Latest / You're Overqualified Podcast - Career and Leadership Strategies for Women / 97. Beyond ‘What Do You Do?’: A Gen Z Approach to Authentic Networking with Errika Brooks, Founder of Gen Z Times

Transcript

97. Beyond ‘What Do You Do?’: A Gen Z Approach to Authentic Networking with Errika Brooks, Founder of Gen Z Times · You're Overqualified Podcast - Career and Leadership Strategies for Women

• 0:08
  Hi, I'm Danny Tan and if you are here, you are in the right
• 0:11
  place. Welcome to the Pivot and
• 0:13
  Promotion podcast where we say forget the rules because they
• 0:16
  weren't written for us. I'm Danny Tan, I'm your host as
• 0:19
  well as career and leadership coach and a proud advocate for
• 0:21
  redefining what success and leadership looks like.
• 0:24
  And here's what I know. You can lead at any level, you
• 0:27
  can pivot at any age, and you can make moves that feel right
• 0:30
  for you. Whether you're climbing the
• 0:32
  perfect ladder, starting something completely new, or
• 0:34
  just figuring out your next step.
• 0:35
  I've got you covered with strategies, stories, and
• 0:38
  straight up inspiration. So let's make some moves.
• 0:45
  All right, so today we have some inspiration, I would say.
• 0:49
  So I'm super excited. We have Erica Brooks.
• 0:53
  She is the founder of the Genz Times.
• 0:57
  It is so great to have you here. I'm going to have you introduce
• 1:00
  yourself in a second. But The thing is, is I
• 1:02
  constantly talk about networking and outreach and just like
• 1:05
  putting yourself out there. And Erica did it to a tee.
• 1:08
  But like so, so, so well that not only did we get to meet each
• 1:11
  other and have a whole call and, and connect and talk about like
• 1:14
  what her mission is and what my mission is, I just, I loved her
• 1:17
  energy. I loved your energy in general.
• 1:19
  I loved your mission so much that I was like, I want to have
• 1:22
  you on the podcast. And so today you're here on the
• 1:24
  podcast. So not only share like what your
• 1:26
  mission is, what it is that you're working on, but Erica's
• 1:29
  going to break it down for us what it means to go beyond the
• 1:32
  question of what do you do and how to have like a Gen.
• 1:36
  Z approach to authentic network, authentic, excuse me, and
• 1:40
  networking because networking can sometimes, it can sometimes
• 1:43
  feel gross sounding. And so she has a different
• 1:45
  approach on it. She's shaking her head now.
• 1:48
  So she's going to go ahead and break it down for us before we
• 1:50
  do that, Erica, I always say there's no better high person
• 1:53
  than yourself. So why don't you give us a
• 1:54
  little intro on who you are? Thank you so much for having me,
• 1:59
  Danny. Hi everyone, my name is Erica
• 2:01
  Brooks. I come from a wealth of things.
• 2:04
  I always say like I have a bunch of my toolbox.
• 2:08
  I am a former higher education professional.
• 2:10
  I worked in higher education for about 5 to 6 years and I did it
• 2:15
  all in higher education. So I have I have the full scope
• 2:18
  of lens here working with Gen. Z.
• 2:21
  I worked in academic advising, I did marketing, I did new student
• 2:24
  orientation, student activities. I did it all for those five
• 2:28
  years. And then after the pandemic, I
• 2:30
  pivoted out, right? So there was like this big
• 2:33
  migration where everybody's leaving higher end, if anybody
• 2:36
  remembers that era after the pandemic.
• 2:40
  And I went to the nonprofit space and now I work with, you
• 2:44
  know, Gen. Z students, young, young people
• 2:46
  across the nation. And if that has naturally led me
• 2:50
  to wanting to support Gen. Z in a different way.
• 2:53
  So I've seen them, right? I've worked with Gen.
• 2:55
  Z, I've taught Gen. Z, right?
• 2:56
  I've taught career development courses as adjunct as well.
• 3:01
  And now I, I'm just, I'm seeing them in the workforce.
• 3:04
  So, right, I used to work with them on campus.
• 3:06
  I used to mentor them, but now they're in the workforce and I'm
• 3:09
  seeing that there's a huge gap. And I want to solve that gap.
• 3:12
  I'm seeing that there's a disconnect between the Gen.
• 3:15
  Z early professional and they're millennial manager, right?
• 3:18
  And that's the thing that's trending all over this social
• 3:21
  media, TikTok, wherever. But there's also just the way
• 3:26
  they show up is different. So I wanna build a tool through
• 3:29
  GDT, sorry, where we can bridge the gap between them not feeling
• 3:35
  connected, them not finding their purpose in their work.
• 3:39
  They, they really value realness, authenticity.
