Carla Miller [00:00:02]:
Networking is an idea that makes some of us cringe. Others would love to network more, but struggle to attend events due to workload and caring responsibilities. But what if networking didn't have to be so uncomfortable? And what if you could do it in a way that worked for you? That's what I'm talking about in today's episode with my guest, Ellie Rich Poole, career development coach and one of LinkedIn's top voices for careers. In this episode, we cover why networking is key to developing your career and accessing new opportunities. We chat about how you can build your network in a way that works for you and your natural preferences. We also talk about the power of genuine connections rather than going to events and feeling like you have to work the room and speak to as many people as possible. We talk about how to make yourself actually go to networking events, whether in person or virtually, and how to make the most of them when you're there. And finally, we talk about that moment in, a networking event where you've got to work out how to break into an existing small group and how you can help to avoid that moment for others by creating a croissant, not a bagel.

Carla Miller [00:01:15]:
You'll have to listen on to be able to hear more about that one. This is the influence and impact podcast for women leaders, helping you confidently navigate the ups and downs of leadership and feel less alone on your journey as a leader. My name's Carla Miller. I've been coaching leaders for the past 15 years, and I'm here to remind you of the value that you bring to your organization. To help you believe in yourself and to share practical tools and insights from myself and my brilliant guests that will help you succeed in your career. Now if you've already signed up to women leading, I've got an exciting month lined up for you in June. So we've got our usual peer coaching call. We have our usual group monthly coaching call.

Carla Miller [00:02:02]:
We've also got a workshop with Ruth Richards on leading hybrid teams, and we're having our 1st menopause gathering where Emma Thomas from Managing the Menopause is gonna be talking to us about sleep. If like me, your perimenopausal and sleep has become harder and harder to come by, then you're gonna find that session super super helpful. And if that all sounds brilliant and you're not yet a member of women leading, then I would love to have you join and to work with you. And you can go and find out more at carlamillertraining.comforward/womenleading. Right. Let's talk about networking. Welcome to the podcast, Ellie. Lovely to have you here.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:02:46]:
Lovely to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation.

Carla Miller [00:02:49]:
Let's start by finding out a little bit about your background. What do you do in times of work, and what do you love about it?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:02:58]:
I'm Ellie Rich Poole. I help leaders work out what's important to them in their career and then go and get it. And I do that through 1 to 1 career coaching, but also through group activities, such as career accelerator programs and working with, with other organizations. And, my background prior to this was in human resources and then working as a headhunter. And, I just found my thing. I found the thing that gives me joy and whilst it's a business, you know, I'm doing my job. It's actually very enjoyable and and it gets me to use my strengths and do the things I love. So, yeah, it just feels like I found my little, place in the world and very much enjoy, yeah, what I'm doing.

Carla Miller [00:03:41]:
That's such a nice way to put it. I feel like that as well. Not all day every day, to be fair, but quite a lot of the time when I'm working with people. Now we had a preacher, and there are so many different topics that we could have talked about together. But one of them that you mentioned is networking, and I know that this is something that lots of people don't always love. Let us put it that way. So what's your definition of networking? What does that mean for you?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:04:08]:
Yeah. So I think speaking about definitions, the dictionary definition is the reason, in my opinion, why so many people find it horrific because it is about the process of meeting people who might be useful to you, and they actually define it as, through social activities. So that concept of going to a networking event is what the dictionary tells us networking is. But from my experience, I'm working with people. I think we should be thinking about networking very differently and I would have 3 builds on that dictionary definition. So I think it's not just about meeting new people. I think the keeping in touch with existing contacts is really, really important. And it's a big one for me.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:04:51]:
Secondly, it never feels like a a reciprocal activity when you read the definition. It's very much about getting and people who'll be helpful to you. But I would say successful networking is about the giving as well as the getting. So thinking about that long term mutual benefit. And then my 3rd build as well is around get away from seeing networking as a social it has to be a social event. Speaking to people, it, the fear for me, not me personally, because I'm okay with it. But the people I talk to say to me, oh my goodness, I don't want to go to an event and stand in a circle awkwardly with my name badge on. And that gets repeated all the time.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:05:33]:
And actually, my view is that networking should not be about going to an event and standing in a circle. It should be about whatever is right for you. And there's so many different ways we can network. So so for me, it's about encouraging people to move away from seeing it, you know, like that dictionary definition and like that event thing. And instead, working out what gives you energy, where would you get your best, and how can you put yourself in those situations to build relationships and connect with people.

