Invest in Colleagues

A long time ago I worked with the president of a sales rep company. We stayed in touch, and years later he asked me for a reference. Of course I obliged. A couple of years later, when a CEO friend of his was looking for a marketing and sales VP, he referred the guy to me. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity and I got the job.

In the mid-90s, I met an engaging VP of a startup company. We sort of hit it off and got together to discuss business from time to time. Over the years I advised him on matters concerning his company. So when the marketing VP position opened up, I got a call and eventually got the job, which turned out to be another great opportunity.

In neither instance did I stop to consider that I might eventually benefit as I ultimately did.

These are just two personal examples, but I know dozens more that demonstrate that taking the time to get to know and proactively help colleagues can come back to help your career in a big way.

And don’t mistake this as just networking or karma. While I’m a big fan of both - especially old school networking - this goes way beyond that. This is about engaging with like-minded, perhaps up-and-coming individuals, like you, and being confident, adventurous, and giving enough to readily offer assistance and counsel.

For it to work, you need to remember three things:

You have to be in it for the long haul. The two examples above took place over 13 and 7 years, respectively. By definition, this sort of thing takes a long, long time.

You can’t do it gratuitously. I know, here I am offering this as a method for boosting your career, then telling you that you can’t just do it for that reason. Well, that’s just the way it is. You really do have to be passionate about the business and enjoy interacting with and helping others like you.

Choose your close associates wisely. You meet thousands of people over the course of your career and, if you pay attention, you’ll find a zillion ways to help them. It’s all too easy to spread yourself too thin. Choose your associates as you would choose your friends … wisely and judiciously. Of course, they’ll do the same.

Lastly, this sort of symbiotic way of building your career results in a far more rewarding professional life than by dealing with all those headhunters and executive recruiters. But that’s just me. Got any similar or dissimilar experiences?

Courtesy Steve Tobak, The Corner Office