Networlding Step Number 2

Decide Who Is Currently In Your Primary Circle.

Pick the current people you know--up to five, whom you think would have similar or complementary values. Then, set up times to meet these people. If they are unavailable for the longer term, put them into what we call your "Secondary Circle" where you can connect with them, perhaps, every three months.

Carol had an informal primary circle before she became involved with Networlding. However, when she decided to leave her job to attend graduate school she felt little support from her colleagues or her boss. Additionally, many of those she had in her professional network prior to her transition did not share her values nor did they understand why a successful woman would want to return to school later in life.

Carol decided to develop a new primary circle. To do this, she surrounded herself with friends and colleagues who shared her values. Her new primary circle included personal friends who had also experienced recent career changes and newly made friends who were her grad school peers. Carol was able to find the Networlding Seven Levels of Support (see Step #4) in her personal friends, her peers and her professors. Carol is fortunate enough to see many of these friends daily but she keeps in contact at least weekly with everyone in her primary circle.