Network Building - The St. Jude Rule

Summary

---

Manager Tools Podcast Summary

Episode: Network Building - The St. Jude Rule
Date: April 13, 2026
Hosts: Mark & Sarah

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers on "The St. Jude Rule"—an actionable guide for building a meaningful professional network by supporting colleagues during times of job loss. Mark and Sarah use the story of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, as a metaphor, arguing that true leaders and colleagues step up when others shy away. The hosts break down the emotional reality of job loss, practical steps for supporting those laid off, and explain how these acts become the foundation for authentic network building.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why "The St. Jude Rule"? (02:05–04:37)

• St. Jude as Inspiration

  • St. Jude chose to help those who needed it most, despite being overlooked due to his name’s similarity to Judas Iscariot.
  • Quote [03:40]:
    “Please, folks, go where others won’t go, even if it makes you uncomfortable, because as the saying goes, there but for the grace of God go I.” —Mark

• Context of Job Loss

  • The emotional pain of job loss is highlighted: isolation, fear, shame.
  • Mark shares his personal experience of being fired and the sting of silence from former colleagues ([05:05–07:00]).
  • Quote [06:57]:
    “Not one of my colleagues, not one of my friends... reached out to me. Not one. And I remember thinking, to heck with you guys, I’m going to make something of myself.” —Mark

2. The Reality of Job Loss & Emotional Fallout (08:00–12:48)

• Preparation & Financial Advice

  • Advises everyone to save 9-12 months of salary because “finances rule” in a volatile job market.
  • Touches on increased job uncertainty due to AI and other market changes.

• The Dark Secret: Social Avoidance

  • Even close friends often don’t reach out, usually out of discomfort or not knowing what to do([09:11–10:24]).
  • Quote [09:11]:
    “Too many colleagues and even friends don’t call you. They don’t. They don’t offer to help... perhaps darkest of all: ‘I want to use my network for me.’” —Mark

3. How to Help – Practical Steps (12:48–37:24)

A. Make Contact & Show Support (13:49–18:27)

• Low Bar, High Impact

  • The simplest thing—call, text, or email. Acknowledge the situation and offer your support, even if you don’t know what to do.
  • Quote [13:49]:
    “Call them and say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry about what happened. I’ve been thinking about you. What can I do for you?’” —Mark
  • People are often less interested in material help than knowing someone cares.

• The Emotional Spiral

  • No matter how rational the circumstances, laid-off employees internalize feelings of professional, family, and personal failure ([17:05–23:06]).
  • Quote [22:27]:
    “It doesn’t matter one iota that these people shouldn’t feel this way... whether or not they know it’s deserved, it doesn’t change how people feel. And they feel a failure.” —Sarah

B. Stay In Touch—Don’t Disappear (28:19–29:50)

• Follow-Up is Key
  • Set regular check-ins—every 10–15 days. Simple “thinking of you” messages make a difference, especially after repeated rejections.
  • Stay with them until their search is over.
  • Quote [28:43]:
    “Don’t just throw them a bone and then abandon them... be the one person that stays with them.” —Mark

C. Offer Resume Help (29:50–31:24)

• You Don’t Need to Be an Expert
  • Listen to or share Manager Tools’ resume guidance and help review friends’ resumes.
  • Licensees can share show notes and resume workbooks for free to individuals in need.

D. Open Your Network (31:24–35:06)

• The Multiplying Power of Referral

  • Opening just your small network (averaged at 25 meaningful contacts) vastly increases the colleague’s reach.
  • “If you ask your 25 friends and they each have 25, that’s 625 people potentially helping.” —Mark [32:11]
  • Send a clear, short email introducing the job-seeker, vouch for them, and ask your contacts to spend five minutes assessing/referring them.

• Vouching is Essential

  • Advocate honestly and enthusiastically, making it easier for your network to consider the candidate.
  • Quote [35:06]:
    “Vouch for them... put some thought into what you’re going to say about how good this person is. You want people to do that for you.” —Mark

E. Practice Interviewing (35:06–37:32)

• Offer to conduct mock interviews; even 30 minutes helps.
• Share interview resources, licenses, or even just “buy” someone access during their search.

