Paying it Forward: Benefitting your own Career

It may sound counterintuitive to say that helping others can be beneficial to your own goals and career. However, in many cases, that’s exactly what the Connector Program, and networking in general, allows you to do.

As you progress through your career, you may reach out to others to ask for advice, information, or assistance. At the same time, you’ll also receive requests from people who are looking for those things from you. This is what it means to be in an engaged, intentional network. Therefore, it’s important to not hold back – it’s important to help others, but giving back will also have some benefits for you!

• Throughout this process, you get to meet new people! Meeting new people helps you expand your own network, and a strong network filled with a wide variety of people can always be counted upon to help you if you ever need it in the future. When you find yourself in need of connections, introductions, or advice, these are the people you can turn to!
• Sharing information and helping others also gives you a chance to review and expand your knowledge of your sector. This is also an opportunity to ask about and understand different perspectives on your industry and new and emerging trends.
• If people are reaching out and asking for your opinion or assistance, you are already seen as a leader in the space – saying yes shows that you care about the development of your industry and are continuing to develop it from the inside!
• Connecting with new grads and young people looking to break into your field helps them learn about the industry and you will have a chance to hear about new knowledge, trends and up-to-date skills.
• If you share about your discussion or coffee chat on social media, you can connect meaningfully with the rest of your network, get more exposure, and people can see how you are working to make your industry a welcoming, inclusive place.
• These chats can also create a space for you to really understand the current job market and what is happening outside your industry. More perspectives and information across industries can help you if you ever need to navigate the job market moving forward. It can also help you to understand and connect with diverse viewpoints. Ultimately, meaningful conversations with others can be very useful experiences and can lead to a wealth of new knowledge for both sides.

Being open to sharing your knowledge, skills, and information can have unintended consequences that will benefit you in the future. Say yes to the person reaching out asking for information or yes to being a Connector in the Connector Program! You never know where those coffee chats will lead.