able to collaborate with and you have the... certain knowledge about them that you can interact and be friendly and feel like they are supportive and being able to be there for you the way you can also be there for them if they need you when it comes to day-to-day work and for that one of the things you should of course do is you're going to get to meet them within the job but also take the time for a coffee chat to take the time to know a little bit about them really as the years have come back this is one of the best things I have learned. It's that knowing a little bit about people, you don't have to know their full personal life, but knowing a little bit about them is really helping you then balance how you work, how you're going to interact. Hey, you're not going to just say like, hey, how are you? Or like, hey, can you do this for me? You're going to be like, hey, what's up? How was your weekend? What did you do with X or whatever it is? Or I hope it's been okay for your family. I have a little chat. create a certain level of comfort for the person and create a different layer into the relationship with the person you're working with. And that doesn't mean that some people are very private and that's really fine. You don't have to know everything, but having a bit of that back and forth and that small amount of information can help navigate the different people you work with and the relationship you build across your first layer network, which are the people you work with on a day-to-day. So within that, as I said, learn a little bit about them and get to know what they do a little bit. Also understand where they're coming from, understanding also their behaviors and know that those, this information, those people are, if you're there to support them, they're there to support you and that you both are able to grow within your role or evolve or get the job done. That's always going to help you long term in terms of building that feeling of trust and confidence. within those people and within your overall network. Second layer is, of course, the people within your organization that you're not automatically working with, but people you may want to know. And when we do a job, you always have to think First of all, I want to do my job best and who do I need to know and who are the people that I should interact with in order to do my job well. But then there is a second layer of understanding the company you work for. And potentially it's not going to have a direct impact on your job, but potentially in the grand scheme of things, it's going to make you understand better the whole landscape, the whole organization you're in and how your job impact potentially other people that you don't know. in multiple ways. And for that, it's important to look at beyond just your role, to look at also the bigger picture of an organization. So I would really encourage in that case of doing multiple things in order to grow that network in this context, right? It's first of all, understanding which area you don't know and which area you might be interested in knowing. And first of all, a lot of people are eager to share and talk about their job and And they will openly not tell you everything, but they will openly tell you a little bit about what they do. And that is a great opener into better understanding the people around and creating connections. It's really to ask. And it was hard the first time I did it, but it was really powerful the first time I started to ask people for coffee chats who were from different departments that I could potentially also view myself long term. But it was not yet there. Having a first coffee chat saying, hey, I would love to hear about what you do in order for me to better understand. Or I might be interested in the future in working in your area. Could you tell me a little bit about what you do? Could we have a coffee chat? And usually this coffee chat feeling, and you don't have to drink coffee. I drink hot chocolate or tea when doing those coffee chats. But in general, having this moment to be able to exchange with someone, asking them to share their experiences, asking them to share about what they do. It's a way to open up and it's a way to exchange and to meet some new people within your organization and to build that bigger network and that bigger group of people who knows you. And for that, don't keep it into the one coffee chat. Of course, you have to keep up knowing about the person and also it should be an exchange. So both should gain from this. But it's quite powerful in an organization when you start to build that. I'll give you an example. One of my... One of my job, I worked for a senior director who was building a woman, like a program for women next to it. And it was part of the company, but it was not handled by HR. So it was like the woman in the organization building is a woman network, basically. And she asked me to participate. And by participating, first of all, I started to meet other people from... the different organizations, people that I didn't know, but then I got to exchange with them. And we, of course, focus on talking about the women's network and the learning program and the mentoring program exactly that I was building at the time. But then along the way, I also asked some people to go on Coffee Chat to get them involved or also to ask them what they do, and which ended up creating an environment where I knew a lot of people within the organization. And knowing people is one thing, but then... Potentially also those people can view where you could grow and which position you could go into. And that come up into a situation where when I wanted to go for a new role in a different department, I actually ended up asking someone on a coffee chat to get to know more about their role. And then later on when I applied for the position, one of the elements that came at play was actually the mentoring program that I built. even though it was not directly related to my job I was doing at the time or that potential future job there was an element that showed them what I was capable of and that helped build that transition for me to to look into that point so having built those connections having shown what I could do beyond just my direct team helped me create that environment and increase that network and that network could then help me in a way without potentially also me realizing fully because then there was this positive feedback back and positive vibe that was coming out of it. And that impacted also some of the decisions some of the people made. That was not the only reason. Of course, I had to interview. I had to do the whole process. But I was starting from a place where people had known my work and had seen what I could do, potentially in my direct role, but potentially also in other roles. And that's really this opportunity of if you stay within your organization and within your team, then you're going to limit your opportunity long term. I'm not saying that this is not something that you can still grow within that environment. But if you wish to expand it, if you wish to ensure that you have growth opportunity beyond this specific role that you're in, then you're going to need to really expand that network. And this is where I'm coming from. So always think at that