Recording Watch a recording of this July 19, 2023 webinar to learn how to network on LinkedIn from noted career expert J.T. O’Donnell of Work It Daily. You’ll discover how to create a great LinkedIn profile as part of your overall networking strategy. You’ll also learn different options for presenting your career gap and the pros and cons of each. Walk away from this one-hour program with practical advice and…
Networking
How to Reach Out to Old Colleagues
As you prepare to return to work, old professional colleagues can be a great source for support, networking, and advice. But if you’ve been on a career break for a while, you might have lost touch with many in your old professional network. And the more time that has passed since you’ve talked, the more apprehension you might be feeling about reaching back out. First, think about how you felt…
Where and How to Find the Best Strategic Volunteering Opportunity
Volunteering during your career break has many benefits. It not only feels good to give back to your community, but volunteering is a great way to keep your skills sharp for when you eventually return to work. One approach is to volunteer “strategically.” This means you deliberately look for opportunities that will refine your existing professional skills, help you develop new ones, and connect you to a larger network. Which…
5 Ways Volunteering Will Help Your Job Search
Volunteering your time and service has countless benefits. It’s fulfilling to help others and make a positive impact on the world. Plus, volunteering during your career break can help you return to the paid workforce. According to a study conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, volunteering increases your odds of getting a job by 27 percent compared to job seekers who don’t volunteer. Volunteering is one way…
5 Ways to Connect and Grow Your Network Virtually
The official Path Forward networking motto is, “Who you know is what you know.” Networking is a key part not just to landing a new job, but figuring out what job you’d like to do in the first place. Talking with friends, old colleagues, classmates, and acquaintances can broaden your perspective on what the job market looks like, what skills are in demand, and the different roles that exist in…
Networking Not Your Thing? (Hint: You’re Already Doing It.)
Gone are the days when networking meant slapping on a name tag at an industry event, glass of self-confidence in hand, trying to make small talk with strangers, and exchanging business cards that would inevitably be lost or tossed. Whew! Glad that’s over. But there is still a valuable role that networking plays in your job search. Many jobs are posted for public viewing, but a lot of them are…
How To Network Without Feeling “Icky”
To most people, networking feels smarmy and, well, icky. I think it’s because we fundamentally misunderstand why networking is important and how it helps us. Most people think of the old cliche “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This very idea is what turns people off. We want to be evaluated based on our talent, not our ability to climb a social ladder. But the fact is,…
How to Make a Fabulous Introduction
Everyone knows that networking is the way to get ahead in the world. Everyone also knows that networking, for most of us, is hard. There is a ton of great advice out there about how to network without networking. It’s worth seeking out. But one tactic that has worked for me is making fabulous introductions. So let’s start with a basic principle: connecting begets connections. When you connect two people for…