• 3:42
  So all those things. So all of those things I've
• 3:44
  observed in my career and that has led me to DDT.
• 3:47
  And yeah, that's, that's a little bit about me.
• 3:51
  I can say more, but I'm based here in DC.
• 3:55
  I have a dog, her name is Callie, She's a cockapoo.
• 3:58
  She's three years old and I'm all about Pilates and cycling,
• 4:02
  so you'll always hear me talk about those things if you follow
• 4:05
  me after today's episode. Oh my gosh, I love it.
• 4:09
  The Pilates, yeah, Pilates is tough.
• 4:10
  Pilates is tough, y'all, it's tough.
• 4:14
  But if you're out there. You.
• 4:27
  Sorry, it looks like. We lost.
• 4:28
  Yeah, I'm back. I'm back.
• 4:30
  Outside of Gen. Z times, what else is it that
• 4:32
  you do in your day-to-day? Because I feel like you have all
• 4:35
  these other amazing skills. That's an expertise too.
• 4:37
  Yes. So outside of GZT, I'm also a
• 4:41
  host. I speak at different events.
• 4:44
  If people need me, you can book me.
• 4:48
  I've been told that I bring such a warm presence to stages, to
• 4:52
  rooms. I connect people authentically.
• 4:55
  So I really enjoy speaking opportunities where I can serve
• 4:58
  as like a host, a panelist, a moderator.
• 5:02
  I've MC conferences, right? But in my nonprofit work, I'm
• 5:05
  doing mental health awareness currently, and that's for young
• 5:09
  people. So really just like starting the
• 5:11
  conversation, destigmatizing the issue and connecting, you know,
• 5:15
  organizations to the work. I'm doing partnerships in, in
• 5:18
  the mental health space currently.
• 5:20
  But outside of that, you know, I love to teach.
• 5:23
  I'm still available for adjunct opportunities.
• 5:25
  Career development is my, my lane of interest.
• 5:29
  So career development, teaching, and that's pretty much it.
• 5:33
  You know, I, I kind of do it all, but I, I'm available for a
• 5:37
  multitude of things, yeah. I think the thing that was super
• 5:40
  impressive when we did meet was like you had an entire entire
• 5:45
  like PowerPoint deck of like who it is that you wanted to help,
• 5:49
  why you wanted to help, what the problem was, how you wanted to
• 5:52
  solve it. And so I think for those of you
• 5:55
  who are like, I want to get on a call and network with somebody
• 5:57
  like Erica knows how to do it because she was able to like,
• 6:01
  very beautifully express who it was she was trying to help, why
• 6:05
  she's trying to help them, what the purpose was.
• 6:08
  And I was like, Oh my gosh, like this is someone who understands
• 6:12
  her like ideal audience of who it is that she's trying to
• 6:15
  support and help and what they need.
• 6:17
  And, and I think that is so amazing of like for any of us
• 6:19
  who are in a place of like service where we're trying to
• 6:23
  help any kind of population or community, it's like, it's not
• 6:27
  for me, it's for them, it's for the community.
• 6:29
  And so to understand what it is that they're looking for support
• 6:33
  wise, I was like, OK, this makes sense for me.
• 6:35
  And so I guess like, it kind of brings me into this.
• 6:38
  Next thing is that I'm curious, why?
• 6:42
  Why do you think the question of like, what do you do for work?
• 6:45
  It doesn't work anymore. Yeah, that's a great question.
• 6:49
  I think why it doesn't work anymore is because it is, it's
• 6:53
  bringing up a lot of feelings for folks.
• 6:55
  It's it's becoming cringe, as Gen.
• 6:58
  Z will say. It's, it's becoming uncomfy,
• 7:01
  right? It's, it's leading with your
• 7:03
  profession, which we are just so much more than just our
• 7:06
  profession, our job titles. We're not walking LinkedIn
• 7:08
  profiles, right? So what I think it's, it's just
• 7:11
  not working. Like people are not connecting
• 7:13
  authentically. And what is happening is the
• 7:16
  conversation and that, that moment of connection, it's, it's
• 7:19
  becoming transactional, right? Like you learn what someone does
• 7:22
  for a living and then you're immediately trying to figure out
• 7:25
  how can they benefit you? What can you get from them?
• 7:28
  And if you find that the answer is not what you want to hear,
• 7:31
  you know, you walk away, you never follow up with that
• 7:33
  person. It doesn't become a genuine
• 7:35
  network, a connection. It it became a moment in time
• 7:38
  where you shared a piece of your life with someone and it didn't
• 7:41
  go anywhere. And that's what we're finding
• 7:44
  right. So in in DCA place that is so
• 7:46
  career focused. If anyone is is familiar with
• 7:48
  the DC area, it is career 1st. And that's, and that's OK.