Carla Miller [00:06:04]:
I love that. And so let's hear from you personally. What's your favorite way to network?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:06:09]:
Oh my gosh. Well, I've put loads. I I love networking, but not not that nasty dictionary definition. If I look at my energizing strengths, and if you if your listeners aren't familiar with that, check out strengths profile. But essentially, our energizing strengths are the things that we are good at doing, but also give us energy. And I've put in my top energising strengths, I've got connecting, so bringing others together, and I've also got organising. So one of my happy places is organising an event to bring people together. And that may be professionally, but it's also socially.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:06:44]:
I do love a party. But it's that kind of bringing people into a space together and facilitating intros. So I enjoyed that much more than attending an event where I don't know anyone and I walk in and I get that same feeling of like, oh, you know, who's here with their name badges on. I also love writing. And it sounds a bit strange, like, well, writing, what's that got to do with networking? But I've made so many professional contacts through writing a post on LinkedIn or writing a blog and sharing it, and then getting into discussions with people that have been commenting on it on on social media. And then moving that connection from a sort of, you know, comment comment, you know, pleasantry through to direct messaging, through to, hey, we, you know, we've been in touch online for ages. We should meet for a virtual coffee and then a real life coffee. And that kind of moving people up that sort of spectrum from the kind of polite acquaintance online through to the somebody you actually know in real life.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:07:44]:
You know, that writing actually helps me to to meet people. And I enjoy I enjoy the relationship deepening as opposed to the rapport builder. So for me, I I like to have deeper conversations and get to know people better over a long period compared to that concept of kind of schmoozing the room. Some people are brilliant at it where they can just go from person to person to person and kind of, you know, pass the next person onto the next person. It's a real art form, but that's not me. I I'm much more like sit in the corner and talk to someone for an hour about something and really get to know them. So that was just a few, but I mean, yep, there there's so many different ways that we can all connect people.

Carla Miller [00:08:21]:
I love those. And I find if I go to events, I tend to go more with the headspace of I'm gonna meet a new friend or 2 today and just find people that I connect with, I actually want to talk to. So that really helps me because there's nothing worse. For me, it's the breaking into the circle. It's when you go into the room and you're like, everyone seems to be in circles or everyone seems to know each other. How do I break in there?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:08:44]:
There's a brilliant TED talk about that. There's a brilliant TED talk by Robbie Robbie Samuels, and he's, I forget the exact name, but the concept is that at a networking event, we should be a croissant, not a bagel. And he's referring to that that, position of you know, when he stand and talk, he says, don't ever go in and close the circle because it makes it really hard for people to break in. And and instead, we should all when we go to the networking events, we should always be the croissant. So when you join a group, step to the side a little bit so there's always a friendly opening, area. And then when you see someone else coming, you know, welcome them in and sort of extend the croissant. So well worth looking at that TED talk. But exactly that because people you sort of almost once you break in, you could then it then then feels intimidating to the next person if you then just put your back to the room, doesn't it? So, yeah, we need

Carla Miller [00:09:38]:
signs at networking events, don't we, Ellie? Be a croissant, not a croissant, nothing else. It will start the conversation, won't it? He will give them signs to talk about. The other place I really I I think I think for me, the podcast has been really good as a way of networking without ever leaving my house in that I can reach out to really interesting people and have the discussions I want to have, but also LinkedIn. So for me, just seeing people there are interesting. So when I moved up to Cumbria, there was someone I'd interviewed on the podcast, and I'd also put a post out on LinkedIn saying I'm moving to Cumbria, and they both took me out for lunch. And now we go out. We spent the morning at a spa together on Friday, which was lovely. But it was really nice to have those connections, and equally, most of my business connections and most of my associates in my company have come from seeing people on LinkedIn, loving what they're talking about, reaching out, having a coffee, and it's really easy to do.

Carla Miller [00:10:38]:
I find on LinkedIn, people are very receptive. They're very receptive to connection requests. They're very receptive if they've got time to having a chat. So I would always instead of thinking why would that person want to spend any time with me, it's always worth making that connection. And then, also, for me, think about what you can contribute to that relationship. Like you were saying, you like the idea of it being a two way relationship. And if you're going to reach out to someone you don't know at all and ask them for something, then think about, well, what can I what can I bring to this? So if if you want to talk to someone who's written a book and you want to pick their brains on something, well, they probably get a lot of those requests, and they don't have time for them. But say I've loved your book.

