Connections

Over a year ago, when I was between jobs, a few former co-workers reached out to me for no other reason than to talk. At the time, I didn’t understand why. Why would they contact me? I wasn’t in a position to help them, they all had jobs, and they didn’t have any to offer me.

I’m still unsure of their motives beyond simply wanting to hear how I was doing—to maintain a bond that had rusted over years of neglect.

Career coaches and articles often tell us to “use our network” to get hired, and that’s great advice that can work. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, how many of us feel a bit guilty about reaching out when we’re in a position of need? How many of us feel like we’re being “used” when we hear from someone we barely remember working with?

This isn’t a post meant to deride, but to encourage reconnecting on a deeper level. I’d like to believe that, even when we network, a small part of us remembers why we feel safe doing so. It’s the part built on a happy moment in the past—a bond that, despite time, still wants to be strengthened.

Maybe it was a conversation over a coffee break or an outdoor walk, that feels like firm handshake on a bright, sunny day. A smile that brings warmth to the cold and dark, reminding us that we’re not alone.

Connections like these tend to rust—or even disintegrate—amid the demands of work. We don’t always have time to maintain the bonds that have led us to successful careers.

During this season of rest, let’s remember that warm smile, that firm handshake, that connection waiting to be revived. Let’s allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to ask for help—or to offer it.