• 7:52
  I'm not trying to change, you know, the atmosphere, the
• 7:55
  landscape of DC, but I'm just trying to pour a little bit more
• 7:58
  authenticity into the city or this district you have you have
• 8:02
  it. So it's, it's that question that
• 8:05
  is, is making Gen. Z feel, am I no one outside of
• 8:11
  this career that I have to build?
• 8:13
  Is this all that matters? There's other things that I care
• 8:16
  about and I want to talk about those things, right?
• 8:18
  And I want to be friends with the people who are in my
• 8:21
  network, right? So it's, it's not just I've,
• 8:25
  I've added these people to my Rolodex.
• 8:27
  I don't know, like whatever back in the day or you know, my, my
• 8:31
  catalog of people that I know. It's, I know, let's use the name
• 8:36
  Sarah, for example, I met Sarah at the happy hour.
• 8:40
  She likes to bike, just like me. She also has a dog, right?
• 8:44
  We're going to go running or we're going to go biking next
• 8:46
  week and we're going to talk about our careers.
• 8:48
  So it's, it's more of like I'm starting a friendship and I also
• 8:52
  can use you to my, to my benefit in my career.
• 8:54
  You can use me, right? Vice versa.
• 8:56
  So it's, it's about forming genuine connections and not
• 9:00
  leading first with like this is what I do.
• 9:03
  And that's all that there is to me because there's we're, we're
• 9:05
  layered, we're complex people. And I think we need to lean into
• 9:09
  that a little bit more. We need to be a little bit more
• 9:11
  expressive of our whole selves. Yeah.
• 9:14
  And I think the thing that is, so the thing that comes to mind
• 9:17
  for me is that when we think of the Gen.
• 9:21
  Z approach to authentic networking or going beyond, what
• 9:25
  do you do? It's very much in the sense of
• 9:27
  like so many folks will say networking is super cringe or
• 9:32
  networking is like super difficult, or I feel like I'm
• 9:35
  just, it's very transactional. I'm asking for things and people
• 9:39
  know that I just, I'm looking for something.
• 9:41
  But The thing is, is that like to take a page out of Gen.
• 9:44
  Z's book of like wanting to crave connection and to build
• 9:47
  something versus it just being transactional.
• 9:49
  I think Gen. Z's amazing because they're just
• 9:51
  saying what we're all thinking, you know, like they're saying
• 9:54
  what everybody else is thinking but isn't willing to do.
• 9:57
  And so like versus being like, well, I guess I'm just getting
• 10:00
  go to this conference and have this like name tag on here and
• 10:02
  like go say hi to the 500 people because I have to do it being
• 10:06
  like, hey, you know, I actually don't want to do that, which
• 10:09
  nobody does. I want to meet somebody because
• 10:11
  I think they're interesting, because I think they're cool
• 10:13
  because I want to get to know them.
• 10:14
  And then it can evolve from there, which is a big thing I'm
• 10:17
  constantly talking about to my clients and coaching.
• 10:19
  I'm like, if they don't seem interesting, don't talk to them.
• 10:22
  Move on to the next person. No one is forcing you to like
• 10:26
  Fred is not the only entry point.
• 10:28
  Like it's going to be OK. Like it's going to be OK.
• 10:31
  And I think it's hard for us to, I'm like, it's like, it's fine.
• 10:35
  I think it's hard for us to rewire our brains of like what
• 10:37
  we think it has to be or it should be.
• 10:39
  And so I'm so glad that you're saying that because I don't
• 10:41
  think it matters what generation you're coming from.
• 10:43
  This is important. So take a if they if Chancey's
• 10:46
  the bravest one to actually just say what you're thinking and
• 10:48
  then take a page from their book and be brave and like based off
• 10:52
  connection. Also, I love what you said about
• 10:54
  the biking piece. Like, oh, we both like biking,
• 10:56
  we both like running. We both have dogs.
• 10:58
  We want to start with friends. Think about it this way.
• 11:00
  If your friend was looking for a job, you would probably refer
• 11:03
  them. You probably recommend them.
• 11:05
  So it's even more so in the the reframe or the flip is I'm just
• 11:09
  looking for new friends, you know, and different things that
• 11:13
  we have similar interest to. And maybe that may be life
• 11:17
  related or work related, who knows.
• 11:19
  But I'm just making new friends. And what would you do for your
• 11:21
  friends? You would you would help them
• 11:23
  out. Exactly.
• 11:24
  Exactly. And that's exactly it, Danny,
• 11:26
  right. Like we have to approach it in a
• 11:27
  way where we're trying to build friends, right?
