Building Relationships Before You Need Them

Building Relationships Before You Need Them

There is an uncomfortable truth about networking: the worst time to start building relationships is when you desperately need a job. The best networkers are not the ones who scramble when unemployment hits — they are the ones who have been quietly building genuine relationships for months or years. This chapter is about playing the long game and building a network that will serve you for your entire career.

The Relationship Bank Account

Think of every professional relationship as a bank account. Every time you help someone, share something valuable, or make an introduction, you are making a deposit. Every time you ask for a favor — a referral, a recommendation, advice — you are making a withdrawal.<...