Networking has its challenges; it’s not comfortable at first, you are not always going to be good at it, and you are certainly not always going to enjoy it. It is important to keep in mind that you are not always going to be the perfect fit for every room you go into, but if you don’t go out and do it you are never going to get better at it. When it comes down to it, you have to learn to develop your soft skills to help your career advance. Today’s guest is Dillon Zwick, from MeadowLark Advisors, out of Austin, TX. Dillon has a background in heavy industrial design and manufacturing. His primary team role at MeadowLark Advisors is finding opportunities, solving difficult problems, and figuring out whatever needs to get done. He has helped numerous client companies successfully work through the corporate restructuring process, and worked closely with company CEOs, CFOs, and accounting staff to support cash-constrained situations, prove transparency, and strategic analytic support to the process. During our conversation Dillon and I discuss the personal and professional benefits of networking. So stay tuned for this insightful interview as part of our series of conversations with leading professionals to take your career to the next level.  

Key Points From This Episode:

• Why are you networking and what are some of the great values in doing so.
• Dillon shares how networking can help with career advancement.
• How networking has opened up opportunities for Dillon to practice his soft skills. 
• The importance of practice: Working through discomfort, unpleasant rooms, and more.
• Dillon shares some past networking experience mishaps. 
• Job security and how networking leads to success in this area. 
• How networking plays a role in securing you a job amongst hundreds of resumes.
• Dillon shares the personal benefits of networking.
• The difficulty with letting past relationships go and looking for new relationships.
• How networking helps with lifelong learning and access to information.
• Dillon shares his most recent challenges: COVID-19 and networking online.

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