Putting Yourself Out There

When I speak to groups of students, I always try to stress how important it is to put yourself out there. It’s not enough to just meet people, you should be telling them your goals if given the opportunity. You will be amazed at the people who will help you along the way.

To illustrate, I want to share with you what happened when I posted a young man’s question in my new mailbag post on Monday. The young man had a question I couldn’t directly answer, but I gave him some general advice any of you could apply as you try to navigate the path to your future career.

I love what happened next. I tweeted out a link to the post, and next thing I knew I had several responses from folks who could directly answer this young man’s question. I was able to send him some great info from a couple of these people who took the time to email me information for him.

Another follower on Twitter offered something even more tremendous. Here are a few direct messages I received from a follower (@ashleighoverly – who graciously agreed to let me republish them) with a great offer for this young man:

Hey Kristi- saw your post on the student thinking about front office CFO roles. I work in finance (IB) and cover sports teams & leagues.

If he wanted to start with that path as an analyst /associate it’s a good way to learn the industry and get relevant experience.

Happy to speak w/ him over email & offer him advice on this path. also just wanted to pass on additional career opportunities in the space!

(Ashleigh’s email address, which I’ve removed for this post) – happy to help! love connecting w/ folks interested in biz side & ones that are thinking about it in the right way!

This young man didn’t even ask Ashleigh for advice and she willingly offered it. You’ll find that so many professionals are willing to help you out if you just let them know your goals. Someone helped them along the way, and many of them are happy to pay it forward.

So, when you get the chance to interact with someone in the industry where you want to be, don’t miss out on the opportunity to tell them your goals. It’s as easy as introducing yourself and saying you wanted to meet them because you’re very interested in a future career with their company or a position like theirs. It can easily be done by email as well.

In addition, I strongly advocate Twitter and other social media outlets as ways to meet industry professionals without ever leaving your living room. It’s so cheap and easy, you’re a fool if you’re not doing it. Don’t know where to start? Check out my post on Twitter chats.