4. Why This Is True Network Building (37:50–39:48)

• Long-Term Network Value

  • Those you help during low points become deeply loyal members of your network.
  • When you aid someone facing job loss, you build trust and reputation that lasts throughout your career.
  • Quote [38:43]:
    “People who are helped in this way when they need it most, don’t forget, they do not forget you.” —Sarah

• Recap of Actions

  • Reach out right away
  • Continue checking in
  • Offer tangible help (resume, interview practice, network introductions)
  • Model generosity; build the culture you want to see in your organization

• Quote [39:16]:
  “Take the high road. And lucky for you, there’s less traffic up there and they’ll remember your efforts.” —Mark

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:37] Sarah: “If you’ve never had to go through this yourself... we definitely don’t recommend it. It’s like a one-star review—do not do.”
• [26:26] Sarah: “Live the relationship you’ve always said you had. That’s a hall-of-fame right there.”
• [27:39] Mark: “Culture is behavior, folks.”
• [31:37] Sarah: “It’s one of the most misunderstood principles of building a network of relationships.”
• [38:43] Sarah: “You’re going to have created a permanent member of your network... People who are helped in this way... don’t forget you.”
• [39:16] Mark: “Take the high road. And lucky for you, there’s less traffic up there and they’ll remember your efforts.”

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:05–04:37: Why St. Jude? The roots of the rule
• 05:05–07:00: Mark’s story of being fired and feeling abandoned by colleagues
• 09:11–10:24: Why colleagues don’t reach out
• 13:49–14:49: The first, simple step—all it takes to connect
• 17:05–23:06: The triple impact of job loss—professional, family, and personal failure
• 28:19–29:50: Staying in touch and the value of regular check-ins
• 31:24–35:06: How (and why) to share your network
• 37:50–39:48: The real effect: lasting network bonds and a culture of giving

---

Actionable Takeaways

• Don’t wait for the “perfect” thing to offer—simple support matters most.
• Stay in touch throughout their job search.
• Offer practical help: resume reviews, network referrals, mock interviews.
• Vouch for colleagues sincerely and help expand their reach.
• Opening your network isn’t just generous—it’s the fundamental skill of network building.
• Keep your word and build the culture you want—by action, not just intention.

---

Closing Thought

Help isn’t about having a job to offer; it’s about showing up when others won’t. Become someone’s St. Jude—and build the kind of network that truly matters.

---

End of Summary

Transcript

[Sarah]

Welcome to Manager Tools.

[Mark]

This is Sarah and I'm Mark.

[Sarah]

Today's podcast network, the St. Jude Rule, part one of one.

[Mark]

As always, folks, our content has been created by humans Me. And now certified by Proudly Human. The questions this guest answers are, how can I build my network in a downturn? How should I respond to colleagues who are laid off? What can I do for colleagues who are job hunting?

[Sarah]

If you want answers to these questions and more, keep listening. Great. Leadership is not intuitive. It's learned and it's practiced. The mConference introduces you to other experts leading in their field. Nine great speakers, two full days of networking, gaining new insights from industry leaders, and unforgettable experiences that you're going to want to do again next year. Start planning for this year's mConference, because seats are limited. [e-mail] mConference all right, folks, today we are here to talk about job loss. Not a. Not a pretty topic, but one that's impacting a lot of individuals and continue

[Mark]

to impact people for probably the next couple of years.

[Sarah]

That's absolutely it. And if you're out there and you've never been impacted by losing a job or getting fired or getting laid off, lucky you. But unfortunately, more people who go through it wish more people who hadn't gone through it did a better job of helping. And when that happens, when you're the person that wants help and help seemingly just isn't there, it's really easy to feel lonely and afraid. And today's podcast, St. Jude, the Patron saint of lost causes, tells us what to do for those who are going through hard times. So that's what we're here to talk about today.

[Mark]

Yeah. So our outline is really simple. We have three points. First of all, why St. Jude? We don't mean to get biblical, particularly. Secondly, we're going to talk in detail about how you can help. And the last part, why is this actually network building? Because that's the title of the show. Right, network building, the St. Jude Rule.

[Sarah]

Absolutely. Okay, so we're going to start with the why St. Jude. And, Mark, since you wrote this podcast, do you want to cover the beginning?

