26. How To Fail at Networking or Just Use Your Damn Noggin With Maigen Thomas

How much thought are you putting into networking on sites like LinkedIn?

I often give the advice: “Stop applying to jobs. Start connecting with people.”

I see a lot of people using sites like LinkedIn to try to network. Some people do a great job.

Some people, unfortunately, fail miserably at it.

There is a lot more to networking on social media sites like LinkedIn than simply sending a cold connection request and asking a million questions.

A few weeks back, Maigen Thomas posted about a recent interaction she had. She used this as an opportunity for a learning moment. So she shared some tips on how to avoid a similar fate.

Since I give the advice to network so often, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have Maigen com on the show to talk about her experience and provide some tips on how to use sites like LinkedIn to network effectively.

Topics:
• 4:11 – Maigen’s Story
• 16:13 – Critical thought is… critical
• 18:55 – Is 15 or 20 minutes even worth anyone’s time?
• 19:51 – What is our time worth?
• 22:35 – Lead with contact and curiosity
• 24:28 – #lifehack: Use the comments on LinkedIn
• 26:52 – Do you trust who you’re getting advice from?
• 30:03 – What behavior does an assignment incentivize?
• 32:16 – Think critically about what boot camp you choose
• 34:37 – Find your “why” to help narrow down the search
• 40:25 – We should be looking for real mentors

Helpful Links:
• Maigen’s YouTube reply
• Connect with Maigen on LinkedIn
• Watch Maigen on YouTube
• UX Social Club
• 02. Stop Applying. Start Connecting.

Maigen Thomas
Sr. UX Designer at Hireology // Maven of Mentoring

About Maigen

Maigen Thomas is a UX Designer with an impressive 9-year track record in UX design with a solid foundation in front-end development. She is passionate about helping early-career UX designers to be successful, and For the last two and a half years, she’s been teaching the UX Bootcamp at UC Berkeley.

Her dedication to the craft inspired Maigen to create the “UX Social Club,” a small community of designers who share her values and commitment to collaboration and excellence. In this community, which she affectionately calls “Capital G, Capital P, Good People,” Maigen encourages and inspires her colleagues to help each other level up in their careers.

Connect with Maigen on LinkedIn

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