0:00

Hey sis, welcome to Beyond the Military Podcast,

0:02

where faith led military women overcome

0:04

burnout and create more balance. Just

0:07

imagine having enough time to focus

0:09

on your faith, family, and have more

0:11

fun while still serving as a woman leader.

0:14

In this podcast, you will walk away with

0:16

the tools to help you navigate the busy life

0:18

of a military woman, organize your mind,

0:20

overcome overwhelm, create a

0:22

prioritization playbook, and a balanced blueprint

0:25

for integrating faith, family, and career.

0:28

Yeses in that order. Hi,

0:31

I'm Wendi Wray, woman of God, wife,

0:33

mama of two, army veteran, and certified

0:36

life coach. And I'm here to help you create

0:38

a life of meaning outside of the military,

0:40

a life of laughter, joy, and intentional

0:42

free time. If you are ready to

0:45

overcome burnout and create balance as a

0:47

faith led military woman, sis,

0:49

this podcast is for you. So loosen

0:51

up your laces and grab your coffee because it's time

0:54

to step into freedom and peace. Hello ladies

0:56

and welcome to episode 218.

1:00

I'm so happy that you're tuning in today.

1:02

And if you stumbled upon this podcast,

1:04

welcome. And if you

1:06

have been tuning in with us for

1:08

the past 217 episodes,

1:11

I want to say thank you for tuning

1:13

in and just coming back. Listen,

1:16

if this podcast resonates with

1:18

you, this episode resonates with you, please

1:20

be sure to share this with another woman veteran,

1:23

with another military woman, because

1:25

this is what is

1:27

the goal for me and for this platform to

1:29

continue to share this

1:32

podcast so that other women can learn not

1:34

only for Tips

1:37

for their life, but also for

1:39

their career transition. And

1:41

today we are talking about networking. And

1:43

I know that this is something or a topic

1:46

that a lot of us shred. Um, especially

1:48

if you're someone that doesn't like

1:50

to interact with people, it's completely

1:53

okay. And today I want to share with you

1:55

why it's important, why you want to start now,

1:57

regardless of where you are

2:00

with your career transition. Transition

2:02

out of the military. Why you want to do

2:04

this in a way where it's comfortable

2:07

where this is more genuine

2:10

for you because it's definitely going

2:12

to show in the future. And so

2:14

I want to give you practical tips

2:17

today that you can literally go after

2:19

you listen to this episode and start applying

2:21

right away. Why? Because it matters.

2:24

It's important. And I'm here to

2:26

help you along this journey because it's

2:28

tough. The military transition

2:30

is tough. No matter if you are going to be a

2:32

stay at home mom, if you are

2:34

going to school, if you decide

2:36

to go into the corporate sector, if you

2:38

decide to go into the government sector, if

2:41

you decide to go into real estate or have

2:43

your own business, it's going to be

2:45

tough. It's just the journey Of

2:48

re um, aligning

2:50

your new identity, right? You're becoming

2:53

this whole new individual and it's

2:55

going to be hard. And this is why

2:57

I love the

2:59

opportunity of networking. And

3:02

I want to share with you three

3:04

ways on how you can begin to network

3:07

right away. Like I said, right after this episode.

3:10

in order for you to start

3:13

to pay attention through

3:15

the phases that you could go through

3:17

and how networking is different

3:20

for everyone. But the only

3:22

thing that is the same

3:24

across, I mean,

3:27

any timeline or any personality

3:29

or any gender or regardless

3:32

of what industry or what, um,

3:35

career you're going to. The

3:37

important thing here is just

3:39

making a genuine connection.

3:43

Most importantly, how

3:45

can you set yourself apart?

3:47

How can you leave an impressionable,

3:51

um, connection? How can you be

3:53

the one that

3:55

everyone remembers? And I

3:57

want to share with you these tips because it's

3:59

going to help you. Practice

4:01

one, who you're becoming, and two,

4:04

it's going to help you to build

4:07

these personal connections with

4:10

civilians, with other humans

4:13

that you may not have anything

4:15

in common other than

4:18

just connecting. And so

4:20

I want to start off with saying that,

4:22

yes, networking is a process.