[Mark]

Sure, I'd love that. So, folks, St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. Now, why is that? You'd be surprised. The world was not that much different 2,000 years ago than it is today, because the name Jude was very close to Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Jude ended up being judged as maybe being like Judas. So it was so much so that Jude was rarely turned to, even though he's one of the disciples in the history of humankind to be called on for help or assistance in times of difficulty. It is believed, based on the record, the historical record, that Jude became very convicted about helping those in challenging situations because normal people, I use normal loosely, didn't call on him because maybe he was Judas, maybe he was the guy that betrayed Jesus. And frankly, he ended up thinking, well, I have to go serve those people who are in most in need, who would take anybody who would help them no matter what. And so when people get laid off, when people get fired, when people get furloughed, we'll talk more about how they feel. It's happened to me. I got fired. And we want to urge you in this cast to think and feel like St. Jude when those around you suffer a career setback. Please, folks, go where others won't go, even if it makes you uncomfortable, because as the saying goes, there but for the grace of God go I Mm.

[Sarah]

Now folks, if you've ever lost a job, maybe you were fired or you were laid off, or you just happened to leave college or university at a really, really bad time in the job market, whatever that reason was, if you've been in this situation before, you know what it's like now, if you haven't gone through it personally, we can assure you we definitely don't recommend it. It's like a one star review, do not do.

[Mark]

Right. And can I just share my experience?

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Mark]

I got fired from a company. I didn't trust the boss, so I should have seen it was coming, but I didn't because I was what, 20, I don't know, 27, 28 and no, I guess 30. And I was amazed that the people who were my friends in a small company, 10, 12 employees, not one of them reached out to me. Now, admittedly, this is before email, but they all had my home phone number. Nobody called me. Now, I was lucky. Thanks to the army, thanks to West Point and so on, I had gotten over the firing before I got home. In fact, when I got home that day, my wife at the time was nursing our third child. He had just been born. And stupidly, because I had a good relationship with my boss, even though I knew I shouldn't trust him. We had named him after my boss who had just fired me. But I was driving home. It's a 10 minute drive, 15 minute drive, maximum home. I realized after deciding upon graduation from the academy and serving the army and so on, that was not my job, which is a Big insight for me. I got home and I walked into the bedroom at 8:30 in the morning, and my wife said, what are you doing home? And I said, I got fired. And the look of panic on her face was just amazing. She's like, what are we going to do? And I made the mistake of taking that very literally. And I said, well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to get a cup of coffee. She did not like that answer. But I was already over the trauma.

[Sarah]

You realized you experienced it.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'm going to be fine. But not one of my colleagues, not one of my friends in the small town we lived in reached out to me. Not one. And I remember thinking, to heck with you guys, I'm going to make something of myself. And in fact, when I went back, probably, oh, 18 years later, somebody asked me where I lived and I said, pebble Beach. And they said, isn't that expensive? I said, yes, but now I can afford it, whereas when I worked here, I couldn't. And I probably shouldn't have said that. It was probably braggadocious a little bit. But I had very little faith or trust or hope in the people that had treated me so poorly. We'd worked together for a couple of years, and I remember that feeling very clearly. I was very lucky to have been instilled with grit and determination and so on, and faith in myself and so on. But I'll never forget that. And I hope nobody else ever has to go through it. But they will.

[Sarah]

Of course, but they will. And folks, again, if you've never had to go through this yourself, even if you think you're as safe as safe can be, we would recommend that you still listen to our guidance on preparing for getting laid off. It's all about the fact that finances rule. You may have heard us say before, you should have nine months, I think it is, of salary we recommend at this point in the bank, just in case, I don't know, Covid, something happens that prevents you getting employed. It could happen. You want to be in that situation where you can say in response, I'm going to grab a coffee because you know that you're safe enough for a few months while you patch this up. Well, you figure this out now. What I will also say, the. The darker part of me will also say, today with AI, the job uncertainty that it is driving among so many people would do us all well to protect ourselves from having to make a job, career, or decision based on any immediate financial need. Who knows where we're going to be in a few months. So we should all have, no matter how safe the job, a good cushion just in case.

