How to Maintain and Grow Your Network, with Matthew Warner
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Relationships matter when you’re looking for work. But many people feel unsure how to approach them in a way that feels natural. On this episode of Find Your Dream Job, Matthew Warner reframes networking as something deeply human. Rather than collecting contacts, he talks about building relationships with people you enjoy and respect. Matthew explains how investing in your network over time can create trust, shape hiring decisions and help you find work that’s a strong fit.
Matthew also offers advice on how to care for your network over time. He compares relationships to a garden that needs regular care, not bursts of attention when you need something. You’ll learn how small actions, consistency and reciprocity can strengthen your connections throughout your career and why a simple check-in can make a meaningful difference.
About Our Guest:
- Matthew Warner is the chief people and culture officer at Friends of the Children – Portland.
Resources in This Episode:
- Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn.
Transcript
Find Your Dream Job, Episode 535:
How to Maintain and Grow Your Network, with Matthew Warner
Airdate: January 21, 2026
Mac Prichard:
This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.
I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.
Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.
You know that relationships matter when you do a job search. But you’re not alone if you struggle with making the most of your connections.
Matthew Warner is here to talk about how to maintain and grow your network. He’s the chief people and culture officer at Friends of the Children – Portland.
It’s a nonprofit that guides, supports, and mentors hundreds of young people. Matthew joins us from Portland, Oregon.
Well, let’s get going, Matthew. Let’s talk about networking. Why do you need to network at all when you do a job search?
Matthew Warner:
Mac, that’s such a great question. And I think it’s one that we sometimes forget to really think about. And when we’re looking for a job, when we’re looking for a new career, maybe, what’s the first thing we think about?
It’s who we’re going to spend our lives with, really. It’s who do we see in the morning? Who are we problem-solving with? Who do we create the future with in really a collaborative way?
And so when we think about who we want to spend that much of our time and energy with, really knowing who we’re going to call on and be with, really is a determining factor in how happy we’re going to be in our lives.
Mac Prichard:
How can networking help you connect with people who you will enjoy working with?
Matthew Warner:
I think that the people we will enjoy often are the people we did enjoy. And when we think about networks, what we sometimes fail to remember is that networks are just relationships.
Who are the people in your life? Who are the people you enjoyed? Who are the people you helped? Who are the people who helped you and took an interest? That’s your network. And I can’t think of people I’d rather spend time with than that.
Mac Prichard:
So one of the benefits of networking is that it helps you find a job that is going to put you in a place where you’re going to enjoy the company, the people you work with. How else does networking shape hiring decisions? What are employers thinking about when they consider networks?
Matthew Warner:
When I think about networks and who I know, I’m thinking about how I skip a couple of steps. It’s hard to hire people.
It’s hard to predict who someone is based on a 10-, 20-minute interview or even a series of 20 to 30-minute interviews. Everybody’s putting their best foot forward, as well they should on something so important.
But if I can think about my network and if I think about who I know and who knows me, they’re going to help build those connections based on more credible histories, interpersonally, that really let me shortcut that to find a successful hire and hopefully help a successful hire find a successful fit.
Mac Prichard:
You’ve done so much hiring in your work as a chief people and cultural officer over the years, Matthew. What do you say to an audience member who might hear the point you just made and think, “Gosh, I don’t know the HR director at the place where I want to work.” Is that person only gonna hire people who are already known to them?
Matthew Warner:
Of course not. It’s a big world, and we need to engage with a big population. So it’s not important that you know me. What’s important is that you know people who know you, and you know lots of people who know you.
Mac, when we were first checking in a few weeks ago to plan for this, had been a while since we talked, immediately what did we do? We started comparing the people we knew two or three steps out from each other to help build that credibility and connection quickly. And when you’re looking for a job, that’s the same thing you’re doing.
Who was the person who was helpful to you at your job seven years ago, who really kind of understood how you think? Who’s the person you volunteer with, maybe at the PTA or at a social organization who works in the same line or knows the industry that you want to be in?
