When I was just starting my career, my manager told me I should start building my network. As a result, I was given the goal of reaching out to someone in my network once a month – and while I always agreed that this was valuable, I struggled with how to actually do this without seeming…weird and forward.

Most of my network was way more senior than me. I was rarely their primary contact at my company. I was very junior and didn’t really have the standing to do anything they might tell me, other than share it with my manager.

Predictably, I didn’t do very well at achieving that goal. I mostly reached out to vendor sales people who never minded hearing from me anyways, but that didn’t really grow my network of business contacts and clients.

Somehow though, I did manage to grow a pretty awesome network of people – and if I’m giving myself credit for that, I’d say it’s because I genuinely enjoy meeting people. I was on a lot of committees at work, and started things like running groups and cycling clubs. I stayed in touch with a lot of my peers over the years, and as it turns out, over a decade later my network is full of managers, directors, VPs and C-suite leaders.

Networking for Everyone

Maybe you think networking sounds slimy. Maybe you get someone’s card or email but then you’re not sure where to go from there, and 5 years later you really wish you had stayed in touch when you see an opening at their company. Maybe you’re early in your career and only just starting to build your network.

Well one of my favourite ways to stay in touch is really simple, and anyone can do it because you don’t need seniority or a sales pitch or awkward small talk to make it happen. If you want to stay in touch with someone, send them a note every once in a while; maybe share a link to an article you thought they might like, congratulate them on a recent achievement or comment on something you heard them say. I once sent a note to a CIO who I didn’t know well, wishing him good luck on his upcoming conference presentation. The key is to make it personal – demonstrate that you remember something about them, or you’re thinking about them.

Want some more examples? (Don’t just copy-paste these! Remember, it should be personal.)

• “Hey, I saw this article on tech that our kids won’t be able to believe we actually used, and thought you might enjoy it! How have you been?”
• “Congratulations on the promotion! How is your new role going so far?”
• “I saw you won [that awesome award]! Congratulations! How does it feel?”
• “Hi [awesome person], saw you’re presenting at [really cool conference] – good luck! I’m looking forward to your talk.”

It’s ridiculously simple, they will generally appreciate it (as long as it’s genuine – don’t spam them with advertising), and it helps you stay in touch with people you meet.

Do This Now

Make a list of the people you want to keep in touch with, and send one of them a note this week. Do the same with someone else next week.

Or send them this article 😊