Carla Miller [00:11:22]:
I'm gonna leave a review for your book, and they might go, oh, actually, yeah, that's great. I really appreciate that. Yeah. I've got a little bit of time for you. So you can always think about how you can do it.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:11:33]:
Just so let me give you an example of a a success actually that I had exactly like that. So I I was on LinkedIn. I I enjoy LinkedIn and and sort of I'm I'm regularly on there. And I saw a post by a woman I didn't know. She'd written a book, and it's the career change guide. And I was like, well, that's interesting. You know, I I work in careers. I I hope it's I hope one day to write a book.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:11:56]:
I've started it sort of on my long term goal list. And I was like, oh, you know, always really interesting when I see someone's written a career book. So I went and had a look at her post and had a look at her profile. And, she turns out she also lives in West London, and I live in West London. We're both in careers. And then I saw on her profile, just coincidentally, we happened to go to the same university as well. And we had some connections in common, and I just thought, I've got nothing to lose. You know, the the worst she could do is ignore me.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:12:23]:
So I just reached out. I sent her a connection request, which I always personalize. I always, you know, always sort of tailor it. And I just said, Helen, you know, I see I see you're a fellow career coach in West London. And, you know, we happen to go to the same uni. It would be lovely to connect. And, you know, I'm sure you get lots of these requests, but if you'd like to, I'd love to hear from you. And I sort of thought no more of it because you have to be quite thick thick skinned.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:12:48]:
I think you have to be willing to do that then just forget about it and not dwell on whether people reply. But I got a lovely message back and we connected and we sort of, you know, we we kept in touch online for a little while. And then at some point, I forget it was me or her, but one of us said, oh, we should meet in real life. Let's go for coffee and a walk, you know, near near to where we live. And we did just that. And over we've it's maybe a year and a half, 2 years now, and we've met a few times. And just recently, I did an event, in support of a charity I support, the Girls Friendly Society. And I was looking for some inspiring speakers.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:13:22]:
And I ran my concept past her, and I sort of said, oh, I'm thinking of doing this. What do you reckon? And she said, it sounds amazing. I'd love to be involved. And she came and donated her time, and she came and she spoke at this event. And I thought, wow. If I hadn't been brave enough to send that just that total stranger, but hello, I'm a complete stranger. You know, not only I wouldn't have connected, but I wouldn't have been able to support the event by having this fabulous speaker. She's, you know, very impressive individual and, you know, how wonderful to have her on the stage there.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:13:53]:
So it just shows it can it can really be worth it putting yourself out there.

Carla Miller [00:13:58]:
Amazing. And one of the things you said earlier was it doesn't have to be about new people. This can be about keeping in touch with old colleagues and connections. How would you suggest someone either does that or do you have some kind of system that reminds you to keep in touch with people, or do you have a list of people that you must keep in touch with? Any hints on how to best do that so we don't go, that would be nice, and then totally forget.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:14:24]:
So I do it in different ways. And, actually, I I was I'd said something on an earlier podcast with someone else about this, and one of my friends gave me a lot of grief going, oh, am I on your list? Do do you just message me because of your list? I do have a list, but I should say, Carla, it is not how I manage my friends. My friends aren't on a list. I do have a list of professional contacts, and that's people who've been clients of mine who I've known for a long time. And, yes, I just it it's not as structured as having a CRM system. It is it is literally a list of names, but I sort of cast my eyes over it from time to time. Think, oh, gosh. I haven't heard from, yeah, haven't haven't heard from Joe for a while.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:15:00]:
I must drop them a line. But but, actually, I I do a number of different things. There's, I don't know if you've read the book, 4000 weeks, and there's a there's a concept in there that comes from Joseph Goldstein, and it's about acting on generous impulses right away. And he says that if someone pops into our head, we think of someone in relation to something, you know, or we see something they've posted, maybe they're trying to gather sponsorship money or they've, you know, they've just posted anything or they pop into our head. He said, don't wait until you've got lots of time to write them a nice long message. Just drop them a very quick very quick contact at that moment. And I often use WhatsApp voice messages, because this is this is not kind of formal client type stuff. This is people I know very well.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:15:47]:
So I might be walking down the road and someone pops into my head, and I'll often just leave a little voice note and say, oh, I was just thinking of you. How's it all going? You know, just just check-in. And, and it almost sort of starts the flurry of, you know, messages again. I also do from time to time, I go back to my WhatsApp, my LinkedIn private messages. I go right down to the bottom, and I look at people I haven't messaged for ages, And I'll I'll have a look and drop them a note and say, oh, gosh. It's been a while. And then I archive. Once I've sent them a message, I archive them so my list gets smaller.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:16:22]:
And then you know the messages where it's almost your it's your turn. It's your turn to to speak. Now it's I don't rely on either of those things because, you know, you might never hear back from someone if it, you know, if it was not your turn, but I do a combination of those different things. I'm a big fan of, a hard copy card as well. I do. I send card I do Christmas cards still. I know that's rare now, but I always send cards out to people I've worked with throughout the year. And, yeah, a range of a range of other the International Women's Day cards as well, which, I always get designed each year by an artist I use and I get a sort of bespoke quote done, and send that out.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:17:01]:
So, you know, things that are a bit more personal. It's something I enjoy ever since I was about 8 and used to collect pen pals. I've always I've always enjoyed keeping in touch with people.

Carla Miller [00:17:10]:
I used to collect pen pals as well, actually. Yeah. I love that idea, and I love the idea of acting on the impulse. For me, it's always in the cart. My son insists on us having either hot eighties or hot nineties on. So I'm listening to these songs and remembering people, like moments I've shared with people, and I often go, I really must text that person, and say hi and see how they're doing. So, yeah, I like the idea. I'm going to what what was what did Joseph Goldstein call it again?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:17:37]:
Act on generous impulses right away. And it's within the it's so he's not the overall author of the book. He's quoted in the book, which is 4000 weeks. And I think I want to say Oliver Boatman, and I might be wrong. So so is it? I'll say, so we should look that up. But, yeah, I just that really resonated with me that kind of, you know, that sort of just when you think of someone, yeah, drop drop a note.

