Career question: Who are your friends?

I have heard hundred times the assertion that people get to high level political and business positions because of their connections and because they know the right people. Have you? While this is probably the truth in many of the cases, it is also true that our friends and networks can have an impact on every step of our career.

A week ago I joined Facebook's BranchOut, and the statistics that I got on my profile blew me away. Only 53 of my friends have joined so far the application and with them I have 10 759 second degree connections and access to 4501 companies worldwide. Ok, officially this is impressive. These numbers reminded me again how important friends and networks are. No matter where you stand in your professional life, if you are at a state of desiring any change - small or big - you might want to remember that you have friends and networks.

You might want to learn something new in your profession that you haven't done before. Or you are interested in joining the forces of a particular company. Or maybe you are thinking of a career transition. Or you just need to exchange experience to enhance your competency. Whatever is in your mind, look at your friends and see who can support you with your idea. You might be surprised what they can offer you as your extended network hides myriad of secrets.

Next, check out your networks. They can provide you with valuable information, and intriguing insights. And ask yourself which networks have you joined, and are there other networks that can support your personal goals? For example, you can follow your target employers. More and more often companies use their social media tools to share job opportunities. Or you can join a group of fellow professionals who keep a dialogue on topics that match your career interests. You can also look for contests in social media and participate in them to further enhance your personal brand and communicate your expertise.

Remember, the opportunities that your friends and networks open are endless. It is up to you to jump and seize them.

What has this summer informed you about?

It is officially the end of the summer. What does this mean to you? From early childhood we associate the third quarter with a break - from kindergarten, school, and classes. And although businesses work with calendar years, we tend to restart our professional energy and commitment in September. Again, summer is gone, vacations are gone, and we are entering our new psychological business cycle. Hope it's an empowering one for all of you!

On the threshold of this new career cycle you can take for granted whatever comes up on your way or you can consciously determine how you want this cycle to run for you and where you want to be before next summer comes up. This means to pay close attention to your intrinsic professional desires and your career goals. I have written a lot about building individual development plans, focusing on passions and ultimate goals, and pursuing purpose. Now I want to share with you another simple technique to encourage reflection on your upcoming professional year. It is: listen to what happened during the summer.

If you think about it summer is a very informative period. Often times the work load is less than usual which allows us to breathe. If you have experienced this think what are you taking a breath from. How does it feel? How energized are you to jump back to the same workload? What do you want to change? What do you want to get rid of? What do you want to take in? The purpose of these questions is to reflect on what is it about your work that makes you tired or bored, and what is it that you love and want to have more.

Summer time is also vacation time. Think on how you felt during your days off. Were you thinking about your work? What did you miss about your work? What were you taking break from? What made you excited to go back to work? What was it about your work that filled you with some negativity on the first ride back to work? These type of questions will help you to emphasize on the best and worst aspects of your professional life. When you figure them out it will be much easier to build a strategy for enhancing the first and diminishing the latter.

And a final thought. Summer is also the time when we feel free and relaxed, and we are at our most outgoing-ness. We meet new people, we see new things, we come up with new ideas, we feel energized by our thoughts. So, what happened to you during the summer? What ideas, thoughts, desires came up to the surface? What made you smile and energized? Remember, nothing is impossible and you can achieve whatever you commit yourself to. And now, it's a great time to be strategic about your career advancement whatever that means to you.

What the summer informed you about? I would love to hear your thoughts :)
And again, I wish you an amazing you new career cycle!