4:25

It's going to require some work. And

4:28

if you are dreading it or avoiding it, It's

4:31

because one, you

4:33

have no idea what networking

4:35

is all about, and I really just told you what

4:37

it's all about. It's about connecting and interacting

4:40

with other humans in

4:42

order to exchange information

4:45

or to develop professional

4:48

and social contacts. That's

4:50

really what it's all about. And

4:52

so if you're someone that is

4:55

maybe. I'm introvert

4:57

or someone that genuinely

4:59

doesn't like interacting with other humans or

5:01

just doesn't enjoy to do it. This

5:04

episode is for you and I

5:06

want to encourage you and I want

5:08

to even challenge you to

5:11

look at this as an opportunity to

5:14

not only help you grow,

5:17

but also help you get

5:19

into this new identity that you are.

5:22

Really becoming you are becoming

5:24

this woman that is going to be a civilian

5:26

or a mom or

5:29

a leader in corporate or

5:31

maybe a businesswoman, an entrepreneur

5:34

or a real estate agent. So,

5:37

or investor, whatever it may be

5:39

for you, financial advisor.

5:41

Maybe you're going into the finance world. You

5:44

want to start to

5:46

grow. Not only build

5:48

on this identity, but also

5:51

get to meet other people that

5:53

are in the same field, the same

5:55

industry as you. Why?

5:57

Because then they will connect you with

6:00

other people that meet your desires,

6:03

that meet your needs, and

6:05

you just never know. Doors open

6:08

at times where you least expect it.

6:10

And this is why I love the whole

6:12

idea of networking. But

6:14

let's be honest, I love it because I

6:17

love meeting new people. I love

6:19

meeting random people at the grocery

6:21

store. I'm the one that's literally in line

6:23

having a real deep conversation with someone

6:26

I've never met before. Why? That's just

6:28

what I enjoy to do. But I also

6:30

understand that it's not

6:32

easy for everyone. It's not easy for

6:34

everyone to just start talking about

6:37

their lives. It's not easy

6:40

to even share

6:42

certain things about oneself.

6:45

And so because I understand

6:47

it and I get it, I want to share

6:49

with you some ways that you can

6:51

begin now because it's important.

6:54

And so if You

6:57

have no idea where to begin. I want you to

6:59

start here. I want you to start with fellow

7:01

military people with veterans,

7:04

someone that is thinking about the transition,

7:07

someone that is thinking about going into that field,

7:09

someone that is maybe already in

7:11

that field. So like, let's just say you

7:14

want to be a real estate agent. Go

7:17

ahead and start networking with someone in the

7:19

military community that's already doing

7:21

it. There are so many. So

7:24

many military active service

7:26

duty members that are doing

7:29

real estate as they are

7:31

on active duty, which is a smart

7:33

thing to do. I hate that I didn't do that, but

7:36

you can start connecting with them now and

7:38

start asking them questions. Or

7:41

if you're still thinking about it and you're like, I'm going to do this when

7:43

I get out. Or know

7:45

of someone that's already been out and want

7:47

to get their experience on what

7:49

that looks like full time. Go ahead and

7:51

do that. But starting with fellow veterans

7:54

helps you not only feel comfortable,

7:57

but also understood. And

7:59

that is very important when you are connecting

8:01

with other humans. Why? Because we want to

8:03

feel safe. Our brain wants us to feel safe

8:05

and comfortable in order for us to share.

8:08

And if we don't feel comfortable and we don't

8:10

feel safe and we don't feel protected. We're

8:12

not going to do so. And if we don't share

8:14

the things that we're truly wanting to ask,

8:17

the things that are seriously,

8:19

maybe even keeping us up at night, or,

8:21

you know, we have this, um,

8:24

construed picture of what that might look

8:26

like, then this is an

8:28

opportunity for you to ask those questions. But

8:30

again, you won't ask those questions

8:32

because you don't feel comfortable. You don't feel safe. You don't feel

8:35

as you are protected by,

8:38

um, strangers or other

8:40

human beings. And so

8:43

I encourage you to start

8:45

with fellow veterans. And

8:47

when you do so, you want to

8:49

be able to focus on one question.