• 11:30
  And I know some people will say, well, I don't want to make
• 11:32
  friends at work and that's not the space where where friendship
• 11:35
  should be built. But actually that's going to
• 11:38
  take you further, right? Like you're actually going to do
• 11:40
  more for somebody that you genuinely like, right?
• 11:43
  And, and there's, there's layers to us, right?
• 11:45
  There's it limits us if we just lead with this is what I do.
• 11:50
  And and it becomes a transactional connection.
• 11:53
  Yeah, I totally agree. It's like it.
• 11:56
  I'm just repeating what you said.
• 11:57
  It limits what we do and it becomes a transactional
• 12:00
  experience because also it just kind of associates that you're
• 12:06
  your value or who you are is your title and what you do.
• 12:10
  And that is so old news. So old out the window.
• 12:13
  We're not. We're not operating like that
• 12:14
  anymore. Yeah.
• 12:15
  Like you're a whole human being, yeah.
• 12:18
  Here are you like, who are you? You're layered.
• 12:20
  We're layered people. We're not so layered.
• 12:25
  Yeah, that's not just who you are.
• 12:27
  I feel, I feel like there's a lot of people who have like
• 12:29
  dissatisfaction, maybe, you know, with what they do or their
• 12:32
  lives because they have put so much pressure on their identity
• 12:36
  just to be that. And it's like you can you can
• 12:39
  rewrite that narrative a bit. So I'm glad that you're you're
• 12:42
  voicing all of that. And so I'm curious for you, so
• 12:46
  you have so basically Erica's like let me shake up how we do
• 12:50
  networking and let's do it for a Gen.
• 12:52
  Z approach. So it what you ended up doing is
• 12:54
  you hosted an event in DC very recently and I believe you
• 12:58
  called it the after 5 experiment and you had a different take on
• 13:02
  networking. So it can you kind of like share
• 13:03
  a little bit more on that can? And like what?
• 13:07
  Share this? OK, go for it.
• 13:08
  Obviously I'm aware of the gaps, right, that Gen.
• 13:10
  Z is facing. I know that they want more
• 13:12
  opportunities for in person connection.
• 13:14
  They want to network, but they want it to feel genuine, right?
• 13:17
  So I was like, what do I know about DC?
• 13:20
  And this all came from like me observing like I like to think
• 13:23
  that I'm a sociologist. I really observe everything and
• 13:27
  I've been here 2 years and I'm able to, you know, apply
• 13:29
  something that I feel that DC needs.
• 13:32
  So if you're familiar with DCDC is big on brunch and happy hour
• 13:36
  and that is how people network around here.
• 13:38
  They're they're partying with the people that they work with
• 13:40
  the people in the same industry. So what I did was I hosted it
• 13:44
  after 5 happy hour. I called it after 5 a new
• 13:48
  approach to networking, a Gen. Z happy hour.
• 13:50
  And the, the catch here was that everyone who came to the happy
• 13:54
  hour, Gen. Z or not, it was targeted to
• 13:57
  Gen. Z, but they were asked not to
• 14:00
  ask other people what they did for work, right.
• 14:02
  They were given prompt cards as soon as you entered the happy
• 14:06
  hour. You received it a prompt card
• 14:07
  and I can show it here for the video version of this.
• 14:10
  But you got a prompt card and it had a few prompts and it said,
• 14:14
  you know, we're here to connect beyond and the what do you do?
• 14:17
  And it's after 5. Let's be let's let's take off
• 14:20
  our ties, our suits, right, our jackets and let's just get real,
• 14:24
  right. So some of the prompts that I
• 14:27
  encourage folks to start with was like, what's sparking your
• 14:30
  joy lately, right? One of them is what's a comfort
• 14:34
  show you're watching right now? Comfort TV show, a book.
• 14:39
  What's the last place you travelled?
• 14:41
  You know what, what's bringing you peace lately, right?
• 14:44
  So now we're igniting and we're sparking these real
• 14:48
  conversations where people can just see if they like each
• 14:50
  other. Like, do you vibe?
• 14:52
  Do we vibe, right? Like energy is real and you can
• 14:56
  only feel energy in person. So I wanted to like create an
• 15:00
  atmosphere in a space for like genuine conversations to really
• 15:04
  take off. And I asked people like towards
• 15:06
  the end of the of the event, I said, you know, you don't have
• 15:09
  to exchange contacts with anyone that you met here.
• 15:11
  If you didn't vibe with anyone, you know, it's not, there's no
• 15:13
  pressure to, oh, let me like, what's your link to give me your
• 15:16
  business card? There was no pressure for that
• 15:18
  exchange. You know, at the at the end of
• 15:20
  the card that they all received, it said, you know, exchange
• 15:23
  contacts only if you felt a vibe, right?
• 15:26
  So it, that was that was the approach.
