I was hit on at a conference … was I too friendly? by Alison Green on October 11, 2022 A reader writes: My spouse and I are in the same field and usually attend conferences together. Generally we don’t spend that much time together at conferences, touching base a couple of times throughout the day (often mostly via text) and then having dinner and going to the room together, but people know we’re married. […] Read the full article →
my friend won’t stop complaining about the candidates I’ve referred to her by Alison Green on July 25, 2022 A reader writes: I wanted your thoughts about a situation involving a friend of mine. We used to work together in the same department of the same company; I left a few years ago and no longer work at the company at all, while she was promoted to director. Outside of work, we have stayed […] Read the full article →
how many times can I ask a networking contact for help? by Alison Green on June 23, 2022 A reader writes: How many times is it appropriate to reach out to networking contacts for informational interviews, referrals, connections, etc.? I have been searching on and off over the past two years. I don’t want to take advantage of my older networking contacts who have already helped me, and I would certainly return any […] Read the full article →
should I let my parents help me network? by Alison Green on May 26, 2022 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: My question is about networking and family. My parents and I are in the same field, and I definitely was helped from the very beginning of my career by their experience and connections. Now that I’m finishing graduate school however, I feel that I want […] Read the full article →
how do I get away from clingy networkers at events? by Alison Green on April 18, 2022 A reader writes: I am fortunate to be fairly well-known in my field and attend a lot of professional events. I try to meet as many new people and existing contacts as possible during these events, as part of my purpose in attending is to make the contacts I need to do my work. At […] Read the full article →
is networking overrated? by Alison Green on February 8, 2022 A reader writes: Job searching advice usually focuses heavily on networking, and while I know you emphasize it less than others, you have also written about the importance of reputation-building and networking. This … doesn’t really match my experience. I don’t have much of a professional network, despite graduating five years ago and working for […] Read the full article →
how can I avoid business contacts who just want to pitch me? by Alison Green on October 20, 2021 A reader writes: I often get requests for phone conversations from people in related industries who want to “ask my opinion” about some aspect of my area of expertise. After 30 minutes of conversation, it always turns into a sales pitch for whatever product they’re working on or company they’re consulting for. I find this […] Read the full article →
how do you network in the era of Covid? by Alison Green on October 7, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I live in an area with a lot of rules around the pandemic still — masks are mandated for indoor public spaces, many orgs are (wisely) still offering many things online, universities and such are mandating students and staff be vaccinated to come on campus/ […] Read the full article →
can I turn a request for free help into paid consulting? by Alison Green on September 13, 2021 A reader writes: I work in a pretty specific niche area. I was recently at a conference describing my work, and a leader from another organization came up to me to ask me how he could find someone like me to work for him. I emailed him some information about the graduate school I attended, […] Read the full article →
should you connect with strangers on LinkedIn? by Alison Green on June 30, 2021 A reader writes: I work in an industry that’s largely freelance, with a massive component of networking and word-of-mouth. But almost all of that networking is done in-person. As far as I know, I’ve never gotten a job or a useful contact out of LinkedIn because it’s just not really the way we work. Additionally, […] Read the full article →