Media mogul Joanna Coles explains why your friends are more important than bosses or mentors
Coles is the first chief content officer of Hearst Magazines, a Snap board member, and the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazines. On an episode of Business Insider's "Success! How I Did It" podcast, Coles shared with Business Insider US editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell her advice for building a powerful network that will help you in your career.
"People know when you're being an a--hole, and you know it, too," Coles told Shontell. "And if you are one, people will avoid you, and they will do their best to bring you down, and I've seen that play out across the workplace, actually, so you kind of know that's true."
Listen to the whole episode and subscribe for more Success!
Apple Podcasts RadioPublic ACast
Specifically, Coles said, you don't want to act that way toward friends and colleagues. Here's Coles:
Research backs up Coles' observation: A recent Glassdoor report found that job interviews from employee referrals are between 2.2% and 6.6% more likely to lead to an accepted job offer.
That said, networking in and of itself isn't enough to build a successful career. As Wharton psychologist Adam Grant pointed out in a New York Times op-ed, hard work generally helps you build connections more than empty schmoozing does. Your best bet is probably to combine relationship building and good old hustle.
Coles said you should always be asking yourself some questions about your peer group:
"Who's good? What are they doing? Who are the people that are getting ahead of you? Why are they doing it? What are they doing that you're not doing? And you know, it's pretty straightforward: Don't be an a--hole."