Building Your Personal Network
During the first .com bubble in the early 2000’s, I thought that I had built a strong network. When my start-up’s public offering was pulled, and after the 3rd round of layoffs, I knew I had to find a new job. As I started to reach out to my network, it fell short for me. Everyone I talked to was nice but dismissive. My ability to find a job was to search for open positions and apply. For almost a decade, I dismissed the value of a network, based on that experience, hunkered down and just did my job. While I did invest in myself through training and professional certifications, I didn’t “waste time” on trying to build out a professional network, personal board of directors, or even try collaborating with colleagues in similar roles that worked at different companies. I was merely dismissive of the value of a network.
That is until I realized that I was 100% dependent on the company I worked for and didn’t have that much control of my career. At the time, I worked for Target Corporation, which I loved doing. Target’s culture was all-consuming at the time, and just keeping up with navigating the company, managing my day to day duties, and engaging with my team took up all my time. As I moved up in the company, specifically in my department, I realized that my peer group was getting smaller and smaller. My peer group dwindled, and in fact, I was competing with them at the same time. I…
