Networking Episodes

Have you ever worried that you'll be 'bothering people' when you think about networking for a job or your career? You're not alone. Most people do, and so did host Doug Lester when he started networking professionally as an executive recruiter. But he got over his guilt. In this episode, Doug shares a surprising insight from his recruiting days that completely changed how he thought about networking. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! 🤔...

What if one of your most effective networking strategies could be relying on your competitors to be your advocates? Host Doug Lester explains why this actually works, based on his experience as an executive recruiter at a top firm. And he offers a few tips for doing it the right way.

As business leaders become more comfortable incorporating AI into their organizations, the shape of org charts will change. It's already happening, and it's going to have an impact on career advancement. Host Doug Lester shares classic tips about how to remain competitive amid all the changes.

It's just about summer, and if you think you have to wait until fall to network for your career or a new job, you're mistaken. Summer is actually the ideal time to do a little networking. Host Doug Lester shares insight from his experience as an executive recruiter at a top firm.

You should think twice about reaching out to an executive recruiter you don't already know and have a relationship with. Host Doug Lester explains why, based on his experience as an executive recruiter at a top search firm, reaching out to recruiters directly can potentially create self-inflicted career wounds that limit your advancement opportunities.

Have you ever been concerned that executive recruiters weren't calling you enough (or at all) or were calling about roles you weren't interested in? If so, then host Doug Lester shares five strategies for getting on the radar screens of recruiters for the right opportunities. They're based on his experience as a senior associate at a top executive search firm.

If you're in your 40s or 50s, have you ever been advised to drop the dates from your education entries and remove a few of the earlier roles from your LinkedIn profile and resume? Trying to soft-pedal or hide your age and level of experience can actually work against you getting the aspirational senior roles that might be the best fit at this point in your career. Host Doug Lester shares his experience as a coach to MBA alumni and a former executive recruiter to make the case.

If you've ever felt less than confident in a career networking conversation, you're not alone. Host Doug Lester shares a tip he picked up as an executive recruiter that helped him feel more confident and be more effective when he was networking for a living. It can help you, too.

Send Doug a message If you’re trying to get started on networking for a new job or your career, the fear of reaching out to people isn’t the only thing that might keep you from getting started. Host Doug Lester shares insight from his days as an executive recruiter and professional networker that can help you overcome the friction that might keep you from making progress. Resources mentioned in this episode: Todoist Asana Pipedrive Evernote OneNote Covve 15% Discount for Covve (affiliate link)...

Send Doug a message If you've ever felt that networking for a new job or your career is a lot of effort for very little benefit, then you may be doing it wrong. Doug Lester shares techniques he learned as an executive recruiter to get the people he was networking with to open up, share their knowledge and insights, and help ensure he never ran out of new people to call. You can apply those same approaches to improve your networking technique and help advance your career. 🎧 Take control of your ...

Are fewer people saying "yes" to your networking requests than you'd like? You may be unintentionally causing the problem. Doug Lester shares a simple strategy he learned as an executive recruiter to get the people in his network to pick up the phone and talk. And the best part is, it's simple, it probably requires a lot less effort than you're putting in now, and everyone will feel better about it in the end. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! ...

Have you ever been networking for a job and found that your narrative's not working in a conversation with a critical decision maker? Or maybe things do click but you end up feeling like you cut the process short and short-changed yourself in the process? Host Doug Lester shares two simple strategies he learned as a professional networker in a top executive search firm to ensure he always got his story straight and never left a stone unturned. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your c...

Need to start networking to advance your career, but can't seem to do it? You're not alone. Doug Lester shares his personal experience with networking procrastination as a new executive recruiter and how he got over it. Read the original Networking Strategy Series on the Career Narratives Blog. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! 🤔 Need a thought partner with experience as a Fortune 100 hiring manager, an executive recruiter at a top firm, and ...

Making direct eye contact or what feels like direct eye contact on Zoom is hard. Beyond looking back and forth between a person's image and your camera lens, which is less than ideal, you need a teleprompter to make it work. With a teleprompter, you can look directly at your camera lens and the eyes of the person on the other side of the camera. But teleprompter setups are expensive and are relatively complicated to set up. Elgato's new Prompter is an affordable option. Host Doug Lester tests it...

If conducting important meetings or being interviewed on Zoom leaves you feeling at a disadvantage, you're probably missing the direct eye contact that happens when you're meeting in-person. And your executive presence is probably suffering as a result. Doug Lester shares two ways he's managed to simulate direct eye contact on Zoom in his work as an executive and career coach. And he previews new tech that could make simulating direct eye contact on Zoom much easier. 🎧 Take control of your na...

Have you ever made a "career mistake?" Most people have — but they can be awkward to explain when you're networking or interviewing for a job. Host Doug Lester provides a straightforward, honest and effective framework for explaining that mistake or "blip" in your career. Ditch the worry and avoidance. Take the bull by the horns. And emerge a stronger job candidate as a result. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! 🤔 Need a thought partner with...