Ah, the vacation responder. The message setting we love and love to hate. As I’ve mentioned before, the vacation responder is a time management tool for me. My latest message says it like it is:
I’m focused on writing. I’m available for hire. I’m still out & about — just check my website to see where and when.
The only way to get a passion project off the ground is: focus, focus, focus.
If you’re getting this out of office, you know I have your email. I am fixated on writing and have a very narrow focus on new opportunities, so I have resorted to checking email less maniacally and then, only selectively.
If you’re seeking guidance on your career or entrepreneurial venture, please direct your questions to me via Levo’s Q&A mentoring platform.
In the meantime, you can find me on Inc.com, and Twitter plus insights + updates are on my website, jkellyhoey.co.
Priorities and timing are all in the eyes of the beholder.
After being seemingly accessible 24/7 since 2011, I know I’ve likely put more than a few noses out of joint the past few months when I’ve not enthusiastically accepted a call or raced out for a coffee meeting but, hey! I’ve got my focus on. Yes, eating daily the advice I dish out to startup founders (focus, focus, focus). And yes, my career priorities have shifted.
It’s when priorities intersect at the right time with another’s goals, that magic happens.
The key to finding the intersection is to watch, listen and observe. Like many onmi-channel networkers, beyond the vacation responder, I’m sharing information and engaging regularly via Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, Medium, “Recommendations” on jkellyhoey.co, and Inc.com plus this weekly newsletter. All this posting, tweeting, blogging…has a purpose: it’s an intentional push of information that gives the listening world some sense of where I’m at and what I’m focused on — and how you can connect with me.
So a networking suggestion before the urgent email request, take a moment to stop and read the social tea leaves (so to speak) — from the blog posts to vacation responders to tweets — before hitting send. The choice of platform and type of post (+ frequency) reveals as much about who the person is as the content they are posting.
A number of influencers are sharing their daily social networking habits with me. Check out their interviews, as these insights will help you connect better with folks like them. More in the pipeline but a massive thanks to @adamquinton @kikischirr @ilmago @missrogue for kindly agreeing to be the inaugural interviews in this series.
If you’re like me and are crafting your own career (or dreaming of the next one), here are a few suggestions for your next reads on this Wednesday morning:
- How to Get Paid When Someone Wants to “Pick Your Brain”
- The freelance writer’s toolbox: 50 products you don’t want to miss out on
- How to Growth Hack a Side Project When You’ve Got a Full-Time Job
And watch: The Future Of Business Is The Mesh
This post originally appeared in Kelly Hoey’s weekly newsletter. To get insights in your inbox, sign up here.
