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March 19, 2011 You have finally landed. After months and months of refining your resume, creating a list of accomplishments, attending networking events and building your network you have landed. So now what? The clue to the answer lies in the fact that the average job will last less than three years. As unbelievable as it sounds, this means that you need to begin preparing for your potential next job. I know this is not what you want to hear but it is not as bad as it sounds. You have already constructed a “strong foundation” for your job search. In essence, all you need to do is to keep it strong and perhaps make it stronger. The problem though is that many of us tend to revert to old habits. If you tended to work longer hours and did little networking, you may revert to those old habits. But after learning how important it is to have a strong network and quite likely it assisted you in achieving this new job, you need to ensure that you don't forget your network. For those of us that may not be natural networkers, the challenge is making the time and motivating yourself to do it. Personally, when I know that by not keeping my network strong, it could make my next job search longer, it motivates me into action. So maybe I can start attending those monthly association chapter meetings that I often skipped in the past. The first thing that everyone can do is to let everyone in your network know that you have landed. You can thank them for their contribution in helping you land. Perhaps, you can occasionally send an update about how things are going, things you are learning, etc. Perhaps, if you have any challenges, you might solicit advice from specific members of your network. You should be continually thinking of ways to help those in your network. A suggestion is to send a quick email to people in your network about articles or events of interest. Additionally, review the activities that you have been doing to build you network and see what you can continue to do! If you feel you could have done a better job, perhaps read books or articles on networking. Ideally, you want to avoid having not contacted many in your network for three years when you are again in transition. In next week’s Blog, I will discuss maintaining and building your resume in the context of having just landed a new job.
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