Tell. 👏🏽 Them. 👏🏽 What. 👏🏽 You. 👏🏽 Want.
We’re heading headlong into the end of summer and September Surge, and even though we’ve talked about this before, I thought it was a great time to bring it up again.
As we know, a huge part of landing a new role in this market is working with your network.
But before your network can look out for you, you have to give them something to look out for.
And “I’m open to anything!” is not it.
Neither is:
“I’m looking for something in operations… or maybe strategy.”
“I could see myself at a startup, but I’m open to bigger companies too.”
“I’ll just pass my résumé over and see if they find anything for me.”
Your network may love you dearly, but they cannot read your mind. And they certainly cannot reverse-engineer your entire career history every time an interesting opportunity crosses their screen.
We never want other people doing the hard part for us. We have to do our part first: get clear on what we want and tell people about it.
In fact, this is exactly how I got my dream job at Meta.
I was at my sorority alumnae book club and mentioned to a girlfriend that I wanted a deeper challenge in the Learning & Development space. We talked it through and voila.
No strategic networking coffee. No carefully crafted outreach message. No asking her to find me a job.
I simply told someone in my network what I wanted to do next.
And she said, “Wait. We’re building a new team at Meta that’s doing exactly what you’re looking for.”
She referred me for the role.
I interviewed.
I got the job.
And that opportunity never would have been on her radar for me if I hadn’t told her what I was looking for.
That’s the power of a network.
Your network can be incredibly powerful, but it can’t do the clarity work for you.
That’s still our job.
We need to know where we want to go next, be able to articulate it clearly, and share it with confidence.
Then our network can do what it does best: recognize opportunities, make connections, and think of us when the right thing crosses their path.
Because your network is going to hear things you don't.
They'll sit in meetings you aren't in. They'll hear about someone leaving a team. They'll know a company that's growing behind-the-scenes. They'll see a role and think, Wait. I know someone who would be perfect for this.
But that last part only happens if you've given them enough information to think of you.
So, before you ask your network to look out for you, do these three things first:
☝🏽 Get crystal clear on your next move
Not five possibilities. Not a vague direction. One clear target: role, scope, and environment.
You don't need to know the exact title printed on your future business card, but you do need a direction.
If you can't name it, other people can't spot it for you.
✌🏽 Write a 1–2 sentence elevator pitch
Imagine someone stepping into an elevator with you—and getting off on the next floor.
Could they walk away knowing exactly what you're looking for?
Better yet: could they remember it three weeks later when something relevant crosses their path?
If not, it's not tight enough yet.
👌🏽 Practice saying it out loud
If it only works on paper, it doesn't work.
Say it until it feels natural, confident, and yours. Not rehearsed. Not apologetic. And definitely not followed by six minutes of explaining all the other things you'd also be willing to consider. 🫢
When you do this work upfront, something pretty powerful happens:
Your network becomes an extra set of eyes and ears for your job search.
They notice roles, conversations, companies, introductions, and possibilities you simply couldn't uncover on your own.
And as we head into September Surge, that's exactly what you want.
So before you send another “Keep me in mind if you hear of anything!” message, ask yourself:
Have I made it ridiculously easy for this person to know what “anything” actually means?
If not, start there.
Join the LinkedIn Convo
Busy? Absolutely.
Inspired? Not so much.
If you've been crossing things off your to-do list all day but still feel like your career is stuck in neutral, this one's for you.
Let's talk about our current Universal Career Freeze—and why feeling stuck doesn't necessarily mean you're on the wrong path.
Feel like your job (and the job market) is changing faster than you can keep up?
You're not imagining it.
On Friday, August 14 at 3p Pacific (note the time change!), I'll be joined by Barrett Keene, PhD, Head of Talent Development at Stanford Health Care, whose career has focused on helping people and organizations grow through change.
We'll be talking about:
🌱 What separates people who continue growing from those who plateau
🌱 Why learning agility has become one of the most valuable career skills
🌱 What makes someone promotable in today's workplace
🌱 Practical ways to future-proof your career in an era of constant change
Whether you're actively job searching, hoping to grow where you are, or wondering how AI and rapid change will shape your career, this conversation will help you think differently about what it means to stay relevant.
tl;dr: The real work is nailing down your strategy and thinking deliberately about what's next so you can make it easy for others to help you. When your network understands your direction, they're far more likely to share roles, ideas, or introductions you wouldn't have found on your own.
Because you, My Dear, are anything but complacent.
As we close out the summer, travel in grace, knowing you are surrounded by love—I’ll see you in your inbox August 25th!
Work with me 1:1 → Step into a focused alignment experience to clarify your direction and intentionally reposition your leadership. I’m currently scheduling for September and have 2 spots left!
Engage on LinkedIn → Jump in, comment, and engage in weekly insights and candid career conversations. This is where you practice! Hit the bell so you don’t miss a post.
Enroll in Own Your Search → Build clarity, strengthen your positioning, and land aligned roles inside a structured digital program, all in your own time.
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