Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Become Well-Connected

firstround.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 148 posts

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#11

Post by maccard »

speeder wrote: post #6

I liked the article but it doesn't explain how to start a network... much of its advice is about how to manage an existing one. Examples: it mentions that you should sometimes offer stuff to people you already know, instead of only interacting to ask. But what to do when your network is nonexistent and you have nothing to offer?

Are you saying you have no skills or interests or abilities that you could share? And that you don't know any people at any level. Work colleagues, neighbours, people you meet/met in school/college/university. As for "things tovgive". - almost everyone has time, and can talk/be a pair of arms or legs, or can read something or drop something off.

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#12

Post by jobu »

verdverm wrote: post #2

Dale Carnegie 101 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influen...

Yep, this article is a re-hash of what Dale Carnegie started teaching over 100 years ago. My main takeaway from that class was to ask enough questions when I meet someone so that I can to steer the conversation toward a mutual interest. After that the personal connection is made and conversation is fun and easy.

The best way to make an impression on someone is to ask questions about them until you find some

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#14

Post by edraferi »

hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #7

Id love some opinions on a couple networking questions I have. I'm looking for a new job currently and I'm trying to be more proactive in networking. Is it presumptuous to cold email somebody and ask them for coffee? I imagine everyone is busy and doesn't have time for coffee with strangers, but I really hate talking on the phone. And if the person I am emailing is someone I want to work for, should I be upfront abou…

Personally, I'm always happy to hear from people who are genuinely looking to learn about my industry, get advice, etc. I'm busy, but coffee is easy, especially when they're willing to come to my location.

I'd say it's a "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" situation. So ask!

Given that you've decided to ask, get a warm introduction if at all possible. Get a mutual acquaintance to introduce you, even over email. Don't have a mutual acquaintance? Start with who you know and build your network outwards. Alternatively, reach out in the context of that person's public activity: attend the same Meetup, comment on a blog post, etc.

Cold emailing will work best if you have several leads, so you can tolerate a lower success rate.

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#15

Post by jeremyt »

hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #7

Id love some opinions on a couple networking questions I have. I'm looking for a new job currently and I'm trying to be more proactive in networking. Is it presumptuous to cold email somebody and ask them for coffee? I imagine everyone is busy and doesn't have time for coffee with strangers, but I really hate talking on the phone. And if the person I am emailing is someone I want to work for, should I be upfront abou…

Coffee is a lot of trouble. I think you will have more success just emailing a very brief pitch with something more detailed attached.

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#16

Post by kawera »

He cites Contactually for managing his network, which seems nice, but it's too expensive for me and I generally prefer self-hosted solutions. Does anyone knows of good alternatives?

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#17

Post by edraferi »

pdog wrote: post #4

These are good techniques for working a network but you'll need better advice than "be human" if you want to be influential. Networking is overrated. Figure out what you're good at and make sure people hear about it. The network will take care of itself.

Excellent book on this topic is "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076DDBJ6

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#19

Post by estsauver »

hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #7

Id love some opinions on a couple networking questions I have. I'm looking for a new job currently and I'm trying to be more proactive in networking. Is it presumptuous to cold email somebody and ask them for coffee? I imagine everyone is busy and doesn't have time for coffee with strangers, but I really hate talking on the phone. And if the person I am emailing is someone I want to work for, should I be upfront abou…

If you're talking to a hiring manager, it's literally their job to hire you. It's probably at least a third of what they're responsible for at their company. You're basically asking them for a "people review" instead of a code review.

What you absolutely should do is lay out the basic information quickly and completely for them.

""" Hi Name,

My name's X and I #{was referred to you by Y, heard about you on Z...} and I'm looking for a $ROLE job. You're interesting because Q.

I'm in your area and wondering if you'd be interested in having coffee to talk about the role? I've attached my #{resume, linkedin, github with a note about what project to look at for a code example.}

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

~ $NAME $CONTACT_INFO """

That's the information I want to figure out if it's going to be a good use of time or not.

You can send me a practice email personally to earl@apolloagriculture.com and I'll give you some feedback, or if you're in Nairobi by some fluke chance we can grab coffee.

Re: How to Become Well-Connected

#20

Post by Matetricks »

Chris is an amazing person who takes the time to get to know you.

When we were fundraising, instead of having us do a regular pitch he took me to an event where Peter Thiel was giving a talk about his new book. We were a chess education company, so he thought it would be good for us to talk with Thiel as he's a chess master himself.

He didn't end up investing in us but my experience with him was much more memorable than any of the other meetings we had while fundraising.

Post reply on HN