8:52

One question is all you need. You

8:55

don't need to have a whole script

8:57

of questions ready. You don't need

8:59

to do a ton of research, just one

9:01

question. And that question is very

9:03

simple. How did you get into

9:05

this role? How did you get into this industry?

9:08

How did you get into real estate? It's

9:11

that easy. They will

9:13

spill the tea. They will tell

9:15

you everything. Why? Because they're passionate. If

9:18

they don't, then you may need to consider talking

9:20

to somebody else because they may not be passionate

9:22

about it. They may not know enough about it and

9:24

they also may not feel comfortable. So to uncomfortable

9:27

people, talking is never helpful.

9:29

You want to find the person that's

9:31

going to give you what you're looking for. And

9:34

so that is number one. And

9:37

number two is in

9:39

person events. And this is

9:41

where it gets a little tricky because

9:44

some of you, especially ladies have

9:46

kids and you have so many things

9:48

to do. I get it. We have

9:50

a ton of things to do, but if

9:52

you are serious about this new career, you're serious

9:55

about considering the education

9:57

or the school, or

9:59

even just, you know, becoming a mom, start

10:02

becoming or being a part of.

10:05

These events, you want to

10:07

be in a space where

10:10

you are meeting people with

10:12

the same interest and

10:15

similar backgrounds so that you can learn

10:17

as much as you can before you

10:19

get out, before you get into that one

10:21

thing, real estate, entrepreneurship,

10:25

going into the corporate sector, going

10:27

into contracting, whatever it may be for you. You

10:29

want to be able to

10:31

show up to these places. And

10:34

be able to just genuinely show

10:36

up as you and

10:39

ask that one question. That's all you need to ask. And

10:41

here's the thing for the most

10:44

part, when you're in your like initial phase,

10:47

you want to just listen.

10:49

An initial phase. This is what I mean about an

10:52

initial phase. Meaning you

10:54

are still a year out from transitioning or

10:57

you haven't even considered the transition. You're just

10:59

exploring new opportunities, maybe

11:01

a side hustle, right? Real estate. Maybe

11:04

it's just an opportunity for you to get out of your comfort

11:06

zone, meet new people,

11:08

right? Maybe you're single and you're like, okay, how can I

11:11

engage with other humans in a way where it's genuine

11:13

and I'm not wasting my time? or

11:16

I'm not overdoing something like drinking, right? Going

11:18

to the bar may not be the thing that you want to do

11:20

or going to the club or doing things

11:22

that are going, going to take away

11:24

from the needs and desires that

11:26

you have. And so let's

11:29

just say you are out there

11:31

initial phase and you're like, okay, where, where

11:34

do I begin? I already talked to a fellow

11:36

veteran. He or she invited me

11:38

to this event. I'm going to go there, but.

11:42

I don't like meeting new people. I don't like to interact

11:44

with new people. What do I do? I

11:47

want to encourage you again to just focus

11:49

on that one question. And I want

11:51

you to remember this. If you get anything

11:54

out of this podcast, out of this episode is

11:56

this. People want

11:58

to be heard, meaning

12:01

all you have to do is

12:03

listen. If you literally

12:05

show up with the only intention.

12:08

Of simply listening

12:11

to their story, to their journey,

12:13

to what they have to offer. I

12:16

promise you that you will

12:18

leave an impactful experience

12:22

for that individual. And by

12:24

that, I mean, you listening, actively listening,

12:27

not being on your phone, not getting distracted,

12:29

not talking about other people within

12:31

the event, simply listening,

12:34

listening to their story, listening to what they have

12:36

to offer. They will remember

12:39

that Wendy was there to

12:41

listen and because they

12:43

will remember you and you're

12:46

not focused on, you know,

12:48

being needy and asking all these questions

12:50

and, Oh my gosh, what are

12:52

they going to think about me? And you're out of your

12:54

head about all these thoughts and judgments

12:57

that you have about yourself. And what am I doing here?

