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 →
my coworkers said they’d write me LinkedIn recommendations — but never came through by Alison Green on May 3, 2021 A reader writes: I am in a puzzling situation. I only have a few days left at my current job, and I am exchanging LinkedIn recommendations with a lot of colleagues. I ask people if that would be okay to do so before actually writing these to make sure that they are on board with […] Read the full article →
what’s the best networking experience you’ve had? by Alison Green on March 25, 2021 So many people hate networking — they worry it feels slimy, they don’t quite know how to do it, or it just makes them uncomfortable. It doesn’t help that most of us have had run-in’s with bad networkers. So let’s talk about good networking. What’s the most satisfying or useful networking experience you ever had? How […] Read the full article →
a man claiming to have an Oscar (he doesn’t) wants to give me advice on my field (that he’s not in) by Alison Green on March 23, 2021 A reader writes: I’m an indie filmmaker in the process of hiring an intern to work on my feature-length documentary. I posted the job in some niche industry/women/BIPOC groups I’m in, along with one generic group of job-seekers in my metro area. The latter post prompted someone to message me directly offering to answer any […] Read the full article →
my networking meetings aren’t leading to interviews by Alison Green on January 21, 2021 A reader writes: I’ve been job-hunting for many, many months now, and recently a personal connection was able to introduce me to several high-level contacts in my desired industry. (I am three years post-college graduation and looking for a role in social justice/community organizing.) Through this contact I have spoken to senior/executive-director level people at […] Read the full article →
should I warn job candidates about how bad my company is? by Alison Green on September 29, 2020 A reader writes: I’m currently wrapping up a job of many years. While my major reason for leaving was wanting to change professions, I’ve been looking for the past year due to job dissatisfaction and problems with senior management. Honestly, I stuck around longer than I should have because I really enjoyed my team members […] Read the full article →
how do I network now that I can’t take people for coffee? by Alison Green on September 15, 2020 A reader writes: When approaching someone for an informational interview, it’s the done thing where I live to offer to take them out for a coffee (or bring them a hot drink if you’re coming to them). Whether or not they take you up on the offer isn’t really the point. It’s just a small […] Read the full article →