Build Your Dream Network

A whopping 93 percent of respondents to a recent LinkedIn poll said they had by ghosted by a potential employer during the interview process. Ghosting--the phenomenon of dropping all communication without any warning or reason--is also now being exhibited by job applicants themselves. In this episode, Kelly explains why ghosting is not a sensible career strategy, especially for applicants, and shares three ways to keep communication lines open when you have the sense an employer might be ghosting you.

Does the way you ask questions of your network mirror the way you search the internet? In this episode, Kelly shows how your career networking aspirations can run afoul when your treat your network like a Google search and why you need to do more than simply seek fast answers to your job search questions. With an abundance of career information at our fingertips, the challenge is to discard the need for expediency and the illusion that there is a faster or better route (other than putting in the work) to finding the answer you need.  

If you hesitate to ask your network for help, you're not alone. This reluctance can stem from feeling we don't deserve assistance or fearing we'll get rejected. Or often we simply don't want to inconvenience the other person with our request. In this episode, Kelly shares how to overcome whatever is holding you back from approaching your network for help and explains how to put forward your ask in a way that won't impose on others and will make it easy for them to say yes. 

If you think reaching out to request a meeting over coffee will result in a job interview, think again. This job search advice is definitely out of date (and frankly was never considerate networking guidance to begin with). In this episode, Kelly outlines 5 steps to take before reaching out cold to a prospective employer or networking contact, along with three essential things to include in every cover letter you send. Instead of pursuing the dead-end "coffee date" approach, follow these steps to customize your communications and significantly improve your job search prospects.

The networking gap--the advantage some people have over others based on who they know or the resources they have access to--persists even in our hyper-connected digital networking world. In this episode, Kelly addresses this gap and examines how we can start to close it, from improving the accessibility of online and in-person events to focusing more on being more inclusive and actively pulling people into networking conversations, instead of them having to muster up the courage to break the ice and join in. 

Is it still even possible to network and connect with others at conferences and events, now that they've mostly gone online for the time being? The answer is yes, and Kelly's digital networking strategies in this episode will help you maximize the many opportunities to do so before, during, and after any virtual event. Covering everything from leveraging conference apps and social media in order to find other attendees who could be valuable connections to knowing the proper etiquette for posting a question in a chat, Kelly provides deceptively simple suggestions you can start implementing today to continue building your dream network.

Networking can sometimes feel like sales. In this episode, Kelly challenges you to ditch the selling mode for some marketing savvy and approach networking like a strategic marketer instead.  By following Kelly's tips advice on thinking carefully about your networking goals, researching and analyzing your audience (aka, your target network), and understanding their needs well before you reach out, you'll be far more successful in your networking efforts and avoid key mistakes your sales-y peers are likely making.

Your most important career network is one you're likely ignoring: your peers. This week on the podcast, Kelly explains why you should be actively sharing information with your peers and offers with three effective networking challenges for you to support, cultivate and promote your powerful peer network. 

In this episode, Kelly answers several listener questions she's received, including requests for advice from a stay-at-home mom returning to work, a recent undergrad who studied overseas and doesn't know how to kick-start the job search process back home in the US, and a listener wondering how to gracefully exit an awkward networking conversation.

When everyone's professional bios look the same, does anyone stand out? Following industry norms and expectations when it comes to drafting your bio could be stifling your ability to connect authentically with new clients or audiences. In this episode, Kelly shares tips for infusing your bio with a little personality--alongside your credentials, of course--as a way to spark productive conversations with the people you want to work with.

Kelly connects with Maxie McCoy for a conversation on how to let go of uncertainty, shed the expectations of others, and stop comparing your career progress to other people's or to where you think you "should" be by now. Instead, as Kelly and Maxie discuss, the key to success is to focus on taking the essential micro-steps that will bring you closer to your goals and use your networks to guide you in reaching your potential. Maxie is the author of You’re Not Lost: An Inspired Action Plan for Finding Your Own Way and is obsessed with giving women the tools they need to believe in themselves. Kelly and Maxie's conversation can also be found on the podcast BOOKS CONNECT US, a cool new podcast from Penguin Random House featuring interviews every week with amazing authors.

The summer internship provides valuable career experience for students. So what do you do if your internship is cancelled, either due to the current coronavirus epidemic or something else entirely? In this episode, Kelly provides a framework for how you can hack together a summer experience fulfilling the three primary career needs an internship offers (a paycheck, real work experience and networking). From how to creatively source job opportunities to ways to look for digital internship experiences, Kelly's ideas will help you fill the gap in your resume. 

Kelly interviews Sherrell Dorsey, founder of The Plug on topics ranging from how to network in a new community to why slowing down to listen is a good career strategy when you're starting out. Learn how Sherrell is "fancy frugal" as it relates to her professional development (along with her concept of a personal content stack) and the intentionality she applies to mapping out her own leadership progression. This conversation will transform how you choose to think about your career advancement,  which is critical these days when career paths are often non-linear and networks are more essential than ever.  

Rejection is painful and, unfortunately, a regular part of our professional lives. If we can't dull the blows, can we at least lessen the sting of being rejected from something? In this episode, Kelly interviews New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly--for whom rejection has been a weekly professional hazard since she started contributing in 1977--on how she stays positive and motivated after getting a "no," and how the rest of us can too.

Re-entering the workforce at any point in your career can be a daunting endeavor, whether you were involuntarily laid off or you chose to go out on your own for a while. In this episode, Kelly interviews Marci Weisler, Chief Commercial Officer at Vengo Labs, about how she approached a job search following many years of consulting and entrepreneurial ventures. Discover why working with a career coach can be helpful, when to ask for help, and of course, how to leverage your personal networks to unlock unique and unexpected job opportunities. 

Factors outside of your control can suddenly topple your career plans. In this episode, Kelly interviews workforce transformation leader Joyce Sullivan, Lee Hecht Harrison's Operations Director (Northeast Region). Joyce not only guides others who are making a career transformation, she's reinvented her professional destiny after being laid off Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis. Her advice is a must-listen for anyone navigating a career transition, especially one that's unplanned or unexpected.  

Not only are we living longer and choosing to extend our work lives past the traditional age of retirement, but today, many people are also facing an unexpected job search as factors like the COVID-19 crisis have derailed career paths out of the blue. In this episode of the podcast, Kelly offers strategies for how more experienced professionals can tackle their reentry into the job search and the workforce. 

Wondering what updates to share with your network when you’re looking for career opportunities? Or whether it is OK to put a cancelled internship on your resume that was cancelled due to reasons beyond your control (such as the COVID-19 crisis)? This week on the podcast, Kelly provides ideas for dealing with new career quandaries you may be navigating today and suggests a few past episodes to go back and review to help you enhance your connections heading into tomorrow. 

When should you consider giving away your skills and talents for free and when is it a waste of your time? In this episode, Kelly explores requests to "do the work for free" that can pop-up during a career transition or job search and shares real-life examples from her network of how, with a strategic approach, these can be turned into opportunities to build up expertise, showcase talents, and even land dream job or gig.  

Have you ever sought career advice or feedback from your network on your professional strengths? In this episode of the podcast Kelly shares how her own network has inspired her to pursue new, previously unimaginable career paths. Discover why reflecting on what your connections see in you is a vital component of networking along with why Kelly launched her latest 30-day network-building challenge and how you can too.