12:59

What are they going to think of me? If you're not

13:01

doing that and you simply go in with the intention

13:03

of listening. and paying

13:05

attention to what they have to offer, what

13:07

they have to say, they will

13:09

remember you. Why? Because

13:11

you listened. They want to be

13:14

heard. They want to be able to have

13:16

some other human, not a robot,

13:18

not their phone, nothing

13:21

else. Someone that

13:23

they haven't really met before. Someone

13:25

genuine that is there for

13:28

the sole purpose of listening. They will

13:30

remember you and they will share. You

13:32

as an individual is he, you know what, have you talked

13:34

to Wendy, have you talked to this

13:37

individual? Because I mean,

13:39

she listened to me. She asked me questions based on

13:41

what I told her. She was great.

13:44

And you know, this is what she wants to do.

13:46

She also wants to pursue real estate. You

13:49

should reach out to her. Now they're connecting

13:51

you with one of their connections. That

13:54

is also in St. Mattress as you

13:56

are. I would not go to a real

13:58

estate event if I'm interested in real estate.

14:01

If I'm not interested in pursuing or even exploring

14:03

the investment, why would I go

14:06

there? Why would I show up? I

14:08

may have another intention, right? I may want to sell

14:10

them on something, but that's the thing. Networking

14:13

events, in person events, it's always

14:15

focused on how can I show up and

14:17

sell them or ask them

14:20

my needs versus

14:22

you showing up to just listen

14:25

and hear them out and kind of understand

14:27

their conversation, understand their story. Of

14:30

course, ask them questions based on their

14:32

story, on their journey, but

14:34

focus on them. If you do that

14:36

from the very beginning, the initial phase, I

14:39

promise you, it's going to get easier. Why?

14:42

Because the next phase is then you

14:45

asking more questions. But

14:48

here's the thing. The third thing

14:50

before I get into the other phase, I

14:52

want you to also explore social media. More

14:55

specifically, LinkedIn, not Instagram,

14:58

not TikTok, LinkedIn professionals,

15:00

regardless of what industry you're going in.

15:03

LinkedIn is the platform for

15:05

you to connect with other professionals with the same

15:07

interests. If you're going to school, if

15:10

you're going into entrepreneurship,

15:12

if you are going into real estate, if you're going

15:15

into corporate, if you're going into government

15:17

jobs, whatever it may be. LinkedIn

15:19

is the avenue. Now, I know if

15:22

you're going to be a stay at home mom, there

15:24

may not be as many mom groups

15:26

there, which I think you could find another

15:28

social media platform like Facebook or

15:30

Instagram to help you meet

15:34

other moms there. But not

15:36

to say that there isn't one or

15:38

it's still not a useful platform because

15:40

there are also a lot of women

15:42

on there that are promoting. Items

15:46

for stay at home moms for,

15:48

you know, how to transition

15:50

into becoming a mom. And so again,

15:52

you pick your platform. I encourage

15:55

LinkedIn for those of you that, um,

15:57

haven't maybe even explored it, but also

16:00

I encourage LinkedIn because

16:03

it helps you connect with other connections that you

16:05

probably would have never encountered if

16:07

it wasn't for the connections, um,

16:10

that they are connected with your, um, People

16:13

that you're connected with. And so it allows

16:15

you to see other people's connections

16:17

that you're connected with. And

16:19

so it's very helpful because again, you're

16:21

meeting people from other countries, other

16:24

States, other backgrounds with similar

16:26

interests, which is amazing. And

16:28

so when you want to

16:31

begin to interact, to

16:33

network with other people on

16:35

social media, you want

16:37

to use the similar. Um,

16:40

question, or you want to use a similar,

16:42

um, kind of route

16:44

of how you interact with humans

16:47

with the same question. How

16:49

did you get into this role? Hey,

16:51

Wendy, I noticed that you're a podcaster.

16:53

How did you get into this role? I'm looking to start a podcast.

16:56

Oh, now you've got my attention. Why?

16:59

Because I want to help every

17:01

human being gets this,

17:04

um, what do we call it?

