The Career RelaunchPodcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | Stitcher | RSS | How to subscribe

How can building your network pay off in your career? In this episode of Career Relaunch, Aaron Fung, a former change management consultant turned Talent Brand Strategist for LinkedIn shares his thoughts on how your professional network can be an incredible resource for you in your career and why your job should be an extension of your authentic self.  I also share some thoughts on how my professional network has unlocked some great opportunities for me in my own career.

Key Career Insights

1. You can get feedback from people who are close to you, people in your peer group, and someone further along in their career who can provide more experienced perspectives on your situation. Tap into your strengths, but be aware of your vulnerabilities.
2. Even weak connections can be incredibly fruitful and open up new opportunities. Take the time to expand your network because you never know who can open up the next door for you.
3. To expand and maintain your professional network, you have to invest the time to keep your contacts “warm,” so try to build in some sort of a ritual to make reconnecting a habit.

Tweetables to Share

Relevant Resources

• Aaron mentioned the Hogan Assessment as a way of identifying your strengths & weaknesses.
• Aaron also mentioned that you can boost your LinkedIn profile by publishing posts. Here’s an overview on how you can do that. He also mentioned that you can let recruiters know you’re open to hearing about new opportunities and letting recruiters know about your career interests.
• If you would like to receive LinkedIn’s email notifications with updates from your network, you can control those settings in your LinkedIn email preferences.
• One way to build your network is through informational interviewing. Read more about how you can secure and run informational interviews.

Listener Challenge

During this episode’s Mental Fuel segment, I talked about the importance of creating a regular habit of keeping your network warm. Commit to one ritual you can easily manage that forces you to stay in regular contact with your network contacts so they don’t go cold! If you have a good tactic, I’d love to hear about it below in the comments.

Also, I always love connecting with listeners, so I’d welcome you following or connecting with me on LinkedIn.

About Aaron Fung, Talent Brand Strategist at LinkedIn

Aaron Fung spent thirteen years trying to figure out what he wanted to do. That journey took him from financial services to non-profit to consulting jobs and an MBA in Human and Organizational Performance from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of management. He finally discovered his dream job at LinkedIn this year, where he helps companies develop and enhance their talent brand to recruit the best candidates in the world. In his spare time, he runs a blog called “Go See the World” which is dedicated to travel. If you want to connect with Aaron, be sure to check out his profile on LinkedIn.

Did You Enjoy This Episode? Please Let Us Know!

• Tweet: If you enjoyed this episode and have a few seconds to spare, Tweet to let me and Aaron know!
  Tweet a thank you!
• Review: I’d also love for you to leave a positive review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, which helps my show reach more people who want to relaunch their careers.
• Subscribe: Be sure to subscribe to Career Relaunch podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, or Google Play (it’s free) so you don’t miss out on the latest episodes. Full instructions.
• Stay in touch: Follow Career Relaunch on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also follow host Joseph on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments, Suggestions, or Questions?

If you have any lingering thoughts, questions, or topics you would like covered on future episodes, record a voicemail for me right here. I LOVE hearing from listeners!
Leave Joseph a Voicemail
You can also leave a comment below. Thanks!

Thanks to BrandYourself for Supporting Career Relaunch

A2 Hosting allows you to  offers simple tools and services to help control what people find when they Google you. To clean up, protect, and improve how you look online, visit BrandYourself.com and use promo code ‘RELAUNCH’ to get 50% off a Premium membership.