How Can You Repay Me? That's Easy. . . Just PAY IT FORWARD

Recently, a LinkedIn connection that I admire asked me if I would do the honor of introducing her daughter to a business associate of mine that worked for the firm she was hoping to join.

Naturally, I was only too happy to facilitate an introduction of the daughter to my connection. . . but after talking to her on the phone and learning a little bit more about where she envisioned herself at the firm . . . it became apparent that the real objective for her should be to meet my friend's BOSS who might (or might not) be willing to set aside the time.

You see, the company in question was in the middle of their busiest season and there were not any "openings" in the manager's department posted. Nonetheless, it's always a worthwhile call to request an "informational interview" when there are no immediate jobs available and so I dialed up the manager and made the request.

Thankfully, I did have some context for the call (I'd been a prior client of this company in a past job) so I knew the person tangentially. I made a call and sent an email and as I'm awaiting their reply I get this lovely email today. . . 

On Nov 7, 2013 7:04 PM,  Jane Doe wrote:

Adrienne,

I'm sorry I missed your call earlier!

Wow! When you say you're going to do something, you REALLY mean it. Thank you SO much!

I want to tell you that I have already taken your words (how do you repay me? Just Pay It Forward!) to heart and have started passing it on in small ways immediately. A student came to me with a few questions today. Normally I'm happy to help answer questions when they come for career advice but today I thought "What would Adrienne do?" and went the extra mile for him. He left my office in a bit of a daze but with e-mails already sent on his behalf and some informational interviews set up in the law school and public policy school so that he can start making some grad school decisions. So you're already making a difference.

I look forward to hearing from you AND to meeting you in the near future.

Best wishes to you,
Jane

******************************* 

That just made my day! 

So the next time someone asks you what they can do to return the favor. . . just suggest they PAY IT FORWARD and watch the ripple effect in action :-).