17:06

This, um, dopamine hit. When

17:08

we help someone, when we feel that we

17:10

are needed and we have done something good, we

17:12

get a dopamine hit. We want to help. Oh,

17:15

of course. Yeah. Let me tell you and share with

17:17

you everything I know. When can you get on

17:19

a call? How can I, you know, or

17:22

is this a good time to send you a message,

17:24

um, for us to, to get together?

17:27

Or I can send you everything I know through this message.

17:30

And honestly, I think that the more that you can

17:32

communicate through messaging, direct message

17:34

or email, the better you're going to get comfortable.

17:38

At not only doing that,

17:41

um, more often,

17:43

but also you'll keep a record. You'll keep, keep

17:45

a receipt of the connections

17:48

that you've built already on social media

17:50

on LinkedIn, because when

17:53

you go in person, the only way that you can do

17:55

that is by exchanging numbers, exchanging

17:57

emails, exchanging profiles on

18:00

whatever social media platform, but

18:03

that's the way to do it, right? And so when you do

18:05

this, From a LinkedIn platform already

18:07

like LinkedIn, you are already

18:09

connecting by DM and each other. And

18:11

so, you know, okay, Wendy is the girl that's a

18:13

podcaster and I can connect

18:16

with her, you know, to learn more, whatever

18:19

it may be. Or, you know, Wendy is a real estate agent,

18:21

you know, she's in this area and she talked to

18:24

me about this specific,

18:26

you know, type of investment or investing

18:28

process, whatever it may be. And

18:31

so again, when you are open

18:33

to these three types. of

18:35

networking, um, types

18:37

that you can do either through

18:40

fellow veterans, military people,

18:42

anyone that shares similar interests

18:45

in person events in social media,

18:48

you are now able to start

18:50

in a phase where you're most comfortable.

18:54

For me, I'm most comfortable

18:56

with in person events. I

18:58

love meeting new people in person. You

19:00

may not, you may want to start off with just

19:03

chatting with fellow veterans, either through texting,

19:05

either through, you know, just in your

19:07

unit or connecting from, you

19:09

know, with another fellow veteran through

19:11

a phone call. Or you may

19:13

want to start off through social media, just setting

19:16

up your profile on LinkedIn, reaching

19:18

out to people that you've connected with, like, hey

19:20

Wendy, I noticed that you

19:23

are a project manager for X company.

19:25

Can you share with me a little bit of how you got to

19:28

that role? I'm thinking about the transition.

19:30

Just need a little bit of insight on

19:33

what your take is. Oh, of

19:35

course I'm happy to do so. And I chat

19:37

away again. It's something

19:39

as simple as that. And it

19:41

doesn't have to be completely formal. It doesn't have

19:43

to be super complicated. And that's one

19:46

thing that I've noticed a lot of us, especially women,

19:48

especially ladies, We tend

19:50

to overthink it. Like how do we start the

19:52

initial conversation? What should I say?

19:55

What should I do at an event? What should I come ready

19:57

with my elevator elevator pitch? You

19:59

don't need all of that, especially in the initial

20:01

phase, the initial

20:03

phase, all you're doing is listening

20:06

so that you can leave a lasting impact so

20:08

that you can be introduced

20:10

to other humans in a genuine way.

20:13

Oh, Hey, I met Wendy back at this real

20:15

estate event three weeks ago.