Carla Miller [00:18:03]:
The book is on my I think it's either on my bookshelf or it's on my list somewhere. I listened to a podcast interview that was about 2 hours long with him that was fascinating. And then I was like, is there gonna be anything left in the book? Like, I think I've got the gist of it from the podcast, but I really should actually purchase the books. It sounds like there's some other things in there. Brilliant. I love that. Now, why do you think it is worth making the effort to network? Because often it does involve stepping out of our comfort zone. Like, let's think big picture.

Carla Miller [00:18:32]:
Why is networking worth it? How does it benefit? If you're a leader, in middle management or senior management in the company, why is it worth spending any of your precious time on networking, do you think?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:18:45]:
There are many different benefits. I did a survey a couple of years ago, actually, just to see what people said about this. And the top benefit people came up with was, having someone to go to, for support and to bounce ideas off. And actually, I would almost, like, sort of go large on that and say, don't just have 1 person, have a have a group of people you can go to for things because life is so much easier with sounding boards and, you know, just having people to go to, to bounce ideas from is a wonderful benefit, but also, learning and development is another big benefit of, of networking, you know, rather than just learning from your boss or your, you know, your, your direct working world, you can learn so much more from, you know, professional friends in other industries who maybe are taking a different approach to something, or, you know, going to a conference and learning, you know, what's what's new in your particular specialism. It's almost the list is endless of the sorts of things you could learn about. And also future opportunities. And that could be a job opportunity. So it could be, you know, by networking, you might land your next career move.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:19:55]:
It can also be opportunities such as an opportunity to go and be on a, a voluntary board, you know, go and be a trustee for charity, or it might be an opportunity to go and speak on a panel event. You know, and we all have different things we like to do. They they they wouldn't be for everybody. But whatever your goals are, building connections will help you access those goals a lot quicker than if you just sit there in your day job working hard. And one of the biggest mistakes I see, and it's not, you know, it's not a male female thing. However, statistics show us that women aren't particularly bad at this is that because because they're busy in their life and they're busy in their work, what they do is they prioritize their day job at the expense of their career management. So what they're doing, you know, they'll always prioritize ticking off the task list. And if they're kind of a bit short of time, what they'll do is I'll cancel that event I was going to go to because I need to focus on my task list and get all these things done.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:20:53]:
And the thing that gives is the the thing that actually for our careers are really important, and that's that proactive managing of our, you know, our contacts, keeping in touch, meeting new people, learning, growing, and and that kind of visibility piece. Because it's actually a big chunk of career success comes down to your visibility and who knows, you know, who you are and what you do. And if you don't do the connecting bit, unfortunately, you're just, you know, yes, you might be very good at your current job and you might be performing well in it, but that is not a good way to manage your career. So I would definitely say, you know, thinking about career management, as well as learning, as well as you know, support network, that they're kind of 3 very good reasons, to be networking. And my favorite one actually, which came out as number 4 on the survey was just that, just building more professional friends. And, you know, that that's something I enjoy and I much prefer working, you know, where I've got people that I know and get on with and we have things in common. And I feel like if you don't actually invest time talking to people, how do you know anything about them or

Carla Miller [00:21:59]:
what you have in common?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:22:01]:
So, yeah. So there's 4, but I'm sure there's probably more from that as well.

Carla Miller [00:22:05]:
Fantastic. And there's some cheesy phrase somewhere, isn't there, about your network being linked to your net worth, isn't there? I have. You're so right.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:22:14]:
Yeah. There's a number of cheesy ones.

Carla Miller [00:22:18]:
You're so right that, that really resonates, that idea that women focus on that that to do list in front of them. And I think a lot of that is about putting others' needs ahead of their own as well. It's basically, well, I don't wanna let anybody else down, so I'm just gonna make sure that I get this done. Because I see that, obviously, I don't focus on networking, but I focus on influencing internally. And I see the same thing when men are spending more time building those relationships upwards in particular, and working on their visibility, whilst women are working to this idea of a meritocracy where if I work hard and keep my head down, someone's gonna notice reward me for that. So it's really interesting that that also applies when it comes to career development and networking external to the organization. Okay. So with that in mind, I know networking is not just events, but let's say someone's been invited to an event, and they're having that internal battle where they're like, I really should go.

