I have about 40 friends who really look out for me in my career. This was not from strategy. It just sort of happened over the course of time. I help them anyway I can. They help me. We become friends who look out for each other in our careers.

I have about 40 executives like that now. They bring me in for recruiting work. I help them and anyone they know. I help them as a friend. I used to have a well-known philosophy about business: Business and pleasure don’t mix. Sound familiar? I thought it did as well and I almost lived my life by it.

But, then one day I’m reading a book about one of the top Executive Recruiters in the world. In studying him I uncovered one of his philosophies for success and I adopted it for my own.

They asked him why he was so successful and he thought for a moment and said.

I think it’s because I don’t know where my business life ends and where my personal life begins. My friends are my clients, and my clients are my friends.

In an instant, I immediately upgraded my philosophy! I have found for me that If you allow yourself to have friends in business a lot of good things can happen. And you might just have more fun. Always be professional but allow yourself to be you, in business and in your career.

In your personal life you have friends and it’s okay to have friends in your career and in business as well. Be yourself. You will naturally bring more value to your business relationships if you are working with someone who is truly your friend. That’s just another way of being a professional.

Joe Pelayo, C.P.C. Managing Partner Joseph Michaels International Recruiters Email: jpelayo@josephmichaels.com “One of the Top 75 Recruiters in the United States.” – Recruiter Life Magazine. Bringing Together Great Talent and Growing Companies in the USA and around the World for over three decades. Josephmichaels.com