20:17

I would love for you to meet her. She's amazing. Why

20:19

am I amazing? Because I listened. That's literally all you need

20:21

to do. You don't need to prepare. This

20:24

is an initial way of you to

20:26

network. You don't need to prepare with anything

20:28

other than listening and just

20:30

having that one question ready. How did you get into this

20:32

role? How did you get into this industry? How did

20:34

you get into this, whatever you fill

20:36

in the blank, real estate, entrepreneurship,

20:39

niche, whatever it may be. Um, the

20:43

second phase is you actually

20:45

now preparing. yourself

20:47

to ask great questions. How

20:49

do you do this? By coming in

20:52

with confidence. You want to ask

20:54

questions that are going to

20:56

lead not into yes or no,

20:59

but into the how, how

21:01

they did it, how they got there,

21:03

how they initiated

21:06

a conversation with another

21:08

individual, whatever it may be,

21:11

how they got the certification, how they

21:13

did it. Managed through,

21:15

um, their own transition, how

21:17

they were able to

21:20

go through the interview process, whatever

21:22

it may be. That's

21:24

where you want to prepare

21:26

by one, understanding

21:29

that it's not about you. It's still about

21:31

the other person. It's not about

21:33

you. It's about the other person. Why

21:35

does this help you? Because it takes that weight

21:37

off of the expectation

21:40

that you have to show up Knowing

21:42

everything, knowing everything that you want to do

21:44

outside of the military, knowing every

21:47

single step and phase of

21:49

what your journey looks like after the military.

21:52

No, you don't need to be ready

21:54

with all of that. All you need to be ready with is

21:58

again, focusing on the other individual

22:00

or individuals and how

22:02

you can continue to listen and ask great

22:04

questions to help you also

22:08

in the long run. Not too

22:11

You know, share and overshare

22:13

things that you are not even sure of, right? Like,

22:15

oh, I wanna go do this and I wanna go do that.

22:17

And next thing you know, you're talking about

22:19

something so random and, and then it gets uncomfortable

22:22

and you're like, oh, I hate this, this sucks. Of

22:24

course it does. You guys are all just trying

22:27

to go in

22:29

as if you know exactly what you're gonna do,

22:31

exactly what it's going to take.

22:33

You don't you want to learn from them? And

22:37

if you're not engaging people that already

22:39

have gone through that or are in a, um,

22:42

phase further than you, then you need

22:44

to go and you engage with somebody else.

22:46

That's the point and the purpose of you interacting

22:49

with other humans at a networking event,

22:51

either in person or virtual,

22:54

because it's to help both

22:56

parties. But most importantly,

22:59

for you to leave a lasting

23:01

impact for all. Experience with

23:03

that other individual. And the way you do that is by

23:05

connecting, by being genuine, by

23:07

listening, by being there, not

23:10

to, you know, ask for help

23:12

and ask a thousand questions, but

23:14

to focus on what

23:16

they went through, what they have to

23:18

offer and how you

23:20

now can turn it and ask

23:22

a question to help you at

23:25

a later time. The final

23:27

phase is

23:30

if you are Let's

23:32

say 90 days out and

23:34

you're like, okay, I really need to get

23:37

out there and practice my

23:39

elevator pitch or practice, you

23:42

know, a couple of things that I am

23:44

looking for in my next job

23:47

and in an interview. So

23:49

then you want to be

23:53

intentional with

23:55

showing up, In that manner,

23:58

meaning you are going to introduce yourself

24:01

as the real estate agent. Hello,

24:04

my name is Wendy. I'm a real estate agent in

24:06

the North Carolina area. And

24:08

I'm happy to learn more about you.

24:11

What do you do? What do you, why

24:13

are you here type of thing, or what got

24:16

you into your role? But

24:18

you're practicing, you're using this to practice.

24:21

So the more that you can say

24:24

who you are becoming, the more that you

24:26

can say what you're pursuing,

24:28

the easier it's going to be

24:31

to share that with people. Why?

24:35

Because it is, it's just the nature

24:37

of the beast. We want

24:39

to practice what we're

24:42

aiming to become, right? Like, I just

24:44

can't continue to say, Oh yeah, I'm a captain in the United States army,

24:47

an HR officer. No,

24:50

We want to practice. Oh, I'm

24:52

actually, um, my name is Wendy

24:54

Ray and I am pursuing roles

24:57

in project management in

24:59

the technology sector, whatever it may be for

25:01

you. My name is Wendy Ray and I'm a real estate

25:03

agent in North Carolina. My name is Wendy

25:05

Ray and I'm a podcaster. My name is Wendy Ray

25:07

and I have a company that makes coffee.

25:10

Whatever it may be, I'm just throwing out ideas

25:12

here. I don't want you guys thinking that I'm a real estate

25:14

agent or that I, you know, I'm doing other

25:16

things that I'm not. So just want

25:18

to make it really clear. These are just examples.