• 15:28
  The approach was to come into the space and do not like, those
• 15:31
  were like the bad words. The the forbidden words were
• 15:34
  what do you do? And I walked around and made
• 15:37
  sure that that conversation wasn't happening.
• 15:39
  But if it did happen naturally, that was also OK, right.
• 15:44
  So the point was, you know, to try to delay that question
• 15:48
  because in DC, unfortunately, and I know this is bigger than
• 15:52
  DC, but like, what do you do Becomes like the first thing
• 15:55
  that rolls out of people's off of people's tongue.
• 15:57
  It's it's as soon as you walk up to them, what do you do?
• 15:59
  What's your name? So I wanted to delay that
• 16:02
  question so that people could feel comfortable, right.
• 16:04
  So we can create a space for like true authentic connection.
• 16:09
  So if it was delayed, that's fine.
• 16:10
  If it wasn't set at all, that's fine.
• 16:12
  It's it's it was more about like, let's have a let's see if
• 16:14
  we vibe. Yeah.
• 16:16
  So oh, I didn't know if I was if I was good that.
• 16:26
  Was the yeah, I love it because it is like the go to.
• 16:30
  I mean, I lived in New York for like a decade plus and that was
• 16:32
  always like the first question. And I remember I used to like
• 16:36
  intentionally not ask that question in my, in my, back in
• 16:41
  my dating days, everyone was like, you never even asked what
• 16:43
  I do. And I'm like, I don't know, can
• 16:44
  you like pay your bills? Are you good?
• 16:46
  OK, fine. And like, I don't really care.
• 16:49
  I want to know if you are outside of that.
• 16:50
  Like it doesn't matter to me and you are outside of that.
• 16:54
  Like, I just want to know if you are outside of that.
• 16:56
  And also for myself, it's like I am a whole other person outside
• 16:59
  of what I do for work. So I, I love that that was very
• 17:03
  intentional for you in general. And it's interesting because the
• 17:05
  questions that you asked were like, what is your comfort show?
• 17:09
  Like what like brings you joy, something like that.
• 17:11
  I mean, it's fun because if you are somebody who is nervous
• 17:15
  about networking or nervous about meeting new people, you
• 17:18
  get to talk about something that maybe almost like feels safe to
• 17:21
  you or like create safety for you or familiarity for you.
• 17:24
  So, you know, you know, so if that seems like where you're
• 17:28
  going, so then it's it's great because then people who are
• 17:32
  nervous are like, OK, well, I can like, go ahead and utilize
• 17:34
  this prompt. That's going to be a little bit
• 17:37
  closer to home. And the other thing is too, I'm
• 17:38
  sure people who are nervous or networking, they probably love
• 17:42
  the fact of knowing that they had questions to go off of
• 17:46
  versus having to be like, OK, what do I ask them?
• 17:48
  What do I do? They had it.
• 17:51
  How did that kind of go people were having?
• 17:53
  Did they know they were going to get questions before they came
• 17:55
  in or did they not know? OK, perfect talk about.
• 17:58
  That yeah, thank you for bringing that up.
• 18:00
  They did not know. They had no clue.
• 18:01
  All they knew in the marketing, it was like, this is a happy
• 18:04
  hour, but you won't be asking what do you do?
• 18:07
  So they had, I had no idea they showed up, you know, expecting
• 18:09
  whatever, but when they got there, they got their questions.
• 18:12
  And what's interesting is I saw some people like the ones who
• 18:15
  might be a little bit more reserved, they were referring to
• 18:17
  those props. They used it like, like their
• 18:19
  Bible. They were like, it was in their
• 18:21
  hands so tightly, like, you know, and it was just like, I'm
• 18:25
  going to refer back to this because I need talking prompts.
• 18:27
  And then and that goes back to like understanding learning
• 18:31
  styles and, and, and accessibility.
• 18:34
  It's all of those things are roped into here, everything that
• 18:36
  I've learned throughout my career, right?
• 18:37
  So understanding people and that we all don't show up to space is
• 18:40
  the same way. So while some people like clung
• 18:43
  to those prompts and held tightly to that, to that flyer,
• 18:46
  other people just kind of left it on the table and they were
• 18:48
  having their own, you know, authentic conversation starters,
• 18:52
  right? So I saw some people clinging to
• 18:54
  it, while others were able to just go off the cuff people who
• 18:57
  are a little bit more extroverted per SE, But it it
• 19:00
  was really cool to at least provide it because it people
• 19:04
  just didn't want to have to come up with things on their own.
• 19:08
  And I think that's what makes this event so unique is it was
• 19:10
  we were skipping the the awkward small talk and we were getting
• 19:14
  too deep real questions that that were almost packaged in a
• 19:19
  way that could, you know, be follow up questions, right, Like
• 19:21
  you can more questions can that can be conformed from the
• 19:25
  questions that were on the props.
