by Esperanza Gonzalez, Associate Director of Student Success at Union University

Let me share that I am with you on highlighting the importance of establishing and investing in relationships.  Often, we forget to re-connect with those that have helped us along the way, and I think it is extremely important to be encouraged to invest time in establishing meaningful relationships with those that have helped us climb the career ladder.  

I love what you said about being aware of the difference between networking and relationship building, and how one is short-term minded and how the other is long-term minded. I so agree with you on this. I am a firm believer that connections need regular attention, but because everyone is so “busy”, we tend to put things aside and many times we end up forgetting. This reason is why it is so important to write down reminders on a calendar as soon as a person comes to mind.

Your article reminded me of a book called- Getting from College to Career by Lindsey Pollak. In her book, Pollak defines networking as building AND maintaining mutually-beneficial relationships. She emphasizes how important it is to reach out to our network occasionally – NOT only when the person needs help.

There are a few methods that Pollak shares in her book regarding how to help people stay in touch and I would like to share them with your students and readers:

• Compose an “I saw this article and thought of you” type of email and send out.
• Send notes or emails to update your networks on new things happening such as personal or professional updates, a new internship, graduate school updates, or a new full time or part-time job.
• Consider sending holiday cards.  
• Increase professional-related social media updates- especially on LinkedIn by posting regularly so that status updates keep you on people’s mind.
• Thank You Notes (especially a nice handwritten one) – this can be done following a job interview, when someone provides a professional reference, or when someone simply treats you with kindness.

There is no doubt that people feel valued and acknowledged when one invests time and attention in the other person, and sometimes all it takes is an “I saw this, and I thought of you” email. 

Thank you, Esperanza, for sharing! Please feel free to comment below on any methods you consider important to building relational equity.