It’s not about knowing the person where you want to land. It’s really about knowing others and having reciprocity that lets you help each other make those connections.
Mac Prichard:
I like your point about how networking creates credibility and connection because both of those factors matter when employers are making hiring decisions, don’t they?
Matthew Warner:
They really do. Again, we’re going to spend a lot of our time together, 40 hours a week nominally if we’re working full-time.
And we all know that’s an underestimate, but it’s also how we spend our lunches. It’s who we’re surrounded by when we’re thinking about the things that are going on in our lives. It’s who we get frustrated with about really big projects and who we celebrate some of our big wins with.
Knowing that we’ll be able to connect, that we’ll be able to collaborate, that we’ll be supported, and that we can show all of those same supports to others is really what drives a lot of the quality of our work life and our overall life.
Mac Prichard:
You’ve talked to so many candidates over the years. What have you seen stop people from networking when they’re looking for a job?
Matthew Warner:
I think that when we’re looking for a job, it’s often when we don’t have one, and we feel like we don’t have a lot to contribute. Everybody has something interesting to contribute if they can find a way to share it.
I also think that when we’re thinking about networking, a lot of times we’re thinking about really awkward cocktail parties with strangers or a vendor-funded first rank at an expo hall. And those are important tools to meet people, but they’re not your network, are they?
Those are people you have relationships with. Think about the person who invested in you early in your career, who’s always stayed in touch. Think about the person you worked with at an old job, who had a really niche interest, that you just saw an article and was reminded of.
That’s your network. And like any set of relationships, you really need to build them and grow them and maintain them.
When’s the last time you reached out to that person and said, I saw an article that thought of a few, or reached out to that old boss and said, “I really miss working with you. How are your grandkids?” That’s how we build a meaningful network over time.
Mac Prichard:
I want to talk more about how to grow and maintain your network. Before we get there, Matthew, what mistakes do you see, particularly job applicants, make when networking?
Matthew Warner:
I think it’s LinkedIn collecting. I think LinkedIn is a great tool for managing your network when you’re using it authentically. But I think if your goal is to hit the lion icon with a thousand connections, there’s no connection there.
There’s no credibility shared between you and the person on the other end. The quality of relationship is so important, and that quantity isn’t going to help you get what you need in the long run.
Mac Prichard:
Let’s talk about how to maintain and grow your network. And you mentioned some practical tips for how to do that.
I also know that from our earlier conversation, when you think about a network, you treat it like a garden. Tell us more about that. What do you mean exactly?
Matthew Warner:
Yeah, I think that you have to tend to relationships. And again, our networks are just a collection of our relationships. So, how are you reaching out and maintaining connection?
When you see something that’s going to interest someone, if you see a job opportunity that seems like a good fit for a person you’ve worked with before, how are you sharing those?
How are you engaging in problem-solving with former colleagues to help them get a good answer so that they will do the same for you?
I think that we only get out of a garden what we put into it. And it’s that ongoing nurture, it’s that watering and feeding through authentic connection that really does develop a network that’s going to be in bloom when you need to rely on it.
Mac Prichard:
Why is it important to do this throughout your career, not just when you’re looking for your next job?
Matthew Warner:
I think we’ve all gotten that call from a person we’ve known, and we don’t call them a friend, and we don’t call them a colleague. We call them that person we’ve known when they want something.
That’s very transactional, and your network is deeper than that one transaction. Your network is really about the ongoing connection that builds like a web and really is strengthened over time as you develop together.
Mac Prichard:
What do you say to an audience member who might think, “That sounds great, Matthew, but I don’t have the time to network. I’ve got to focus on getting my job done.”
Matthew Warner:
I don’t think it’s three lunches a week. I don’t think it’s a trip every couple of months. I think it’s a text in the evening saying, I thought of you while I was working on a project. How are you doing?
I think it’s a quick email or a note saying, I just remembered your birthday is about this time of year. I hope you’re still doing well. It’s just like any other set of relationships in your life. It’s not big, deep engagements. It’s the little things every day that keep us connected.
