Cultivate Your Champions

If you're a career changer or early career person breaking into #workOnClimate, you've probably done a lot of informationals with people further along in their careers, whether to hone your search to what you really want to do, or simply to find a way-in.

You're probably NOT keeping in front of all the folks who have given you those informationals, however, and that's a huge missed opportunity.

Are you "always on my mind?"

I've been doing informationals for two decades; very few people ever follow up, though occasionally, someone will come up to me at an event and remind me that I spoke with them -- usually, they say nice things about how I helped them get their bearings, and that's very gratifying; but making me feel good isn't why you should circle back around. It's because if you wait 2 or 3 or 5 years to say "hello" again, I can guarantee that I won't remember you all that well. In that time, I probably saw job postings that you might have been interested in or been involved in putting together advisory groups for policy making, or met and spoken to people who could make your network deeper or broader. But you didn't remind me who you are and what you're doing, so you missed out!

Cultivate your champions!

Really, it's very simple: At the end of your informational, ask if you can keep them updated. Then, send a periodic update email. Not too often -- maybe once or twice a year, if you're nicely settled, or if you're actively transitioning, once a month.

• Remind them what your personal mission / goals are
• Share highs and lows of what you're working on
• Ask for specific help -- learning how to do this well is a key skill in of itself

If people know more about you, they'll naturally feel closer to you, even if the interaction is asynch. And what you're doing with each email is leaving out a welcome mat, not only to the possibility that your champions might come through with some help for you, but more importantly to the possibility of mutual benefit through collaboration.

Logistics

1. Use a newsletter management software. There are plenty of free options, including Hubspot. This is because if you do get annoying, you want your reader to be able to opt-out.
2. Keep it short. Focus more on keeping to a regular cadence than on having "wins" to share.
3. Make it personal. Opt for talking about you, rather than talking about news. People already have plenty of sources of news!

Normalize regular updates!

If and when you're in a position to give informationals yourself, let's make it a habit to ask, "I'd like to keep tabs on how you're doing. If you have an update newsletter, please add me to it."