Dig the well.

There is an old Chinese proverb that states: “Dig the well before you are thirsty”.  I can’t think of a better way to remind folks of the importance of putting some energy into being prepared for some of the inevitability that life will throw at you.   If you are surrounded by a lot of water and it is abundant, it may seem like a waste of effort to dig a well.  However, when a dry season comes along that well could save your life.  The deeper it goes, the more you are able to draw from it.

Think about it.  The time to save money is when you are making money.  That way, when something unexpected strikes, you have reserves to draw from.  The same thing can be said about your network of professional contacts.  When you are working and find yourself surrounded by other professionals you may not be thinking about building your network.  However, many will come and go and you will have lost the opportunity to stay in touch with all those people who were at one point part of your professional life.  Most of us get so busy with work that we neglect to stay in touch with professionals outside of those in our immediate circle.  We think there will always be time for that later but if suddenly we find ourselves needing those contacts (like from a job loss) then wouldn’t it be a shame to suddenly realize you have little or no reserves to drink from.

So if you find yourself wrapped up in work and life and wonder about how you could ever make time to dig a well, allow me to provide a little advice.  Don’t try and dig the well all at once.  That’s not only intimidating but also not very effective.  Simply dig the well a foot deeper every week.  In other words, for the investment of 15-30 minutes of your time every 1-2 weeks you can slowly develop a wide range of professional contacts that over a course of a year or two will become fairly extensive.  Then if you ever find yourself “thirsty” you will find that you have a deep wellspring of people from which you can network and discover opportunities.

If you haven’t figured this out yet, I’m writing this note for people who are still employed.  It would be a shame that during this time of downsizing and economic uncertainty that you suddenly find yourself wishing you had put a network of contacts together.  Stop putting it off and start reaching back out to folks you have worked with and build up your Rolodex.  If you already find yourself out of work but are short on contacts, I will try and cover networking and building up your contacts quickly in another post.

In the mean time, the best tool for you to use in order to “dig a well” would be LinkedIn.  I can’t stress enough how great a tool this is for building up and maintaining a list of professionals you have worked with.  If you don’t have an account, set one up.  If you have one but it has been largely neglected, then you need to update your profile with your various companies and positions.  Not just so that you can advertise yourself, but also because this is what will help you locate others on this tool who have worked with you in the past. 

I had a “near death” experience back in 2002 as the tech bubble burst and the company I worked for went through a bankruptcy.  Over the last 6 years I have logged into LinkedIn every 2-3 weeks (again not a lot of time at once) and looked up new people who joined that worked at companies that I have also been at.  If I knew them, I invited them to my network.  Over time this has grown tremendously and recently has been a blessing for me as I search for my next opportunity.

I will write more later on LinkedIn and provide some suggestions on how to best use it as well as point you to some of the other blogs where you can get great tips on how to get the most from this tool.  In the mean time, start digging!  It only takes a little time once a week or every other week to pay off big later.

– Yeti.

P.S.

Water really is essential and life giving.  You can change the lives of others by helping put wells into villages that do not currently have access to clean water.  See Living Water International or Living Waters for the world for great charities that change the lives of others dramatically through the building of deep freshwater wells.  They could use your support!

11 comments on “Dig the well.”

  1. Jack Cleary says:

    So who knew you could write? Nicely done and I certainly agree with you and what you wrote. I’ve always had phonaphobia (not sure that is really a phobia) and find it ironic that I have worked in the phone industry for the last 17 years! With my phonaphobia, I have been reluctant to keep in touch with people but writing email … no problem!

    I wish you the best in the hunt and as I said before, I will keep my eyes open for you.

    Jack

  2. Yeti says:

    Jack,

    Thanks for the kind remarks. Most of us have issues with making calls. I expect that may be a topic later. I would just like to clarify that while building a network is critical, and tools like email and LinkedIn are a big part of that, once you have a decent network you will still need to be making calls. It’s very hard for most of us but picking up the phone is a crucial part of any networking you will do.

  3. Dave says:

    Chris,

    Great advice. Even it good economic times when jobs are plentiful, I always keep my profiles updated on linkedin and various jobs boards as well. There is nothing wrong with keeping your resume “warmed up” on Monster or Career Builder. You can leave it private when you don’t need it and make it public if the time comes to start looking.

    Nice Blog!

    Dave

  4. Paul says:

    I was gonna say, “Preach it brother!” but that doesn’t feel anywhere near appropriate. Your words convey warmth and caring, and depth. I am thankful for the friendship we have had over the years and hope you find, in one way or another, all the sustenance you need through your well of “water.” Great job on the blog – keep it up! 😉

  5. sgeorge says:

    yeti, that’s a very deep subject;) Thanks, I’ll be here all week.

  6. Yeti says:

    Thanks Paul.

    Steve, just picture me groaning and rolling my eyes.

  7. Jason says:

    Well done and quite timely. Awaiting the next installment…

  8. Gene says:

    Loved the concept of “Dig the well before you are thirsty”. I’ll discuss it with my son.

    I’d like to run it by my wife, but that would run smack into your previous post, I don’t have the right tools to speak ‘woman’.

  9. Yeti says:

    Gene, that is too funny!
    Yeah, I’ve learned to improvise in that space cause it’s the best I can do!
    – Yeti

  10. Joey says:

    Chris,

    Excellent advice! Especially during these economic times. With the social networking tools available now it makes it very easy to “connect” – one just need to take the first step! Very well written!

    Joey

  11. Yeti says:

    Thanks for the encouragement Joey.

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