Mac Prichard:
Well, let’s pause there. We’re going to take a break. Stay with us. When we return, Matthew Warner will continue to share his advice on how to maintain and grow your network.
We’re back in the Mac’s List Studio. I’m talking with Matthew Warner.
He’s the Chief People and Culture Officer at Friends of the Children Portland.
It’s a nonprofit that guides, supports, and mentors hundreds of young people. He joins us from Portland, Oregon.
Matthew, before the break, we were talking about how to maintain and grow your network. And we talked about how networking shapes hiring decisions, the difference it can make in a job search, what might stop people from doing it and mistakes you can avoid.
And then we turned to how to do it. And you compared networking to a garden.
Another tip I know that you have for maintaining and growing your network is to treat it like a project. What does that look like in real life when you treat networking like a project?
Matthew Warner:
That’s a very fair question for a very vague tip, Mac. When we care about things, when we value them, we make a point of doing them. And that means setting a couple of milestones every week or every month.
They don’t have to be big, but we want to maintain it. Again, the garden shouldn’t overgrow. It needs a place to grow effectively. And that doesn’t require a lot of effort, but it does require some.
So what’s your goal this week in terms of making contacts? Is it reaching out with three texts over this week to people you’ve worked with before?
Is it making sure that you read a couple of articles on LinkedIn and finding two people that you used to work with who you know would benefit from that?
Is it just reaching out to an old colleague who you’ve always enjoyed spending time with and asking them what they’re working on? It doesn’t have to be big things, but really making a point of prioritizing those little tasks every day that help us to maintain relationships.
Mac Prichard:
And how do you recommend both choosing those tasks and setting specific targets for the number of tasks you might do in a week? What have you seen work?
Matthew Warner:
I think what works is doing it. And I know that sounds very base level, but the most important thing in getting something done is the doing. There’s an old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? Well, one bite at a time.”
If you haven’t talked to somebody in a long time, send them a text. If you haven’t talked to anybody this week, talk to somebody this week. As you do it more, you’ll think about it more. And as you think about it more, you’ll plan for it more.
Mac Prichard:
And how do you know it’s working, Matthew? How do you measure the success of taking these small incremental steps?
Matthew Warner:
Because you’ll start to notice that people do the same for you. You’ll get a reach-out asking if you’ve dealt with a kind of problem before. You’ll get the quick note saying, I thought of you while I was working on this, and I always enjoyed doing that with you.
I heard about this job. I know if it’s the right time for you, but maybe you know somebody it’s right for. That’s how you know it works because it’s working.
Mac Prichard:
In the first segment, you mentioned the importance of relationships, and you said networking is really all about relationships.
What do real relationships look like when you’re following the advice you’ve shared here, growing this network, treating networking like a project, taking these small steps?
Matthew Warner:
Your calls from old colleagues don’t feel transactional. Your calls to old colleagues don’t feel transactional. When you think about people that you’re getting a random call from, you feel some amount of warmth and interest in hearing about them.
And you get the feeling that they do too when they hear from you. I think that we all know that relationships take work and relationships have their ups and downs, whether that’s our marriage, our children, our best friendships, or our best frenemieships. But doing the work gets you the results.
Mac Prichard:
But speaking of doing the work, is there a system you recommend that people follow that helps you both set specific targets for actions and then measure your success?
Matthew Warner:
I don’t have a system because that’s not how I think of relationships or how I do them. But I think just like anything else that you’re working on, come up with a discrete plan, come up with a discrete goal that you know you can achieve every week or every month, and just check boxes until it starts to feel natural.
Mac Prichard:
A third tip you have for maintaining and growing your network is to serve others. Why is it important for networkers not only to ask for help, but to help others?
Matthew Warner:
It really is about reciprocity, like in any relationship. We help others, we get help from others, and at different times we can fill different roles. But we all dread that call from the person who always calls when they are thinking about a change.
We all dread that call from the sales rep who only calls at the holidays to ask what next year’s business looks like. That’s not how we live in relationship with others when we want to be successful or when we want to live a rich and full life.
