Whether you are an entrepreneur running your own business or an executive in corporate, there are some things you need to do even though you might not currently be looking for a new position.
I believe all white-collar professionals need to keep their resume and LinkedIn profile current at all times. Your resume because investors or recruiters will ask for them and you don’t want to be scrambling, and your LinkedIn profile because the vast majority of people who schedule a call or meeting with you will look you up on LinkedIn first.
I also believe that entrepreneurs and executives need to be creating and publishing thought leadership to demonstrate expertise and maintain credibility. The cadence will vary, but you would be well served to do this consistently.
The last thing is obvious, but often gets sidelined due to time constraints or business emergencies, and that is maintaining your professional network. Your network is critical for finding clients, customers, vendors, partners, board members, employees – literally everything.
Your network doesn’t maintain itself. It requires tending. You need to stay in touch. You need to offer congratulations or assistance to your connections. You can’t just connect on LinkedIn and then do nothing with that connection for years.
This was a fast-paced, rich conversation I had with Drew Neisser of CMO Huddles. I think there are a lot of points that are relevant for entrepreneurs as well, so I wanted to share it with you.
Photo by Federico Beccari on Unsplash
