Casey worked at a digital marketing agency and spoke at a conference I attended. Because I was in the same industry I chatted with him afterward. I expressed an interest in open positions at his company. He said he’d look into it.
Casey introduced me to the leaders of his agency by email since they all worked remotely in different cities around the U.S. I saw one of the guys, Dayna, was in Western Michigan so I made plans to have coffee with him while visiting my mom over Christmas. I recognized his name somehow but didn’t remember how.
As we chatted in the coffee shop, Dayna told me he worked in Detroit in the late 80s. It turned out my dad coached him in his job search after he was laid off — which was cool. He also told me he went to the same church as my parents (which I went to in high school). I then remembered where I had met Dayna.
Some friends had a BBQ when I was back visiting Detroit and I met him and his wife. I was working at a nonprofit at the time, so I started sending them my newsletter.
I was very cool making a connection again after 15 years.
But the most amazing thing was that five minutes before I showed up Dayna had been talking with his daughter and her friend about job networking.
“I was sharing with them principles your father had taught me 20 years ago,” Dayna said. “I couldn’t remember your dad’s name but what he taught me had a great impact on me. So it’s funny meeting you here.”