Getting People To Advocate For You at Work

An advocate is someone who is on your side. This person will send an email or pick up the phone to help you get an interview or an important lunch meeting.?An advocate isn't necessarily your mentor, but sometimes they're the same.?Having an advocate, or many advocates is the secret for career advancement.

Our CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a?Soulcast Media | LIVE?event on LinkedIn where she interviewed Chairman at Citi Private Bank South Asia, Lung Nien Lee.?

They shared key tips and personal experiences on why finding an advocate is key to career advancement.?This?Soulcast Media | LIVE?event is brought to you by our amazing sponsors at?NeedThat?

NeedThat? is a modern independent publishing company that wants to cut through the noise of everyday consumerism.

The best products are the ones that are referred to us by our friends and family, people who we can trust. NeedThat is connecting our readers to make smarter and informed purchasing decisions.

So how do you find an advocate? During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Lung and Jessica discussed strategies on how you can find advocates to boost your career.

1. How Can I Get An Advocate?

During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Jessica asked Lung how someone can find an advocate.?His response was - It's very simple, make friends.

Most people want to help. Sure, there will be a few who aren't interested, and that's okay.?But the vast majority of people actually want to help others. But how do you start?

Do your homework - Once you've identified someone whom you'd like to get to know, find out what department they work in, what their job is.?Research them on LinkedIn or the internet to see what has been published about them.?

• Ask for 10 minutes for coffee
• Comment on their content or work
• Find points of connectivity
• Find points of interest

The key is to get to know this person --- as a person.?Rather than launching into what you want, take the time to get to know them. Otherwise, the person may feel used and unappreciated. It's a process.?

People need to trust you before they can advocate for you.

People need to know who you are and actually like you before they can advocate for you.?

Network - It's important to have a strong network within your organization. Having a strong network allows you to speak to other people within your organization and learn about what they do. ?

??We recommend the e-course, "Being A Good Mentee" to help you learn how to make this relationship successful.?

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2. Small Talk

Though many people dread small talk, it is important to help you network and meet others. Don't approach it as a chore, but think of it as getting to know others and caring. Engaging in small talk is how you make those important connections and form bonds so people will become your advocates.?

In order to engage in authentic small talk, you need to have broad interests.?This will help you connect with anyone.?

The more interesting you are, the more people will want to talk to you.?

During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Lung gave a few ideas on what you can talk about when breaking the ice with someone for the first time.?

• Food - Food is universal.
• Music - Music, like food, is also universal.?You can talk about concerts you've been to or are hoping to go to.??
• Weekend - Asking someone what they did that weekend is a great question.?You can also follow up with a little bit about your weekend.?
• Weather - Really lost on what to say??The weather can easily break the ice with anyone.?

Having broad interests allows you to interact with many different people.?

Because the truth is, an advocate is putting their own credibility on the line.?

If they don't know you, it can make them look bad if you don't live up to what they say about you.

3. Visibility And Advocates

During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, a question came in from the audience:

How can you effectively increase the visibility of your accomplishments at work?

Having people share your good work is only possible if they can see the work itself. However, that doesn't mean boasting, it means:

• Talking about the team effort that went into accomplishing a project you were involved in
• Use the words: us, we, them instead of me and I
• Be proactive and forward the great coverage you may have received, or if someone (i.e. client) praised you, forward it to your boss by simply adding a "Yay" or "So happy!" in your email
• Congratulate others when you see they've done great work too

You need people on your team to share your good work, but they need to know about it first.?The people who know you and see what you are doing are going to be the ones who speak up for you when they see you're doing well.?

Part of finding advocates is remembering to be an advocate.?Being a team player is key.?Not only talking about yourself and what you've done, but doing the same for other people.?You should do this without the expectation that they'll do something for you in return.?Building those important relationships will fastrack you for bigger career success.?

To read the full article click here!

Join us for an exciting Soulcast Media | LIVE event next week!

• Pacific Time: Thurs, Nov 11 at 11am
• Eastern Time: Thurs, Nov 11 at 2 pm
• London?Time: Thurs, Nov 11 at 7pm

Guest is the Founder of Chesapeake Bay Candles and Yes She May, Mei Xu.

>>>> Save your spot here!

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This article is part of the?Soulcast Media Newsletter, which has over 8,000+ subscribers. If you like this article, feel free to?subscribe.

Be sure to follow Jessica Chen on?LinkedIn?and?Instagram?for regular communications tips you can use at work immediately!?Her videos can also be seen on?YouTube.

If you'd like to learn more about our communications services and how we work with individuals and companies, check out our website:?www.soulcastmedia.com