Lift someone up in 2021


I honestly can’t tell you how many posts I’ve come across on social media asking me to “copy and paste” some urgent message. There have been too many to count, and usually I roll my eyes and scroll on.

But recently I stopped scrolling after reading a post on LinkedIn asking readers to copy, paste and share in their own words. And I did just that (gasp!).Darcy Gray

Why? Because it was an opportunity to lift someone up. It was an offer to help.

If you’ve been laid off or are in career transition and we’re connected on LinkedIn (or have had a meal, coffee, Dr Pepper break, phone call or video chat together), please do not hesitate to let me know how I can help you. Can I put you in touch with a contact of mine? Can I write a LinkedIn recommendation for you? Need resume or interviewing advice? Looking for a group to network with? Contact me.

Yeah, I’ll lay claim to that mention of Dr Pepper. It was the first time I’d copied a LinkedIn post to share (and customized it).

This offer still stands — not necessarily through LinkedIn — and I encourage others to do the same. I’ve written one LinkedIn recommendation for a friend I hadn’t talked to in months, and it was a nice way to reconnect and be supportive in a small yet meaningful way.

This is an uncertain time, to say the least, and we can all lend a hand. I want Wichita Professional Communicators to continue to be a place to find support among friends and colleagues, just as it has been for me.

I would not be in a leadership position without encouragement from past WPC presidents Wilma Moore-Black and Amy Geiszler-Jones. When I said “yes” to serving as board president about a year and a half ago, I had no idea what 2021 would bring. Is the challenge daunting? Yes, often. Is the future uncertain? Sure. But together, lifting each other up, we’ll figure it out and continue moving forward.

You can offer to help others in whatever way works best for you. It could be offering advice on job interviews or simply sharing your own interview horror story (don’t we all have one?) and the important details you learned from it. Or maybe it’s just dropping off groceries for a friend in quarantine. I can’t think of a better way to start the New Year than with generosity.

— Darcy Gray, WPC president

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