Somewhere in your phone is a professional contact you keep meaning to re-engage. You told yourself you'd reach out once things calmed down. Surprise: they didn't (but when do they ever).

Standard networking advice focuses on building your network. But what happens to it after you change jobs, titles, or industries? Play your cards right and big changes could lead to an even bigger table.  

A poker pro would tell you to check your table image here. Your reputation walks in before you do, built from how you've played, not the position you happened to occupy. Change seats and a real table image travels with you — the good players still know exactly who they're dealing with.

Realistically, some of your contacts were only ever interested in your position. They benefitted from the title on your door, or the budget that came with it. Let those relationships go, no formal goodbye required. They were never going to follow you anywhere, and chasing them spends energy you could put toward the ones that will.

Play Your Table Image with Purpose During a Career Transition

A table image doesn't defend itself. The people who play theirs well don't wait to be remembered fondly, but purposefully give people fresh reasons to back up the reputation they've already got.

Start by visibly following through on whatever you commit to in these first few months. Playing your table image well is active work. It doesn't run on autopilot just because you built a strong one once.

For instance, writing someone a recommendation before they ask for one or remembering a specific detail from a conversation years ago does more for your table image than any single grand gesture.

Four Moves to Grow Your Network After a Career Switch

Skip the one-size-fits-all script. Each move below borrows a different poker skill, translated for the specific contact in front of you.

1. Once you’ve landed something new: This is where confidence pays off. Strong players announce a big bet the same way whether they're holding a monster hand or building their image on nothing at all. Talk about your new role with the same directness you'd play a great hand, instead of downplaying it to avoid sounding like you're bragging. Send the specific update instead of the vague check-in: "Just took the Head of Ops role at [company] — wanted you to hear it from me first" earns a reply that "hope you're well" simply doesn’t.
2. When they’re still inside your old company: This calls for social intelligence — reading what someone actually needs before you ask them for anything. Check-in on their world instead of your old one. "How're you and the team handling the reorg?" signals you're focused on them, not mining for gossip about the place you left.
3. Someone goes completely dark after you leave: Poker rewards aggression, and not the confrontational kind — it just means making the first move instead of waiting to see what happens. Send the message first. "Realized it's been a while since we talked. I've got a few slots open this week if you want to grab 15 minutes — here's my calendar link: [link]." However they respond, you'll have your answer.
4. The relationship where you don't need to bluff: Even the best poker players know when to stop performing and just show their hand. With the person you trust to be straight with you, skip the warm-up and ask directly for what you need. "I'm weighing two offers and want your honest read" works because asking someone's trusted opinion is its own kind of respect.

The Networking Strategy That Outlasts a Job Change

Treat the reputation you already have like it's still in play whenever someone from the past crosses your path.

Every career transition is an opportunity to double down on your table image. The contacts chasing your position will move on to whoever sits there next. The keepers watch for something simpler: whether you'd stay exactly who you've always been.

Show up that way, and your table image opens the door. Walking through it consistently, and following through on what you say once you're inside, is the strategy that wins every job change following this one.