point of, okay, who within this organization might be interested for me to know or to hear from, to understand what they do. So... When I was looking where I wanted to grow, I actually... put on a piece of paper with my senior director at the time, my boss. She helped me by really putting down what are the departments that were out there where I could be interested in. And for me to try to go on meeting different people to understand their job in the area that might be interested, in order for me to know, am I just interested because what I'm hearing from afar is actually a job that could interest me, or actually then talking to someone could help me define. that perspective so and and by this then I built those connection and then those people I knew even later and they had sometimes some good feedback they were able to to help me understand better where I fit in based also on hearing from me in the coffee chat then they could guide me so there is always good intent from people and the more you you exchange and you give the opportunity for them to tell you what they do for you to give also back to them at some point it's really a a two-way street, right? You can really build a strong group of people who are going to be there whenever you need it, in different ways, in different setups. And it's not always asking, but you're going to build that trusted network. Now, one thing that for me became evident after multiple years in being in one major corporation was that I had no network outside. I ended up in a role where we ended up having COVID. And in that role, there was not a lot of people within the organization who knew what could be done or I needed to exchange. And all of a sudden it became adamant that I had no network outside of that company. And it's not because it just didn't make sense before. It never occurred to me that I needed to build that before. And I was still young and still learning at the time. It really taught me the fact is like, oh, I need to be able to talk to other people outside of that company. And it's not automatically because, you know, you want to go or you are looking left and right into what organization you could be into, but also for peer exchange. If you're building something that has not been done before in the company, potentially you have other companies who have gone through it before, who have built it before. Or you have someone that has specificity in an area. that we don't have in-house, but maybe that person can give you insights on how they do it in a different way somewhere else. So having that network of people is also critical for that exchange. And potentially those people also are going to want to know how do you do it or how do you set up something. And you always have a limited disclosure element to it, but in general, some of the basis, there are some parts that you can say. And you Always in that context, having the opportunity to exchange with people can be helpful. And here, when I ended up in the situation I was in, I was building a finance learning program. And I had no specific people within finance who had built this before within my organization. So there was people in other departments. So those for sure, I contacted them, as I said earlier, reached out to your organization. There are some people that are going to be able to help you, but there was still this Some elements where having outside sources might have been quite helpful. And so this is where I started to join some network. And here there is a bit of a different setup today because when I did this, it was during COVID. So all of a sudden, every network started meeting online. There was a lot of LinkedIn network out there happening on a regular basis. But I'm sure today you can still find those groups in different formats, either online, on site, in location. But they're a way for you to meet people outside an organization and really build a strong foundation network also from peers. And here, as I said, I started joining groups and I didn't focus on a specific group in the sense that it was not looking for like science learning program. I was just like, let me join any learning and development program or network that I can find online. And I found an amazing group. with whom I met on a regular basis. That was also a great way for me during COVID to still be meeting people online, of course, but meeting new people and being engaged and feeling social. And then there was also the components that I was able to exchange with some of them of what tool they were using, what they were doing, how they were building it, and having that outside perspective was quite helpful. And I'm very grateful for them. And I really thank them. And some of them also knew what I was doing afterwards. I think I... But yeah, so great opportunity and I'm still connected. I mean, LinkedIn is a huge platform with whom you connect for sure with people and there are other ways than LinkedIn to connect with a network, but this is a great opportunity too. to grow that face. And so that's one way, right? You meet people in different networking events, online, on-site, but keep your network open and don't stay close to all in your company because if you do that, then you limit your vision and you limit your understanding of what's out there and therefore what are the opportunity potentially in terms of creativity for your own job. So I would highly encourage you to join such network. And there are other ways, of course, Of course, you can do that by joining a network of your peers. You can, of course, join learning programs. And then within those learning programs, some parts are that you meet other people. I've done that. I've been in contact with some people for multiple years. Then, of course, it died down because everyone gets busy. But I know that I could recontact them and get to know them and get to know what they are up to. And there is a form of helping each other. So this is also something to always have in mind. You have to. to follow up with your network. So growing your network is one thing, but growing your network is not the only thing. To boost it, then really you have also to nurture it, right? If you just grow a plant and just let it sit, nothing is happening, it's going to die. You need to keep on nurturing, to keep on growing and developing. And growing doesn't mean more, more, more, but also growing those relationships. And therefore, it's important to keep a certain level of engagement to ask how they're doing to follow up and we are pretty much I feel on social media very much about like more more more more but at the end of the day it's not about the amount but how you like continue talking exchanging maintaining some of those connections and it's it's very hard I have to say that I've lost some connections because I didn't follow up or sometimes it takes one or two years you for me to follow up on because, you know, everyone gets busy and then they don't write, I don't write. And then all of a sudden I'm like, oh, I should write. It's been already two years since I might talk to the person. So it's not an easy thing. But I would highly recommend that if you really want to boost your network and your network to be there for you, it's also to be there for them and therefore to still engage with them in order to