Carla Miller [00:23:18]:
I really don't wanna go. I really wanna watch Grey's Anatomy reruns on Netflix or whatever tonight. That's me. There you go. Insight into my brain. How could how would you recommend somebody kind of get themselves actually out the door or get themselves over the threshold of their comfort zone when it comes to networking?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:23:39]:
Yeah. It's a really good question. And I I'm with you on the Grey's Anatomy reruns also. Currently also rewatching ER from the nineties. I'll talk to you. I would say, first of all, it's about choosing the right event for you because there's networking events and there's networking events. And they can, they can vary enormously in terms of what's the target audience. What's the format, the venue, you know, I, so I would say, find something that is going to make you feel at home and, you know, look at who the organizer is, who, you know, the sorts of people that you're going to be interacting with, and be really clear about what you're going for.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:24:17]:
Because not all networking is equal and it, you know, your time is precious. So I would say, first of all, make sure it's somewhere you actually want to go and you you you know, so you feel comfortable that when you arrive, the people will be relevant and and sort of like minded and interesting for you. And you can probably rule some things out where you just go, that is just not my, you know, that's not my company. I would say also consider whether you're able to take someone with you and 2 of you go together. Now that is not about then spending the whole evening together, but it is really nice to arrive at the same time as someone you know and sort of go through that kind of, you know, sign in process and all of that. And, you know, perhaps to start the evening together and but then encouraging each other to to separate and go and meet people, but know that you've got that safe space to return to. We used to say, let's meet up in half an hour. And, you know, plus, you can then introduce each other to people you've met.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:25:12]:
So if you've met something and you're thinking, oh, gosh, my my, my colleague would find that person really interesting or helpful. So later, I'm gonna sort of go back around the room again and say, oh, you know, can I introduce you to this person? So I think that's a way, plus you've got that, accountability partner because if you have diarized it and you know that your friend has got a babysitter and you're both going together, you're much more likely to stick with it because there's 2 of you. So I would just say, make sure it's the right thing. Go in with someone. When you get in there, I think set yourself some small goals. You know, you don't need to go in and think, oh, gosh. I've got to go and meet a 100 people tonight. You know, perhaps maybe your goal is, you know, you want to go meet 3 new people and you've got particular targets in mind, and you could sort of chat to the organizer and say, oh, is is there anyone here that I don't know.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:26:01]:
Is there anyone here that specializes in, the recruitment of charity trustees? Because it's actually up and thinking I'd like to do that, and they'll be like, oh, yes. Actually, we've got so and so over there. You know? So maybe get have a bit of a goal and then see if you can actually harness the the network to go and help you with something as opposed to just walking in and going a 100 people. What do I do? Yeah. And then once you're in and once you've got over that scary bit, introduce other people. So when you meet someone, bring, you know, bring other people into the group, introduce them, and, you know, make sure that people aren't left out. If you look around and see anybody looking on their own or, you know, that they're a bit timid, Go and be the one that brings them into the group, and it's much easier for you, but it's just a good thing to do. And I think once you start it, once you get into it, if you try all those, it probably won't be as horrific as you imagine it might be.

Carla Miller [00:26:53]:
Yes. I like the idea of having a really focused goal and asking the organizer about that. Or even you know, people say, why did you come tonight? Well, I'm hoping to find x. People will remember you for that, won't they? Personally, I like a name badge because now my brain can't recall names. Perimenopause has done that to my brain, which isn't great when you often facilitate things. So I've got quite used to the online world where people's names are at the bottom of their Zoom screen. But, yeah, name badges are quite good like that. But if you know you're gonna have to introduce someone later, make sure that you have remembered their name.

Carla Miller [00:27:28]:
But I love to bring people into the group. I hate the idea of anyone looking lonely or looking lost, so I like to bring people in. What are your thoughts on the last event I went to, some people have business cards, some people were just connecting on LinkedIn at the time, and some people had, like, a little QR code. What are your thoughts on on that? What's your preference for swapping details?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:27:54]:
I used to love a business card, And then during the pandemic, when everyone was at home, my my I moved from Singapore back to the UK. So I I like, my cards were no no longer useful because they had all my old details on. And I never actually ended up getting any more printed. I've reached a point now where I don't think I I never feel like I'm missing them when I go to events. And, actually, what I've got in the back of my phone, I've got in the back of my phone case, I've got my QR code for LinkedIn. So if I do have a meter and it's not even just events. Randomly, sometimes people say, oh, I should get your details. I go, just scan this.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:28:28]:
And they go straight to my LinkedIn profile, and they can just connect. And that I have found that to be enough for me. It's definitely worth having your own QR code handy because it's it's an immediate response. They don't have to go and type your name in and then go, which one are you? And, you know, you're trying to find them. So I I think we don't need cards now, but I think it's a really personal choice as well. I was at an event that I hosted last week, and one lady did bring cards, and she gave it to me, and I brought it home with me. But, actually, I then went and just checked. I was connected with her on LinkedIn, then I recycled it.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:29:01]:
So in the old days I used to keep them in a box, but then it goes a bit silly. It's like, why do I, you know, got all these boxes of cards? So I think I think these days you probably don't, you probably don't need a hard copy business card, but, you know, personal choice.

