Why Networking and Purpose Go Hand-In-Hand

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been writing to you about designing a career on purpose and overcoming barriers. If you want to catch up on those posts, go here and here.

This week I have to tell you a hard truth related to both of those topics. If you want to create a 21-century career — one that is financially fulfilling, intellectually stimulating, and connects you to your purpose and vision— you’re probably not going to find it on a job board.

Regardless of how easy and attractive online job boards like Monster and Indeed might be, and regardless of the number of job seekers using those tools, statistics still show that 74.5% of people get jobs through networking. 

I’m assuming this is not news to you. We hear these statistics all the time. Yet, most of us still do very little to expand our networks even when we want a new career. I think it’s because we don’t understand what a network is or how to create it.

Networking: A Definition

As a verb, networking brings to mind large conference rooms with people in suits and name tags milling about, feeling awkward. There is nothing inspiring about career transformation if that’s what you have to endure to get it. Thankfully, you don’t. Instead, you can decide to expand your network, as a noun. 

Expanding your network means that you increase the circle of people who know you and what you do and learn about what others do in return. You don’t have to attend a networking event to do that. You can expand your circle by talking to your neighbor or a clerk at the store. The only requirement of networking in this context is that you start to share more of yourself with people. You tell them what you do now and talk honestly about where you want to go in the future.

Overcoming Networking Barriers 

As mentioned earlier, even though most of us know the importance of networking, we don’t do it because of cultural norms and social conditioning that create mental barriers. Here are 3 of the most common obstacles:

• Asking for Help – We don’t like to ask for help because we don’t want to burden someone else. Society conditions us to believe that by asking for help, we become freeloaders who don’t want to work hard or pull our weight. 
• Rejection – We all fear rejection, especially when networking. So we convince ourselves not to because we won’t know the exact right thing to say to make the others like us or view us in a favorable light. 
• Vulnerability – The idea of having to put ourselves out there without any guarantees makes us feel vulnerable and out of control. We want a guarantee that our networking relationships will work out well for us. Also, because much of our communication is online or via text these days, the idea of reaching out and actually talking to someone creates added feelings of overwhelm and vulnerability.

To get past these obstacles, you don’t need a better search engine or job board. You need support and accountability. In other words, you need a coach. Coaching is a tool that helps you overcome the conditioning and social norms that hold us back from the things we really want in our lives. It’s not magic. It’s a strategy that works.  

So if you are committed to creating a career on purpose, it’s time to drop the job boards and focus on overcoming your barriers to networking. You’ll get where you want to go a lot faster if you do.

Want to Work With Us?

Legally Bold offers coaching packages to help you create a career or business on purpose. Find out all the details about our program by clicking here.