Everyone Needs A Helping Hand

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Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Everyone needs a helping hand now and then. Think back to the times in your career when you have received assistance from someone else, whether that was career advice, a referral, or simply encouragement from a peer. Now, think about the last time you helped someone else with their career. Was it today? This week? This month?

It’s easy to get caught up with our own problems and the day-to-day grind, but I encourage you to pause and think about how you can help someone else today.

What are some ways to help?

  • Offer to connect two or more people in your network who need each other’s expertise
  • Write LinkedIn recommendations for co-workers
  • Mentor junior members of your profession
  • Be aware of available industry training events and share them with your network
  • Share job postings with people you know are looking for work
  • When not barred by your company from doing so, write letters of recommendation for departing employees or offer to be a professional reference for them
  • Nominate network members for awards and board positions
  • Support your friends with a career as a small business owner by sharing their business posts and writing positive reviews of their business on Yelp or Google

 You don’t have to be particularly senior in your career to do many of these things. Becoming aware of industry jobs and events is as simple as joining industry associations or special interest groups or signing up for a newsletter. You’ll also have the advantage of being better informed in your career.

I believe that helping others has the following advantages:

  • While I’m not a karma believer, you strengthen your influence in business by giving back to others; it grows your reputation
  • Reaching out to offer assistance to others rekindles and renews relationships
  • Renewing relationships can bolster your business network
  • Momentarily focusing on someone else’s career can give you a different perspective on your career
  • It’s just the right thing to do

 So what are you waiting for? Who can you help today?

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