[Mark]

And for those of you who haven't had it happen to you yet, here's a dark secret of those who have been through it. But maybe they won't tell you this. Too many colleagues and even friends don't call you. They don't. They don't offer to help. Many would say they have said it to me, Mark, I don't know how, I don't know what I could do, or I'm not hiring right now, or I don't have a good network lesson, build your network. Or perhaps darkest of all in terms of these excuses, I want to use my network for me, which is just dark in a way that I just want to scold people. But okay. I will tell you though, having been in the business of coaching people and thinking about employment and helping people succeed in their careers, I also think it's a transference of the fear and shame that they assume the other person is having and they don't want to be reminded they might be next.

[Sarah]

Yeah, that's the thing. None of us are that far from it. But folks, as you hear heard us say before and will hear us say again, what were we put on earth to do if not help one another through? And thus St. Jude is our muse for this guidance because he took on lost causes. Not that you, if you're currently looking for a job, are a lost cause, folks, but no, no, the idea here being we want you to be the person who's willing to go where others weren't. And that's kind of what this is about. Now, St. Jude did so because it was hard and because others wouldn't go there. And too many of us who've not been touched by a challenge such as losing our job avoid helping other people through, through this number of, as Mark called them, excuses. This, this list of reasons that, that justify not helping a person in need.

[Mark]

Yeah. Now I'll also mention this in terms of a historical lesson. Some of our longtime listeners may recall that in 2013, 13 years ago, lucky 13, no offense to Taylor Swift, we published our guidance on how to help someone who has been laid off. That guidance is still totally valid. We believe, though, that in 2026, layoffs has continued to climb and I would argue beyond just what you read in the paper, that suggests that AI is what is causing that. And I believe they'll continue to climb. And at the same time, I would argue, we would argue, I think at manager tools that career mobility skills have declined. Some of that is fear, uncertainty, doubt, whatever. We should have been more strident in the last 13 years, and we weren't, and we apologize for that. The fact is, everyone who got laid off had a few friends who followed this guidance. If they had, layoffs wouldn't be so feared. But the fact is, when your friends get laid off, when your colleagues get laid off, when they get fired and so on, too few people reach out. And that makes it much harder for that person. And again, they're for the grace of God. Go you.

[Sarah]

Yeah. And that's the thing, folks. We. We understand that if you're the one who hasn't reached out in the past, it's because of a really good reason. And the reason might even have been, I don't know what to do. I don't even think I can be helpful right now. And you're not wrong, but hopefully we've convinced you by now that even if you have nothing to contribute, you ought to try and help. So how can you do that? Well, folks, the help needed by people who are unemployed, it's not really what you think it is. Now, as we've said before, too many of us think, well, I have to find them a job, and I don't have a job. I'm not hiring. And because of that, that stops us from making the offer. But that's not so. You don't need to have an active job that you could hire them for to reach out. There's so much more, so much more you can do first, folks.

[Mark]

You can call or text or email. It takes nothing more than that. And by the way, as a predecessor to that, when you find out, get their phone number or find out their personal email address, okay? Even if you don't know what you can do next or how you could help, you can do the first thing and connect with them, call them and say, hey, I'm sorry about what happened. I've been thinking about you. That may be the most important line in this. What can I do for you? It's okay to say, I've never done this. I don't know how this works. But I'm here, I'm showing up. What can I do? Even if they ask you for something you can't do, just say, well, I can't do that. I'm not hiring right now. You can still say, but I'm here for you. At the first level, that's what they need. Level one, that's what they need. Some people who show up and say, I'm here for you.

[Sarah]