Carla Miller [00:29:16]:
I like the QR code. Can you get that from your LinkedIn profile, or do you go to some kind of app to create it?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:29:21]:
You can do it. You can go on to on the phone app, for LinkedIn, so not your desktop one. And don't ask me what I press to get it. So you Google it to find out how, but there's a way you could do it, and then you can just screenshot it. And what I did, I dropped it onto, a document and printed it, and I've just popped it in the back of my thing. But some people, more techie people than I, rather than, rather than having on a paper thing that they stuck on something, they actually just set it as their photograph on their profile page on their for for the event, I think it's a bit of a sad photo. Instead of having a photo of your kids, you have a photo of a QR code, but you could do that just for the event. But I also I I had it.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:30:03]:
I stuck one on the back of my notebook when I was at a conference. So I had this a small notebook with me. And again, I had it on that. So if people were, you know, just I was either with my phone or my notebook and people could just scan them. So, yeah, it's easy to do via the the app and and quite handy.

Carla Miller [00:30:18]:
That is a very smart idea. Definitely. I always have a note notebook with me as well because I always want to make a note of who I've met. Because, otherwise, if you've had I went to a really brilliant, inspiring networking morning. I actually left the house where I left Cumbria for and went all the way to London for. I met some brilliant people, but I must have met about 15 people within the space of a few hours because there was lots it was just brilliantly set up, lots of talks sitting next to different people. And I had to, like, as I was going, write down what what I'd spoken to them to them about so that I knew what to follow-up with and reconnect with. So if you have gone to an event or reached out, whatever, and had a great initial conversation with someone, how do you then keep that going? How do you deepen that relationship, do you think?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:31:11]:
Yeah. And that you know, this is one, one point that that often people fail to follow-up on, and it's a really big missed opportunity. So I would suggest you connect with them on LinkedIn as soon as is relevant, you know, whether that's immediately or whether it's sort of after the event. I would then follow-up when you both are connected and you can send direct messages. I would follow-up with a direct message that is, you know, says, lovely to meet you, and reminds them of something you were talking about because remember that they might look at this in future weeks when they're it's not fresh in their mind. So, you know, I might say to you, oh, you know, lovely to meet you, the other week, Carla. You know, good to have good to have that call and and talk about your podcast. You know, you'll remember we spoke about so and so who we both knew in common and so just something that triggers their mind.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:32:01]:
And then make sure you ask a question or you give them a reason to reply. So don't just say it was really nice to meet you. Have a great week. Say something that oh, wait. I meant to ask you, but I completely forgot. Who was it that published your book or something? Then you will be like, oh, nice to meet you too. It was, you know, this was the publishing house. And you kind of almost that that first point is taking it from just the meeting to the connection to the the direct message conversation.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:32:29]:
And then once it sits in both of your, inboxes, if you're using that technique of checking down your messages from time to time and just look at who you owe a message to, you'll pick them up in that as well. Now if there's somebody that you want to proactively keep in touch with for a reason, you know, whether that's about, you know, they're a headhunter and, you know, you're looking for a job or, you know, they they're somebody you think that you might like to, ask to be a speaker at a future event. Whatever it is, I would suggest as well somewhere keep a note of them. So that kind of back to that having a list thing. So, you know, I've got so many different lists, but, you know, I, the the event series I mentioned to you that I that I've created called Wonderful Women. I have a list list on there of kind of who's attended, but also who said that they might be interested to be a future speaker and all those things. So I will then make sure I drop those people a note and keep in touch a little bit more proactively than just, you know, you know, say 50 people at the event. I'll connect with them all, and I'll send them all a nice note.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:33:31]:
But if I know they want to speak for me, they'll probably get a follow-up note after a month going, oh, you mentioned you might like to speak, how are you feeling about that? You know, so I think it is about that proactive management about, you know, what is it you want to keep in touch with them for? You know? And then also, this is sort of less one to 1, but a good thing to do generally. And I know people hate this, but I think it's important to be present on LinkedIn and do post general posts from time to time. You don't have to be like a like a massive thought leader. You don't have to be posting everything you do. But from time to time, sharing some valuable content because all of the people that are connected to you are going to it's a sort of reminder when they see you on there about who you are and what you do. And that is another good way because it might prompt them to reach out to you. So I think you kind of want to just, you know, it's almost like from both sides prompt people to get in touch with you as well as you being the one that always reaches out to them as well.