• 19:26
  So it was really interesting to see that approach.
• 19:31
  And I bet also because you said like the different kinds of
• 19:34
  learning styles, which I, I definitely, that was like a Ding
• 19:37
  in my head when you said that. And from I'm sure your
• 19:39
  background on like education and to bring into this, even for
• 19:43
  whenever I'm coaching, I'm always thinking about like
• 19:45
  everyone has different learning styles.
• 19:47
  Everyone has different backgrounds, Everyone has
• 19:49
  different levels of will create safety for them.
• 19:51
  And so even I have a lot of clients who are first or second
• 19:55
  generation to the United States. I have women, I have women of
• 20:00
  color. And there's a lot of times there
• 20:02
  is like this nervousness of being seen or maybe it's just
• 20:05
  wasn't the norm to go ahead and network and put yourself out
• 20:08
  there in such a vulnerable space.
• 20:11
  And so for us, a lot of the time it is creating a strategic plan
• 20:14
  of like, OK, like what will create safety for you?
• 20:16
  Is it having a routine before you get there?
• 20:18
  Is it having a certain set of questions that you have?
• 20:21
  Is it bringing a buddy that's going to be able to be there?
• 20:23
  Is it setting up some networking chats in advance before you go
• 20:26
  there by introducing? Seeing yourself as some people
• 20:28
  on LinkedIn. So when you get there, you have
• 20:30
  like some people that you know, like always create like the plan
• 20:32
  of attack. And so just understanding where
• 20:35
  people are AT and being able to help them that we don't all have
• 20:38
  to be like a quote UN quote textbook extrovert to make it
• 20:41
  happen. And so I really appreciate that
• 20:43
  you set that. Thank you.
• 20:45
  Yeah, that's exactly it. It's, it's so funny because I
• 20:48
  could see the nerves on some people's face, the people who,
• 20:51
  you know, are a little bit more recluse, right?
• 20:53
  Like they came alone and then this was new for them.
• 20:55
  They're like, hey, is this the after five event?
• 20:57
  And I'm like, yes, you're here. And we made them feel safe
• 21:00
  immediately, right? Like I connected them to other
• 21:03
  folks and I gave them the talking prompt.
• 21:04
  So it is about creating a space of warmth and understanding
• 21:08
  different people's styles for sure.
• 21:11
  Yeah, I love it. I love it.
• 21:12
  And I think that the thing that you had said is really important
• 21:14
  was that there you removed the pressure.
• 21:18
  And so if you didn't feel like you vibed with somebody, there
• 21:22
  is no pressure for you to have to connect with them or build a
• 21:25
  relationship with them. And I actually had a client, I
• 21:28
  think it was like a week or two ago, she was going to an event
• 21:31
  and we had done all the prep. We were like, OK, pick out what
• 21:35
  speakers you want to go see. Pick out what booths you want to
• 21:38
  attend to reach out to some people in advance that are
• 21:40
  attending that you want to meet. And like, here's some set
• 21:42
  questions. And when she was there, she was
• 21:43
  like, she, I was glad she had a plan, but she was definitely
• 21:46
  nervous. And then she said to herself,
• 21:47
  like, oh, I've already done so much by showing up here.
• 21:51
  Like, I'm not going to add pressure to myself that I have
• 21:53
  to meet XY and Z number of people, right?
• 21:56
  It's OK. And then she said once she had
• 21:58
  lifted that and said that to herself, then she was actually
• 22:01
  more open to meeting people because she didn't feel the
• 22:03
  pressure of having to get it. So I love that you said that it
• 22:06
  links. That and that's, that's exactly
• 22:07
  why the marketing was packaged that way.
• 22:09
  I wanted people to know this is not going to be a stuffy space.
• 22:12
  Like, yeah, you'll get a name tag.
• 22:13
  We're all going to have name tags on.
• 22:15
  But this is like a space where we all are just going to come in
• 22:18
  and just release all that baggage and just have genuine
• 22:21
  conversations. And that's how it felt.
• 22:23
  It really felt like buddies hanging out.
• 22:25
  Yeah, amazing. So before I go ahead and like
• 22:28
  recap our takeaways, is there anything else that you want to
• 22:32
  share that you want to impart on us?
• 22:36
  Yes, yeah. I, I also want to impart that
• 22:40
  going back to the way Gen. Z approaches networking is, I
• 22:43
  think a lot of people assumed, assume that networking has to go
• 22:47
  up. Like networking up is, is what
• 22:48
  we need to be doing. I need to connect with senior
• 22:51
  executives, seniors, people who could get me a job.
• 22:54
  But there's this new thing that Gen.