Yeah. Now, I think some of our licensees will be aware of the fact that occasionally we feature an individual in the licensee community who is searching for a new role. It's not weekly, but every time a licensee, and that includes you, if you're looking for a job, writes us and says, hey, I'd like to be featured in Things. We will feature you and your job search and things. Now, Today isn't about those people. It's about how you can help the you's that aren't looking for a job right now. The way you can help is when you see someone else's job search featured in Things. We think. We think connect with that person on LinkedIn. Just connect with that individual. Send them. You don't have to go so far as to send them a note, just grow their audience. Send them a text message, even just saying something simple like thinking about you. Sorry about what happened. Let me know if I can help or send an email. Right. Sorry about your situation. I'm going to stay in touch. If I can do anything, please ask. And folks, even that simple outreach, even though you're not offering anything really other than hey, I'm here, if I can do something, let me know. That by itself is incredibly powerful. Losing a job makes even the best of us feel a failure. First off, an individual who has lost their position, their, their, their job feels a professional failure. Even when everyone around them, all of their past colleagues, agree that they're shocked that as an individual, you, you with a satisfactory performance were caught up in a layoff. And folks, layoffs are clumsy, ugly organizational things. They often catch people whose performance wasn't deserving of it. But that doesn't mean that the individual who's been laid off doesn't feel as though, regardless of whether it's true, they somehow, their performance somehow contributed to this organizational choice.

[Mark]

You know, it's funny, sir, you use that word ugly. And a lot of times people write me and say, I'm surprised you said this or that or the other thing. I think they'll write us and say, I think ugly. For a corporate system. Yeah, it's ugly. It's clumsy. You could be a top performer and get laid off. You're in the wrong division at the wrong time. You've got a boss who has no political friends. You're in a situation where the corporate entity that you're a part of, the sub entity, isn't well regarded or isn't meeting its targets, whatever it might be. And People are shocked. And if you're thinking right now, folks, that the people who get laid off feel differently than people who were fired, think again. They don't. What they think about is I don't have a job. They feel like they had a responsibility to keep their job. Even though this is at forces, forces that are being driven by stuff at a much higher level than them, they still feel responsible. Should they? Probably not. Do they? Yes. And what I would say is not only do they feel a professional failure, they feel a family failure as well.

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Mark]

So many families now are living on two incomes and probably even though most of us know better, and if you're a listener by now, you definitely know better, they're worried about not having enough money saved. Sarah mentioned about our guidance about having, I think when we first delivered that career tools guidance, we, we said six months, but now we say nine to 12. Yeah. And the reason we changed the guidance is because layoffs are more frequent. As I said before, in the 1960s there were no layoffs because layoffs couldn't even be considered. It was simply evil beyond consideration. Nobody laid anybody off and they went bankrupt.

[Sarah]

Yeah, they went bankrupt before they laid people off.

[Mark]

Yes, exactly. And then suddenly some people did some layoffs in the 70s and discovered, oh, we can do it. In fact, in many cases, the market responded favorably. I don't mean to make this too big of a political or sociological statement, but that shows you the soullessness of the public capital markets that they would reward a layoff. And it happens all the time. Obviously when you don't have enough money saved, you start worrying about bills and the kids activities which cost more and more money these days. And we worry about mortgages. What happens to a family who gets behind on a mortgage? Actually it's softer than it used to be, but it's still non trivial. And folks, those that are hit hard, who were struggling for whatever reason, maybe they had a bankruptcy in their past, whatever folks, you may think it won't happen to you, but the people who get laid off or fired, they're worried about being homeless. Homeless. That's how thin the social safety net is in many places in the world. And it may shock you, but in my experience, it's true. I've Talked to probably 100 people in the last 20 years in our community who have lost their job, decided to take an entry level job just to pay the bills to stave off homelessness. They lost their house, they're renting, they've got two kids and they're in a One bedroom apartment because they can afford it and it's in the worst part of town, but they're able to get by. And then suddenly their hours are cut at Starbucks. No offense to Starbucks. I honor them for finding roles for these people or at a fast food place or at a retail store. And their hours are cut because that's how those companies in many cases stay profitable, by understaffing at times. Even though you might be in a customer and go in and say, cash, there needs to be more people here. Okay. But the company has to stay in business. And every outlet, every store, every location has to stay reasonably profitable. Otherwise they're not some magic dollop of profit that the corporate level can just throw on top of a bunch of unprofitable facilities and magically make Wall street happy. And if it doesn't happen to you, how could you possibly not do the minimum and reach out to say, I'm thinking about you, I believe in you, I care about you. If there's something I can do, even if you don't know what it is you can do, tell them that you want to help them and then figure it out later when they actually ask for help.

[Sarah]

Yeah. And folks, and then that's not the extent of how badly people feel, how much of failure they feel. It's not just they feel a professional failure. They feel like they've failed in their family responsibilities. But these individuals also feel like a personal failure.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

We get down on ourselves questioning how good we really are.