25:21

But again, the more that you can go and network,

25:24

the more practice you're going to get. And

25:27

it may not seem that it's about

25:29

you or that it's not about you, but

25:31

the truth is we want to make it about

25:33

the other person. Why? Because

25:36

it helps you take that weight off and expectation

25:38

of I needed, you know, show up perfect.

25:40

And I need to show up knowing exactly what I want to do

25:43

so that I can ask questions. No,

25:46

you need to take a moment and really ask

25:48

yourself, why do I want to attend? How

25:51

is this going to help me? And

25:53

you start with the words. With

25:56

just listening. That's what I encourage

25:58

you to do. Just listen. Listen

26:00

as your initial phase, especially if you're still thinking

26:02

about the transition, especially if you're

26:04

not so sure about becoming that one, um,

26:07

role, or going into the industry.

26:09

If you're like, Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm going to be a real

26:11

estate agent or not. It seems, you know,

26:13

a little crazy right now. Go

26:16

out there and explore it. Listen

26:18

to what they have to say. And then when you

26:20

move into the next phase, which is asking great

26:22

questions and really getting into

26:25

or leaning into curiosity,

26:27

then yes, you want to prepare a little more,

26:30

but I want you to start where you're

26:32

comfortable. We are not the same.

26:35

So, me telling you to go out there and

26:37

start networking in an event that has

26:39

over 100 people when you're

26:42

six months out of your transition

26:45

is not the way to begin, especially if you're not

26:47

someone that finds. Um,

26:49

interacting with others and engaging with others,

26:52

easy. It's not for everyone

26:54

for, to start where I start. I'm

26:57

going to start with in person events, telling

26:59

everyone who I am, telling everyone what

27:01

I'm passionate about and what I want to do, because that's,

27:04

that's just who I am. But

27:07

I wouldn't recommend it to someone that's an introvert

27:09

or hates meeting new people. It's

27:11

okay. Listen, you don't have to meet

27:13

new people all the time. All you

27:15

have to do. Is be willing

27:17

and open to the opportunities that are out there

27:20

and you don't even have to go to in person events. You can do

27:22

this all through just a simple post

27:24

on LinkedIn or even just conversating

27:27

with other people's posts on LinkedIn,

27:29

asking questions there. If

27:31

you see something that's intriguing or interests

27:33

you and they have a post and they want

27:36

you to engage, engage.

27:38

Hey, Wendy, I noticed that you talked about

27:41

the interview process. I have a question

27:43

or I didn't hear you talk about this. Ask

27:46

the question, they will get back to you or

27:48

send them a direct message. If you're like, I don't want people

27:50

looking or thinking that I need help, send

27:53

them a direct message. They will respond. Again,

27:56

people want to help. We get

27:58

that dopamine hit. We get that pleasure

28:00

of, Oh, we did something great today. Trust

28:03

me. They want to get to know you. They

28:06

may share everything about themselves first,

28:08

but they still want to get to know you. It's curiosity.

28:11

We all have it. All right, ladies, I hope

28:13

that this was helpful. And please let

28:15

me know if this resonated with you.

28:18

Leave me a review. Tell me what you're learning.

28:20

Tell me what you like. Tell me what you want me to share

28:22

more of. And I'm happy to do so. And listen,

28:25

if you're someone that's, you know, stuck

28:27

in your military transition or just

28:29

in your Send

28:31

me a direct message on LinkedIn and I'm

28:33

happy to help you. And if you don't have social

28:35

media, send me an email at hello

28:38

at wendyrae. com. All right. Have

28:40

a great rest of your day. Bye.

28:43

Hey lady, if this podcast helped you, challenged

28:45

you or inspired you in some way, please

28:48

leave me a written review for the show on Apple Podcasts

28:50

and share it with another military sister. Helping

28:53

you integrate balance, prioritization

28:55

and growth in your relationship with God is

28:57

my ultimate calling. I'm so blessed that

28:59

you are here and please join us

29:01

in the faith led military women community

29:03

on Facebook at bit. ly forward

29:06

slash beyond the military

29:08

GRP. Again, it is. Bitly

29:11

beyond the military GRP. All

29:13

right. Talk to you soon. Bye