be able to know what they're up to and really to be connected to them. It's also to recognize and to thank your network. Whenever someone has helped you with something, whenever you had a good exchange, you really need to take the time, like thanking for the time they took for you and thanking them and asking them what they would need if they need something from you back. It's again, a give and take. It's a constant give and take. So that's another piece that you should do when it comes to growing your network. When I was thinking about this episode, actually, I ended up in a very specific conversation with someone. And I don't want to give any context. Where someone told me that they knew someone who, when they left a company, they just like killed all their relationship. So basically, they stayed in contact with no one. They talked badly. They left without giving, like pretty much doing any proper handover. And the person was explaining that that other person was fine doing that. And from my perspective, never. As my dog says, you can hear he's like not happy about this. No, you should never, ever do that. You never know how someone can help you one day. You never know how someone can support you. And at the end of the day, maybe even if you live on that term. with a company, with an employer, with a colleague. You never know how they're going to help you if they can, and maybe they won't, but you never know what can happen in your life. So always respect the way to live, the way to go. And I know that I can imagine some people being fired and like you can be upset and it's very fair, but still keep the relationships. Try to avoid to really get upset, really throw the towel and and just like act unprofessional because if you do that then potentially one day you need someone within that company and that person may not want to help you you never know you need a recommendation letter maybe someone has moved to a different company and you have moved to a different company and you want to move to another company that the person knows and somehow there is a contact there and and you need the person but the person is not going to help you because you're not The way you acted was not proper. So I would always recommend that to avoid really decided to completely. act unprofessional because you're like, I would never anyway work with them again. Because you never know. People are moving today. People are changing companies. People are moving positions. There is quite a certain level of turnover that is higher than in the past. And therefore, you never know where someone is going to be 10 years, 15, 20 years from now. Someone, you may need the help of someone that knew you back then. So always have this in mind. always consider that no matter what happened, no matter how others are unprofessional, no matter how other are acting, no matter how upset I am at the situation, just remain professional. And that is going to speak highly of you when it comes to long term. And potentially one day someone will somehow help you because they have seen that you remain professional in some situation. So always think about that because I was really surprised that in today's world, some people still have this. idea of like, I'm just gonna like, not quit, but really act unprofessional because I don't care. Because while I do understand that you may be upset, you never know. Really, you never know. So this is also part of when it comes to boosting your network and taking care of your network is ensuring that you don't sever relationships because you never know what's gonna happen. Yeah. What else can I say about networking? I guess I could... speak a lot more about it. And I know it's not easy for everyone. I know the first time I asked someone for coffee, someone that I didn't know anything of the person, was very hard. I remember that email, it took me a long time to write it and a long time to send it because I was overworking it. Most likely I felt a bit shy. But the more I grew over the years and the more I learned that having this constant relationship, reaching out to people, but not only reaching out to ask for something, but really to show interest in what they do and who they are is critical. Don't also consider that whenever you build a network, it's only for you. It's also for them. At the end, it's a web, but they also have their own needs. So ensure that you really have that perspective of what can I bring also to them. you Network goes beyond, you know, those things. So this is a network that you can build no matter what. But of course, you have other parts in it. You have your friends, you have your family that can also impact that network. I mean, I was writing, I'm currently writing my master thesis, and I needed to talk about leadership in international contexts. And I was on the phone with my best friend and her husband has been leading a team for many years in Brazil. And all of a sudden it was like, okay, maybe actually. Can I talk to him, please? Can we exchange? And he was so nice and helped me. And same thing, I had other people that I've known for years that I've asked for a different context. I mean, you know it with the podcast, right? My network helped me. Two of my friends came on the podcast to do an episode with me, which I'm grateful. So all those little things, be grateful, be there for them as well. And I'm grateful that they join and support me. And I want also to support them. But, you know, this is... how to say it, this is like an environment that you're building. And the healthiest you can build it is to make it not forced, but really not simple either. I'm not finding the word, but really this harmonious and this organic way to do it. And that can be very helpful. Of course, you can always improve it. I don't have all the science when it comes to network. I have ways to go and I have still a lot to learn. But this is what I've figured out so far. It's really to keep, you know, fostering those relationships, to keep pushing and to create an environment that's where both parties can reach out. And I'm always having a great time when I reach out to someone I haven't talked to for many years and I see where they are and I'm like... I'm seeing all this amazing career paths that those people have carved. And I'm always happy to see where they are. And I'm always telling them, you're doing amazing. Because I think it's also important to recognize what they do. And whenever I need help, I ask. But I hope they also know that whenever they need help, I will be there. So yeah, this is today's episode. So small. 30 minutes-ish. And I hope you like it. This is our way back to the podcast. I will keep recording and I see you very soon. Bye. And that's a wrap for today's episode of The Pulse. If something resonated with you, I would love to hear about it. So drop me a message on Instagram, LinkedIn, or leave a review wherever you're listening. Your feedback fuels this community and I much appreciate it. Make sure to follow the post on your favorite podcast platforms and on social media so you never miss an episode. And if you're craving for more, check out the show notes for links, resources, and where to connect. Until next time, keep trusting your journey because growth happens one step at a time. See you soon. Bye.