[Mark]

Yes. Yes.

[Sarah]

Questioning our dreams of a stable retirement. At some point in time, they become ashamed when they have to take on those what some would call menial jobs. Working at Starbucks, working at Trader Joe's to pay bills and stave off bankruptcy. And it doesn't matter one iota that these people shouldn't feel this way, should it? Doesn't matter they feel this way. Whether or not you think it's deserved, whether or not they know it's deserved, it doesn't change how people feel. And they feel a failure.

[Mark]

Yeah. And what does that mean for them? Those of us who have had that happen to us, we all too often feel a lack of energy to attack our own job search. We think about creating our resume, and we don't. On a given day, our first or second day after getting fired, because it reminds us. Having to create a resume reminds us of our shame and our embarrassment. Professionals who have lost their jobs lose for a time a great deal of our personal drive and energy because we're full of negative thoughts and yes, even self loathing. I thought I was a provider, I thought I was a professional. I thought I was doing well. And in fact, they might have been doing well. And then they get caught up in a layoff and now all of the assumptions they had about themselves are in question.

[Sarah]

So folks, don't worry that there's nothing more you think you can do than just reach out and say, hi, if you need help, let me know. I'm thinking about you. That alone is is plenty. Many of an individual's former colleagues, someone who's been laid off to Mark's story earlier in this podcast, are going to do absolutely nothing.

[Mark]

Nothing at all.

[Sarah]

Not even reach out, not say, hey, I'm thinking about you, not hey, let me know if I can do something. They're not going to do a single thing for all of the reasons that we've already mentioned.

[Mark]

Can I say something? If you're a manager and somebody on your team gets laid off, even though you fought for them and you couldn't save them, why wouldn't you tell each one, hey, by the way, guys, here's Joe's cell number or here's his personal email address. I would ask you all there, with the grace of God, go, you send him a message and text me or teams me, or slack me or, or email me and let me know you've reached out. Okay? Let's be the kind of place that cares for people, actually cares about people, rather than says we care about people, but then when people are separated from us, we don't behave as if we care about people. Because if you cared about them, you would call, you would text, you would email. If you don't call, you don't text, you don't email, then the assumption is you don't care. And I don't suspect there are that many people in this community who actually don't care. So now all we need to do is give energy to that caring and actually behave like you care.

[Sarah]

Yeah. And I mean, this is a manager's rules podcast, right? So the folks that are listening to this, I would assume, are doing one on ones with their folks. And folks, if the amount you care about the relationship you have with your individuals in your one on ones ends the moment they're no longer a part of your team. That wasn't a relationship at all. If that's the confines of what you're willing to do to have a good relationship, it was a fictitiously good relationship designed to get the results that you wanted at the time that you wanted them. So what we're essentially saying here is just live the relationship you've always said you had with your folks.

[Mark]

Live the relationship you've always said you had. That's a hall of fame right there. That's a good one.

[Sarah]

Well, the truth of it is, just hearing from someone who's willing to break that barrier of shame and uncertainty makes a person who's been laid off or fired or whatever the case may be feel better. It feels like someone cares about me. And it probably surprises you that they feel that they need to feel as though someone cares about them. But you can ask anyone who's been there. They need to be reminded that someone cares about them, because most people won't.

[Mark]

Yeah. And if you say privately you care about them and then you don't reach out, how do they know? Is it important in the universal scheme of things that you care? Or is it important that they know that you care? And with their self loathing, with their shame, with their embarrassment, with their fear about finances, is it important that you feel that way or is it important that you do something about it? Culture is behavior, folks.

[Sarah]

Your career is one of the most important things you will ever build. The guidance you follow, the habits you develop, the decisions you make, they matter. That's why at Manager Tools, we've never outsourced our content to an algorithm or a generator. Every episode you hear is researched, written and delivered by real people who've spent decades helping professionals navigate their careers, advance faster, and build something they're proud of. In a world where it's getting harder to know what was created by a human and what wasn't, we want you to know this one was purely human. Visit us at manager-tools.com to learn more.

