[upbeat music] Hey, friend, it's David Nebinski, the community lead here at the Chief of Staff Network.
We help chiefs of staff through the three Cs: cohorts, curriculum, and community, via Slack with over nine hundred people in it. Learn more about our membership and our events on our website chiefofstaff.network.
We have a bunch of different virtual events and in-person events, um, coming up in twenty twenty-five, and in twenty twenty-four, we hosted sixty in-person events and also a two-day conference, and we're excited about more and more events in twenty twenty-five.
Um, we're also really grateful for this podcast. Uh, it's been amazing to hear all the feedback, um, and interest from people like you. Uh, so keep sharing, keep letting us know what's resonating.
Uh, we wanna continue to make this podcast better and better for you. Um, as we kick off the year here, we wanted to, or I wanted to just quickly hop on here and share some of my experiences.
Maybe you're looking to s- uh, to get a new role in the new year. So I've got ten tips. I'm gonna quickly go through them. Um, hopefully there's something in here that's interesting and resonant for you. Let me know.
Okay, so here's the ten things. Number one, send thoughtful emails to founders and executives, um, ideally including a Loom video. I think Loom vi-videos really help you stand out.
Um, it can really, like, provide context as to, like, your interest in a role. Um, you could also just send an email like this to just say, "I like what your company's up to. I heard you on a podcast. I like this one.
Um, I, uh, I saw your post on LinkedIn, and here's what was really interesting. I see what your company's doing, and here's what's interesting, and here's my spin."
Keep it, like, short and sweet, depending on kind of exa- uh, like, what, like, level of interest there is on your end.
But I think, like, sending these kind of emails over time can really compound and create some, some, uh, incredible relationships and spark some serendipity. Um, so there's probably a couple different types of emails.
One is just, like, touching base. Another one is maybe, like, trying to, like, have a conversation. I leave that to you, but send thoughtful emails.
Uh, number two, uh, is create or, and/or attend events where you can hear and learn from what founders and exe-executives are up to. Um, this is in person or virtual.
Uh, in person, I think you can really create a strong connection or stronger connection. Um, I'm always surprised by, um, like, it's not that hard to stand out at in-person events.
So, um, showing up, being there, asking good questions can go a long way. Um, and there's a lot of great events that are out there, like ours. Number three, connect with other chiefs of staff.
Founders and recruiters often reach out to other chiefs of staff to ask them if they know someone else that could be a good fit for a role.
Uh, so staying in touch with them, um, you can, you know, email, meet them at events, et cetera, but chiefs of staff know about other roles, um, and maybe even they're leaving their role in a little bit, and so you could help them, like, backfill their role.
Um, number four, you can join an online community like the Chief of Staff Network, uh, where sometimes people post open roles, um, roles that are, like, officially posted or, or, or, like, TBD or coming or just a couple, like, bullet points at the moment, especially in this job market.
Um, there's a lot of, like, non-public roles, which ties into number five, which is, like, don't be discouraged if you don't see a role posted. Um, like, a role could be, you know, created for you.
So, uh, if you're leading with value, um, like, as you're having conversations with people, like, good things can happen.
Number six, so the chief of staff role is a very relationship-focused role, so lean into your relationships and relationship-building skills.
Like, this is a key part of the role is connecting with people, having conversations, asking questions, following up with them, building trust, um, collaborating and so, like, really lean into that.
So really lean into, um, you know, asking people how their... what's going on, uh, ask them about, like, like, things that you're interested in and see if there's ways that they can support.
Um, that's a good way to, like, showcase, like, your work and, like, how you show up in the world. Number seven, try to find a project with someone that you admire.
Like, it can be a really small project, and I'll talk a little bit about my roles.
But, um, yeah, I think projects are a great way to build trust, relationships, and skills with people that maybe you wanna work with more in the future.
So, like, as an example, like, maybe there's a way to, like, work with a founder on a very, very small role, um, as just, like, a project, uh, for, like, a week or two and see what happens.
I've been surprised by how s- projects can kind of really expand and grow over time. So check that out. Um,
and also sometimes, like, projects are not really, like, officially posted, so I'd, like, keep an eye out on LinkedIn or Instagram or Twitter to kinda see these kinda, like, ad hoc or, uh, non-traditional kind of projects.
Uh, be creative, take chances, and hopefully something works out. Uh, number eight, attend events and follow up with people. If someone asked about something, someone will share.
They'll talk about an article and like, "Oh..." And you'll s- and they'll say like, "Oh, that's so cool. Like, send that to me. Like, send that to this person."
Like, I think the bar is getting low, unfortunately, it's getting lower and lower for people actually following up on the things that they're gonna say they're do- gonna do.
So, like, if you can do that, like, you'll stand out. Number nine, um, start creating content that could attract founder executives, people, like higher chief of staff roles to connect with you.
Um, so that could be, you know, you could talk about, like, why you like the role.
You could talk a lot, a bit about, like, what you would do if you were in the role, um, what you've done in the past that's, like, similar, uh, like, lessons learned. Like you need to, like, share what you can.
Um, but people will start to notice if you share, like, real insights, experiences, and learnings. Um, and, like, so you want to...
if you can create the kind of content that, like, your persona, ideal persona, in this case, probably, like, a founder or some- someone in the C-suiteUm, or like a recruiter, like, can see like your unique skills and experiences, and then can be like, "Wow, this person's like really interesting."
Like, maybe they wanna hop on a call with you and like learn more about that. So like, yeah, try to like attract the people in that you want to talk to. Number ten, uh, you can start a podcast [laughs] like this one.
Um, yeah, I think podcasts, like just me personally, it's like really changed my life, and I've been surprised by always who says yes.
So, um, you could start a podcast, and you could interview founders that potentially you wanna work with. Um, and just say like, "Hey, I'm really interested in like healthcare," or, "I'm really interested in like...
" There's like the Series A Scaling podcast, and just interview a bunch of founders that are like focused on that.
So if that's the kind of thing that you're like really interested in, like a podcast is a great way to like show your passion, and you obviously would learn a ton through the podcast.
And then also you're meeting like-minded people, and then you start to attract more things too. Um, so that's a great way, and it's low cost too. Takes some time, though. Okay, so those are the ten tips.
Um, also a sweeping generalization, like the best advice is the advice that works.
[laughs] So these are just some general suggestions, like s- depending on what like really resonates here or think really stands out for you.
Um, like maybe you're better like virtually, like in terms of, um, like connecting with people. So maybe, and you're a very good writer, so maybe send just more emails.
Um, maybe you're better like in-person networker and relationship builder, so like maybe go to a bunch of events.
And, you know, take maybe like a portfolio approach to it, like try some things and weight some certain things, and then rebalance and see how that goes. And also, like let me know what actually works for you.
I would love to hear. Um, I wanna continue to like level up in my thinking on this.
Those are the ten tip- But I just wanted to sh- come on here and share a quick little like, um, overview to get you started or get you thinking about things in twenty twenty-five.
Um, would love to hear what you think about this, what tips, what ideas you have. Um, as mentioned, we've got a bunch of different in-person events and virtual events. So learn more at chiefofstaff.network.
Uh, you can subscribe to our newsletters there. Um, we got a job board.
You know, we're really excited to continue to help chiefs of staff connect and level up and do incredible work, like so yeah, would love to hear from you. Thank you so much for listening. Chiefofstaff.network.
We'll talk to you soon.
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