Carla Miller [00:34:26]:
Yes. I totally agree. And I think I see on LinkedIn, like, people like you and I post a lot, but it's when people don't post very often and they share something, then they actually get a lot of views on that because everyone's interested because they aren't oversaturated with knowledge. They're like, oh, yeah. Yeah. What's going on with that person? That's great. Anything else that you think people should know about networking or would benefit from knowing about networking?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:34:52]:
I think it's really important for people to get clear on what they're good at and what they enjoy. So back to the energizing strengths concept, and then link that to how they go about keeping in touch with or connecting with new people. And I think that's worth a little bit of reflection time to work out what is going to be a good way for you to build an easy one that so few people do. I recommend it's worth putting a diary reminder to yourself, at a whatever frequency feels right for you. Maybe that's like every Friday morning for half an hour over a cup of tea, you put a note yourself that you're gonna send out some messages to people to keep in touch, or it could be something bigger. But every month, you're going to go and do you know, gonna go do some coffee meetings in town. But I think a lot of people when I did the survey, I forget the exact number. Something like 73% of people said they wanted to network more.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:35:53]:
It was something like that. And then only then it then only 17% said they'd actually put any time in their diary for networking. And it's that thing about, you know, we're all busy. We're all gonna have networking will never be an urgent and important priority. It will always be important, but it will probably never be urgent. And if we don't diarize things like that, they will always slip to the bottom of the list, and they won't happen. So I would say kind of find out what works for you. And then diarise some time to make sure you actually do it.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:36:25]:
And, you know, otherwise otherwise, it just won't happen.

Carla Miller [00:36:29]:
That makes sense. And I think the only other thing I would add to that is that some people are natural connectors. I have a couple of, business contacts who have become friends who are natural connectors. Like, they they know lots of people, and they love nothing more than to introduce you to someone. And so, a, if you have a friend like that, then do utilize it. So do say to them that this is what I'm looking for at the moment or keep an eye out for this for me, or do you know anyone that can help with this? But, also, if someone has made an introduction, keep them in the loop. Obviously, say thank you, but then you can follow-up and say, I had a great coffee. It was really productive.

Carla Miller [00:37:06]:
Thanks so much for doing that. I love connecting people. I wouldn't say I'm an Uber connector. I like some of the people I know of, but I do love if I have a conversation with someone, they're always, oh, you should meet so and so, or let me introduce you to so and so. But it's also really nice to hear that that was a good introduction to make. So make sure you you're closing the loop there. But, generally, if there's something you're particularly looking for, just putting it out there and telling people about it means more people can keep an eye out for you, doesn't it? So if you're looking for a great new job or you're looking to move sectors and you wanna talk to someone who's got a particular type of experience, just mentioning that to anyone, friends, acquaintances, the person next to you at the gym, whoever it is, I think can be a really great way. Some people might call that manifesting.

Carla Miller [00:37:54]:
I just call it sensible to just make sure that if you want something, people know

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:37:58]:
how they can help you. People know. Right? And, actually, I think coming back to that thing about, you know, individuals who are very focused on their task list and keeping their head down and hoping that, you know, things will open up to them. I think you're you're you're spot on that it's really important to talk about what's important to you in your career. We'll talk about opportunities you're trying to get. Because if people don't know, how can they help you? And that includes verbally, you know, verbally having conversations, but also, you know, on your LinkedIn. If you if you've got an aspiration to, I don't know, to start doing, speaking on panels about a particular topic, put it on your, your LinkedIn about summary and say, you know, I have a particular passion in this field, and I'm always looking to connect with people, you know, to speak at events on this topic. You know, if you don't say it, people won't ask you and they won't know about it.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:38:50]:
And, yeah. And I would say don't don't be afraid of LinkedIn. Use that, you know, don't be afraid about talking and putting yourself out there, because that can be really beneficial as well. You know, just another way of talking about who you are and what you do and what's important to you in the future.