[Mark]

So next after that first outreach. Look, folks, stay in touch. Don't just throw them a bone and then abandon them. How hard is it to put a reminder on your calendar or task Tracker for every 10 to 15 days to reach out and ask how it's going? Now, I know what you're thinking. Oh, but what if it's going to be a long search? It's not your search. You're still employed.

[Sarah]

Yeah, you've got the easy job, friend.

[Mark]

Yeah, exactly. Seriously, Come on. Hey, dude. Thinking about you. Anything I can do? Maybe there's not a lot you can do. But you know what? That may be the thing they need to hear. After they sent the 47th resume and got their 47th rejection, how hard is it to ask how it's going to check in about their progress? Come on, folks, be St. Jude here. Take on the uncomfortable things. Think about it this way. Isn't that what you would have wanted from your friends? If that's what you would have wanted from your friends, you can't deny it to your colleagues or friends. Do unto others what you would have done unto you. That's the golden rule. And one more thing I want to mention about staying in touch. Stay in touch until the search is over. Don't abandon them, stay with them. Be the one person that stays with them. And we'll tell you the benefit to you a little bit later.

[Sarah]

Another thing that you can do beyond the staying in touch piece is offering to review their resume. Now folks, we don't expect you to be perfect at reviewing resumes. You don't have to be if you don't know how to do it.

[Mark]

You don't have to be Wendy, you don't have to.

[Sarah]

Yeah, you don't have to be Wendy Lord. Exactly. All you need to do is review our guidance about creating a resume which is a hall of fame podcast and is linked to at the bottom of this podcast. And we probably, to be honest, have 30 more resume specific podcasts. Yeah, and all of them are free resources which you can use to St. Jude a friend. And you can also share the podcast with them for free. They can listen to them themselves, but you can reverse engineer it by listening to the podcast and then reviewing their resume on their behalf based on our guidance, if that's preferable.

[Mark]

And if you're a licensee, you can share the show notes for those casts with them. Please. We don't ask you to share it to 50 people, but one person, you can share it. It's called fair use and it's part of copyright law. And you can use your licensee included resume preparation workbook to review their resume. And look, you're still employed. Why not give them a career tools, a manager tools, or an executive tools license? They will appreciate your sensitivity to their cash position because believe me, in times of crisis, cash is king.

[Sarah]

And then folks, I mean, the top of our cast, we talked about networking. We also want to encourage you to open your network to them.

[Mark]

This is what so many people miss. Yeah, they miss it. Everybody misses this.

[Sarah]

It's one of the most misunderstood principles of building a network of relationships. When someone asks you for help or when you can assume they need it so they don't ask for it, they're really asking for help, not just from you, but from you and everyone else in your network. And when you ask your network they're supposed to know that you're asking for help not just from them, but from their network as well.

[Mark]

Yeah. Look, I'll give you some simple math that I was doing when I was writing this cast. We'd be willing to bet that a good guesstimate of the number of people in the average professional's network is everybody get their number in their head. I'm going to guess I could be wrong. Sarah, I'll be interested.

[Sarah]

I've already read the show notes.

[Mark]

Okay, okay, fine. But I'd be interested if you disagreed with my number.

[Sarah]

I agree.

[Mark]

Yeah. Okay. And the number of people in the average professionals network, even in the manager trolls community, is 25.

[Sarah]

I would agree.

[Mark]

Yeah. Okay, good.

[Sarah]

I mean, because folks, your network isn't just like all the people you've connected with on LinkedIn. We wouldn't ask them personally to help you move.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Like so.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

So 25, I think, is the right number for the average person.

[Mark]

And for the record, folks, we say 25, but that number is abominably, dangerously low. But as we like to say frequently on this show, this is manager Tools, not fantasy tools. We're not going to make up a number. And by the way, please feel free to write. Write us. Is it customer servicemanager-tools.com?

[Sarah]

yep, they can. Absolutely.

[Mark]

Customer Service Tools and let us know that we're wrong about you. Tell us you have a big network and bless you for having it and making it available to other people. If you offer your help to a colleague who has lost a job and your 25 friends, ask their network, and I tell you, if some of you are thinking, well, mark the marketplace, well, the economy, well, AI well, the war, well, tariffs, I don't care about that, folks. I don't. Okay, the question is, as the Marine general said to the lieutenant, do what you can with what you have where you are right now. If you ask your 25 friends, and let's assume they all magically have 25 friends too, that's 625 people thinking about maybe putting a minute of thought into work to help your colleague.

