Last Thursday I found myself at a table with 12 designers I'd never met before.

Not at some conference networking event with name tags and awkward small talk.

Just dinner. Good food. Real conversation.

We talked about everything except portfolios and case studies. AI's impact on our work. Career pivots. The challenge of explaining UX to non-designers. One person shared their struggle with imposter syndrome. Another talked about wanting to transition into leadership.

By the end of the night, we had each other's numbers. Not for "networking purposes." Because we actually liked each other.

This is what I've learned about building real professional relationships:

The foundation isn't what you do for work. It's shared experiences. Common challenges. Genuine curiosity about each other as humans.

Traditional networking feels transactional because it is. You're there to get something. Everyone knows it. Everyone feels it.

But when you create space for real connection first, professional opportunities follow naturally.

Three months later, two people from that first dinner series referred projects to each other. One person got introduced to a startup through someone else at the table. Another found a mentor.

None of this was planned. It happened because they built actual relationships.

Most designers I know struggle with this part of career growth. They're great at the craft but terrible at the relationship building that opens doors.

They send LinkedIn messages that go nowhere. Attend events where they collect business cards but make no real connections. Wonder why their network never leads to opportunities.

The secret isn't better networking tactics. It's creating environments where people can connect as humans first, professionals second.

This is exactly what we focus on in Career Creators. Not just teaching you how to reach out to hiring managers, but how to build the kind of relationships that make people want to help you succeed.

Because when you invest in people genuinely, they invest back.

Joseph

P.S. - If you're tired of transactional networking and want to learn how to build real professional relationships that actually open doors, reply "relationships" and I'll share more about our approach.