Carla Miller [00:39:07]:
Definitely. Now, we're gonna tell people about a couple of opportunities where they can build their network. One of them is your wonderful women events. Now, you mentioned GFS earlier, Girls Friendly Society, and, actually, my audience are probably familiar because, we support GFS. We have done with our Be Boulder program. So every time someone signs up for the Be Boulder program, we fund a girl to have a confidence session. I know you're more involved. Do you want to tell us a little bit about your new concept?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:39:39]:
Absolutely. And I should say, yes. In fact, there's a great example of how we came to be in touch in the first place was through that connecting with GFS people who put us in touch. So the power of connecting. And, yeah, and you were doing such wonderful work and supporting them. So, yeah, thank you. I joined after you did, so I'm still relatively new. And I joined out on their fundraising and growth board committee and volunteered to set up a team of ambassadors, which I've now done.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:40:09]:
And we were trying to think about ways that we, as ambassadors, could spread the word to a wider audience about who GFS are and what they do, particularly in the professional and corporate world, because that's my background. You know, I've I've sort of worked in retail and consultancy, and I've sort of worked in that professional world. And I've seen, you know, big companies having company charities and doing events in collaboration with things. And I I was talking to the CEO, and I said, I just think there's so much opportunity, but people haven't heard of GFS. So, I was mulling over, well, what could we do to get the word out there a bit more in that space, but also help people connect with each other. And we came up with a concept, which we're calling the wonderful woman movement. And it's really, it it's about, connecting women to other women, because we believe that no matter what stage of career you were at, you will have people you can help. So if you're really early in your career, you could help somebody get their first job.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:41:11]:
But if you're also really seasoned, really mature in your career, that doesn't mean that you can't, you know, you you might not need help as well. So my view is that wherever we are in that career spectrum from first job to last job, we all need people that we can ask for help, but we also all can help people. And that was kind of the, that was sort of the the underpinning message. So we had our pilot event last week and we got together 50 women in a room. And, we did a a little bit like a speed dating kind of matchmaking service where everybody wrote down something that they would like help with. And we took everyone's photos and we had them on this cool board. And, And then people went and looked at them and thought, oh, well, I could help that person with that thing. They took their card down, and they went and found them and connected.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:41:57]:
And and we had that kind of we had a number of different, connecting sessions like that interspersed with some wonderful keynote speakers, including Rachel Schofield, the lady I mentioned earlier to you that that we connected, and and some other great speakers. And we, you know, we did that mixture of connecting, helping each other, having some inspiring speakers, and, yeah, and really just testing that concept. And we had volunteers from GFS there. So they were also going around talking to everybody about the brilliant work that GFS do. And, we were, like, asking everyone to follow follow GFS on LinkedIn and, you know, so is there anything that they thought they could do in terms of sort of events or opportunities to introduce them to other people. So it was a very inspiring evening and we it was a pilot. We're just gathering feedback, but early indications would suggest that it was, it was well received, so we may well be doing some more of

Carla Miller [00:42:50]:
them. Excellent. I'm hoping they come to the north so that I can come and speak at one as well and meet some

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:42:55]:
of these

Carla Miller [00:42:55]:
wonderful women. So fantastic. So if people want to find out more about you, we want them to go to LinkedIn. Is that correct?

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:43:05]:
Absolutely. So I I'm on LinkedIn as Ellie Richpool, and my website is ellrichpool.com. And if you head over there on the website as well, there's loads of free resources as well, including on the resources page. There's an exercise if you want to reflect on your network and think about who's in your network and and if you maybe have any gaps. And there's also my LinkedIn guide on there. So we've been talking a bit about LinkedIn, so they they might be helpful. But separately, do go and check out GFS as well, who are also on LinkedIn, and we're trying to grow our followers there. So if you search on girls friendly, it's GFS Girls Friendly Society.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:43:44]:
So if you just search on that, hopefully, you will hopefully, you will find us. And, yeah, do give us a follow on there as well.

Carla Miller [00:43:51]:
So if they're interested in those events, if they follow, they'll be able to find out about them. If there's another one, they'll be able to find out about it on there. Fantastic. And then the way that you can join a networking community that's not in person, sadly, is all virtual, is also through Women Leading, which is our new offer, or rather my new offer. So within that, we do exactly what Ellie was talking about earlier in the often we want that space to be able to share what's going on for us, a sounding board to work through our challenges. So within women leading, we're going to have peer triad calls where you get a chance to talk to other women leaders about what's going on for you. And sometimes that might be, oh, can you help me work out a solution to this? Others, it might be, can I just tell you how I feel and have no one interrupt me for 5 minutes because I just need to get this out? We also have q and a's with me. We have monthly workshops with guest experts.

Carla Miller [00:44:47]:
Maybe we'll be able to get Ellie in to do a session at some point. And we have menopause gatherings as well. Again, a chance to just share your experiences, get support, connect with some other brilliant women. So if you're interested in that, you can go to carlamillertraining.comforward/womenleading. Thank you so much, Ellie. Some really great tips, and I personally feel energized to go away and look at creating my own little list of people I must get back in contact with, and I'm going to use that when I hear a song and it reminds me of someone I am going to reach out to them like Joseph Goldstein suggested. Thanks so much for your time, Ellie, and have a great week.

Ellie Rich-Poole [00:45:28]:
Thank you so much. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thanks, Carla.

Carla Miller [00:45:35]:
Thanks so much for listening to today's podcast. I hope you found it super valuable. If you would like more, if you'd like to keep working with me, there are a few ways you can do that. Very briefly, you can work with me 1 to 1 as a coach. You can join women leading my community for women leaders where you get loads of support from other women. You get, support from me and monthly work shops helping you to develop your leadership skills and help you lead without overwhelm. We also have regular menopause gatherings for those of you going through perimenopause within women leading. The 3rd way you can work with me is with influence and impact by program I've been running since 2019 to help you to confidently step into your power as a leader and tackle self doubt as well, influence upwards.

Carla Miller [00:46:28]:
And then, finally, you can work with me in house. So I run be bolder training. I run women's workshops. I give keynotes for women's networks. We do gender neutral versions of everything as well. So there's lots of different ways to work with me. Best thing to do, either head over to my website carlamiller.co.uk and drop me a message, or head over to LinkedIn. And let's have a chat about how I can best help you.