[Sarah]

That's a number.

[Mark]

That math is not hard, but it is powerful.

[Sarah]

Absolutely. So, folks, send an email to, to your network saying someone you know is looking for a job. Give them a brief overview of the background, vouch for them, include their resume, and point blank. Ask your network members to each spend just five minutes looking at the resume and thinking of possible referrals they might be able to make, and ask them to ask their Networks as well. So that's step one and then follow up in a week. Follow up. Did you, did you send it on? Did. Did you hear anything? Like, is anybody interested in this individual? Like, right, follow up.

[Mark]

So let's remember something you said. Vouch for them. I love that phrase. It's a, it's a, it's weighty, it's portentous, that. Vouch for them, folks. You're not just saying, hey, I got a guy who got laid off. Here's a resume. See what you can do. This was your colleague before. Put some thought into what you're going to say about how good this person is. If you're wondering how to be salesy, use puffery. Make them sound a little bit better than they maybe appeared to you. Why? Because you want people to do that for you. Now you might say, ooh, I'm afraid I'm crossing an ethical boundary here. Don't worry. The interviewing process of whoever interviews them will determine how good they are. It is not your job to tell them, oh, they're lower or they're middle or they're upper. Okay? That's not your job. Your job is to help your friend, to help your colleague. And by the way, we don't even care if they were your friend, if they're your colleague. They were part of the band of brothers and sisters that work together for your boss, whoever he or she is, and you have an obligation. I think the organization has an obligation. It used to be during layoffs that organizations offered out placement counseling and they offered resume help and all kinds of things. They don't do that anymore. Okay? So it's up to us, the individuals, the ethical individuals in the world today, to do the right thing by someone who has been done hard by their organization. You know, offer to practice interviewing with the job searcher. Okay? Spend 30 minutes giving them the highlights of what you know. And if you're wondering how you can get 30 minutes to do that, give up TikTok and Instagram on that day and you'll find the time. Then do a FaceTime interview with them. Or just do a phone interview. Have them use their phone to record it so they can listen to their answers later. Ask them the two big questions, tell me about yourself, and one or two significant accomplishment questions. If you think they need it, buy them access to our interviewing series. It comes with any of our licenses.

[Sarah]

Yep. All of which have a free months long trial on them.

[Mark]

Oh, even better.

[Sarah]

Yeah, I think the Career Tools license is 14.99. It's under $15, so. And. But that's only if your monthly license. Yeah, but the first month is free for a new licensee. So folks, now, now we're going to get to, I think the question that's been lurking in everyone's mind.

[Mark]

Mark.

[Sarah]

Right? I mean, this podcast literally starts with the words network building. And I feel like we haven't even talked really about network building. So why is this network building? Well, we Hope that the St. Jude reference to helping someone who probably won't get as much help as they deserve makes sense. But what about the network building aspects? It's easy. If you take the time to follow these steps and help a colleague or a friend when they most need it, you're going to have created a permanent member of your network who will be eager for the remainder of their career, not just to help you, but your friends and everyone else around them. People who are helped in this way when they need it most, don't forget, they do not forget you.

[Mark]

It reminds me of our guidance over and over and over again for the last 20 plus years. The best way to build a network is to give and give and give until it hurts, and then give some more. So I'm going to summarize. When someone you know, folks, has been laid off or otherwise lost a job, don't ghost them because of your own shame or uncertainty or fear or lack of knowledge about what to do. Don't take the low road and avoid them. Take the high road. And lucky for you, there's less traffic up there and they'll remember your efforts. Reach out immediately. Stay in touch, help with a resume, encourage support. Open your network, practice interviewing, text them the morning of their interview and follow up. Make the world a better place, not just for those who suffer, but for all those whom they will help following your example when they suffered.

[Sarah]

Yeah, that's it. I like it. Well, thanks folks. Thanks for joining us. We hope that this podcast helped you. Now help us help others and tell your friends. And of course, follow, rate and review our podcast. And remember, five stars.

[Mark]

Five stars only. Please.