This is find your dream job. The podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I'm your host, Mac Pritchard. I'm also the founder of Max List.

It's a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get to work you want.

Good networking isn't about collecting business cards. It's about getting the people you know and meet to help you,

and not only during a job search, but throughout your career.

Lisa Virtue is here to talk about how to make your network work for you.

She's an executive coach who helps you take actionable steps to make your career goals reality.

Lisa joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Well, let's jump right into it, Lisa. Many job seekers, they just don't like networking. Why do you think this is so?

Oh, it's so common, isn't it, to hear networking, just the word alone and have an implicit bias

says negative. So one thing I've seen with our American cultures, we have a long history of

negative connotation when it comes to the word networking. And that's often associated with

things like pyramid schemes or dirty salesmen. I think Hollywood's done a good job of feeding that implicit

bias. So people also don't want to appear as if they're using others. I've seen that a lot with

my clients as well and talking to people about this topic. So you combine that with family and friend

time that discourages us to talk about work.

And often people don't even know what people in their personal life do for work or what kind of networks they have and opportunities that could be available.

How does networking help you when you're looking for work when you're doing a job search, Lisa?

The number one way that it can help is finding those

opportunities that sometimes are not even posted and what is called social proof. So when people are

looking for an opportunity and they throw their application in, if the recruiter or the hiring

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