• 22:55
  Z is doing where it's called networking horizontally,
• 22:58
  networking across, networking with peers, people in the same
• 23:01
  age group as you, people who might be going through the same
• 23:04
  work chaos, identity struggles, right?
• 23:07
  Because those people can also create safety for you.
• 23:10
  They can also create community for you and your industry.
• 23:13
  And they also can get you jobs, right?
• 23:15
  Like I think we're losing sight that our friends can get U.S.
• 23:18
  jobs, not just knowing higher ups is going to get you your
• 23:21
  next job, right? And, and not only that, you
• 23:25
  know, your friend may be working at an organization where you can
• 23:27
  like you can talk to them. Is, is this a good organization?
• 23:31
  Should I work there? Right?
• 23:32
  Like you can get some Intel before you apply for that job.
• 23:35
  So it's, it's, it's about building connections and, and
• 23:38
  community across and not only up so that you have people around
• 23:42
  you have a support system, you find your tribe, right?
• 23:45
  And, and networking can, can be that way.
• 23:48
  It doesn't have to be who, you know, that is higher up, older,
• 23:51
  you know, more seasoned networking across is a huge
• 23:54
  thing. And I just want everybody to to
• 23:56
  realize that and and to approach networking in a way where we
• 24:00
  want to build friendships first. And that's what I said to
• 24:02
  everyone. I was like, we're here to build
• 24:03
  connection and friendship first and a network second, right?
• 24:07
  So I think if, if there's one take any major take away from
• 24:11
  today's episode, I want everyone to understand that, you know,
• 24:14
  community and connection is on the rise.
• 24:16
  And that is what this generation needs is what other generations
• 24:19
  need, right? Like, we're not realizing as
• 24:21
  millennials that we need it to, and Gen.
• 24:24
  Z is just the first person to call it out, the first people to
• 24:26
  say it. So I think we should all take
• 24:29
  note. And I think that, you know,
• 24:31
  there's power in community and having people to call your
• 24:35
  friends and people who can do you favors, right?
• 24:37
  So that people in your network. But this was a really, really
• 24:41
  cool experience. And I'm going to definitely be
• 24:43
  hosting additional events. So amazing, amazing, amazing.
• 24:47
  So we'll definitely share in the show notes, Erica, ways to
• 24:50
  connect with you so people can look out for future events as
• 24:52
  well. And I think, yeah, it makes
• 24:56
  complete sense. Connection to community is super
• 24:58
  important. And y'all like I'm going to say
• 25:00
  it, but everybody wants to have connection to community, but
• 25:04
  nobody wants to put the work in. OK, You can't get nobody wants
• 25:08
  to put the work in. You can say I want connection in
• 25:10
  community and then you don't show up and put the work in.
• 25:12
  It is uncomfortable. Yeah, but they don't.
• 25:16
  Friends don't disappear, you know, So it's like you have to
• 25:19
  put yourself out there in some way, shape or form.
• 25:21
  And so know that no matter where you're coming from, it may feel
• 25:26
  a little bit uncomfortable, but like, it does take effort and
• 25:29
  energy to build those things. And so just know when that does
• 25:31
  come up, it's OK. That's normal.
• 25:33
  You're a human being. But also it, it's going to help
• 25:36
  you flourish into the day in order to have a support system
• 25:38
  versus going it alone. And that's just how it goes.
• 25:41
  We're human beings. We want to be in groups.
• 25:44
  And so being able to figure that out.
• 25:46
  So I would say look out for Erica because clearly she's
• 25:49
  doing it also with intention. We know she's aware of maybe
• 25:53
  like the thoughts that may come up and how to create with
• 25:55
  safety. And just think about that too.
• 25:57
  It's like for someone who is thinking just 'cause I just
• 25:59
  popped in my head, but somebody's thinking like, why
• 26:01
  don't, like you said, I don't want to be friends with people
• 26:03
  from work or I don't want to be friends with these people at
• 26:04
  this event. Well, then you're probably at
• 26:06
  the wrong place. You're in the wrong place.
• 26:08
  Yeah, yeah. Sorry, you're on the place.
• 26:11
  You're at the wrong place. Every space isn't for you,
• 26:14
  right, Right. And I think that's OK to name,
• 26:17
  right? So if you're not someone who
• 26:18
  wants to make friendships in the in the same industry or the
• 26:21
  field or at your workplace, that's OK to say and and you can
• 26:25
  remove yourself from that space. But this is for people who want
• 26:29
  community in their career. And I think it's important to
• 26:31
  abuse community in your career if we're going to continue to
• 26:34
  enjoy it and right, because we're not shunning people from,
• 26:37
  you know, climbing ladders or wanting to here first, right?
