One of the central themes of the Steadfast Spirit is proper self-management. Ultimately success will be based around your ability to build networks but without proper self-management those relationships never properly grow or worse can become destructive. Below is one of the several types of relationships you will need to develop and lean upon.
References: All of you should be familiar with this term. References are people who can vouch for you as a professional. Most often references are former supervisors whom you list when applying to a job but for our purposes they are much more. Besides your boss, they can be former co-workers, teammates, and anyone else who has witnessed what you can do. They are important to stay in touch with because they can vouch for you at the highest level. There is nothing better than being introduced by someone who can testify firsthand about the work you are capable of doing. References are more than a contact/connection because they have interacted with you professionally and understand your strengths, weaknesses, and skills.
References can overlap. Tyler and I have worked together so he can serve as both a reference and a feedback friend. An introduction from Tyler is powerful because it is more than “Tommy is my buddy” it becomes “I worked with Tommy for two years and he is really good!”
It is important you stay in touch with all of your references. You may never become friends but try to stay in touch so when you do need help they are not hearing from you for the first time in years.
Go to them for advice, guidance, and investment not only when you work them but after you move on to your next position. References can be outside of a traditional work environment. They can be a peer you volunteer with, a classmate who you worked on a project with, or someone you interacted with less directly with professionally (someone who saw what you can do at a conference/event). References can be POWERFUL!
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