I think it’s important that we remember. And I think many of us have been sort of trying to forget who we are at work, what we do at work, really is who we are and what we do. And so living those relationships just as authentically as we live the relationships in other parts of our lives really is important to living a full and rich life.
Mac Prichard:
What kind of help do you recommend someone offer in order to be a good networker, particularly someone who might think, “Gosh, I’m not sure I could do something or be of help to others?”
Matthew Warner:
You know, if you’re watching your LinkedIn feed and you see someone you know struggling with a problem that you’ve solved before, send them a note saying, “I saw you’re dealing with this. I’ve had to deal with that. Let me know if you want to talk through it a little bit.”
“I saw that you have something exciting happening in your life. I remember when that happened for me. I’d love to chat about where you are.” I think it’s just really finding those little spots that feel authentic and feel meaningful to make a connection.
Mac Prichard:
We focused our conversation on what to do to maintain and grow your network throughout your career. Let’s go back to that job seeker who, and I’ll be candid, early in my career, I was not a great networker.
So I was one of those people who was reaching out at the start of my career, asking for help after maybe not having been in contact with others.
What advice would you have for someone who might be in that situation, Matthew, who does want to act on these ideas but needs to find a job and wants to leverage their network but not appear transactional?
Matthew Warner:
I think it’s okay to still reach out. I think it’s still okay to build relationships. Our lives have seasons, our careers have seasons. Sometimes you’re reaching out for help, and sometimes you’re reaching out with help. What’s important over the long run is that you do both, not just reach out when you need help.
Mac Prichard:
And how about a follow-up? How important is follow-up? If you reach out to someone you don’t hear back from, what should you do next?
Matthew Warner:
You should realize that we’re all at different points in our lives every day. And right now you’re not hearing back. And next time you might. And over time, pick up the signals. But one missed call is just one missed call.
And I think especially when you’re frustrated with your job search, and you’re not feeling great about progress, it’s easy to let one missed call feel like something much, much bigger.
Mac Prichard:
And what does good follow-up look like? Some people might worry, “I don’t want to be a pest.” What do you recommend for someone who’s thinking about following up?
Matthew Warner:
Thank you. Thank you for the tip. Thank you for thinking of me. Thanks for just taking a few minutes to get caught up. When someone gives us a gift, we say thank you. And those little bits of help, those little pieces of advice are gifts.
Mac Prichard:
Terrific. Well, it’s been a great conversation. Tell us what’s next for you, Matthew?
Matthew Warner:
I think it’s a really exciting time at Friends of the Children in Portland, the founding chapter of the National Friends of the Children Network, as we’re wrapping up the reconstruction of our National Center of Excellence in professional mentoring and reopening our Albina campus here in Northeast Portland, where we began.
It’s a great opportunity to really provide amazing mentorship to youth with so much promise in our community.
Mac Prichard:
Well, congratulations on those accomplishments. I know that our audience can learn more about you and your work at Friends of the Children – Portland by connecting with you on LinkedIn.
And when you do reach out to Matthew, be sure to include a note and tell him that you saw or heard him on Find Your Dream Job.
Now, Matthew, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want an audience member to remember about how to maintain and grow your network?
Matthew Warner:
I think you and I are both here in the Pacific Northwest, and as I look out my window, it’s a gray day. And a gray day is a great day to send a text to somebody you haven’t talked to in a while. That’s how you maintain your network.
Mac Prichard:
Next week, our guest will be Diane DeVore.
She’s the assistant director for career services at Everett Community College.
Diane has a passion for amplifying silenced voices in communities and encourages others to cultivate imagination, growth, and authentic connection.
You send out lots and lots of applications, but hardly anyone responds.
When you do have an interview, you don’t get an offer.
It feels like you’re going nowhere.
Join us next Wednesday when Diane DeVore and I talk about how to get unstuck in your job search.
Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.
This show is produced by Mac’s List.
Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media and creates our transcripts.
Our sound engineer and editor is Anna McClain. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.
This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.
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