• 26:41
  Career is important. It's the way we make a living.
• 26:43
  It's it's also a part of our purpose.
• 26:45
  So why not create a little bit more of a robust experience in
• 26:48
  our career by having community like, you know, weaved in there
• 26:51
  somehow? Definitely.
• 26:54
  And what I can say is for a good amount of time of my career, it
• 26:58
  was success for survival. Success for me was survival and
• 27:02
  safety to create stability for myself.
• 27:03
  And it was like push, push, push through, put myself in spaces
• 27:07
  that maybe I didn't feel the most comfortable in because I
• 27:08
  wanted to create this sense of safety for myself.
• 27:11
  But the thing that I realized was not for me personally
• 27:13
  doesn't mean it's for everybody. For me personally, it didn't
• 27:16
  feel like as fruitful because I didn't feel like I identified
• 27:19
  that strongly with the community that I was in at times.
• 27:22
  And so I ended up like I would pivot and I would do something
• 27:25
  new to find better alignment. And so even people that I coach
• 27:28
  right now, a lot of the times they're pivoting because they
• 27:31
  don't feel like the current space that they're in is in
• 27:33
  alignment with their values and who they are.
• 27:35
  Yep, that's exactly it, yeah. Which is what you know, which is
• 27:39
  why you're doing it. Yeah, and we know that, you
• 27:41
  know, when people leave jobs, it's probably because of people.
• 27:44
  People lead people, people join people.
• 27:46
  It's really never the organization.
• 27:48
  It's, it's the people in it. So and that's exactly to your
• 27:52
  point. You need to find community and
• 27:54
  align values. I love it.
• 27:56
  I love it. I love it.
• 27:57
  I love it. OK, so to wrap this up for those
• 28:00
  of you, because there were so many good strategies in here, go
• 28:03
  beyond the question of what do you do?
• 28:05
  Challenge yourself outside of asking that being the first
• 28:09
  question and think of something else you can potentially ask
• 28:11
  someone because we are more than just that.
• 28:13
  So Erica dropped some awesome questions within and sprinkled
• 28:17
  out throughout this episode. Go back and listen to those.
• 28:19
  Maybe challenge yourself to think of something you can ask
• 28:21
  whether it's like a comfort show, What is it?
• 28:23
  What do you enjoy outside of work?
• 28:24
  What's the last thing you've travelled and done?
• 28:27
  What are you looking forward to this weekend?
• 28:28
  Just new things. And then for this after 5
• 28:31
  experiment, kind of taking away some of the the insights from
• 28:34
  there, right, of how you can reimagine networking, how
• 28:37
  networking is not just about something transactional.
• 28:39
  It's about building relationships, creating new
• 28:42
  friendships, creating new connections and talking to
• 28:45
  people you want to talk to and not just trying to force it for
• 28:49
  the sake of forcing it. And that you only have to
• 28:51
  connect with someone you want to connect with.
• 28:53
  And that Gen. Z is just saying what we wish we
• 28:55
  could say so many years ago about wanting and to really meet
• 29:00
  people for who they are and not just do things transactionally.
• 29:04
  And that you don't only have to network up, network across.
• 29:07
  I think that's totally important, just to see what's
• 29:09
  possible, to see what it's out there.
• 29:11
  And then overall, just being able to really re evaluate how
• 29:15
  you want to build relationships for yourself in general.
• 29:18
  So I think these were such amazing takeaways.
• 29:20
  Erica, I really, really appreciate you so much for
• 29:24
  reaching out, networking with me, connecting in order for us
• 29:30
  to have this happen. And I can't wait for all of your
• 29:34
  future events and for all those amazing people you're going to
• 29:37
  help. And it does not matter, y'all.
• 29:38
  I'm going to reiterate it. Whether you're a Gen.
• 29:40
  Z or not, all of these things are relevant to you.
• 29:44
  And so that's the most important thing.
• 29:46
  So thank you so much, Erica. I really, really appreciate you.
• 29:49
  Thank you, Danny. All of this is like such
• 29:52
  fruitful conversation. I just want to talk more but I
• 29:54
  know we can. We'll, we'll talk more off of
• 29:57
  this, don't worry. All right, Amazing.
• 30:01
  Well, thank you. Thank you.
• 30:03
  So those of you who are listening, I will be here again
• 30:05
  next week. And if there's anything else you
• 30:06
  have questions when it comes to any of these amazing things,
• 30:08
  one, check out the show notes for ways to connect with Erica
• 30:11
  because she is awesome and so many levels.
• 30:14
  And if you're looking For more information on me, my e-mail
• 30:17
  list is within the show notes as well.
• 30:18
  And you can also connect with me on my website at danitan.com.
• 30:21
  That's DANITA. n.com and I will catch you next.