Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How Do You Keep Track of Professional Connections?

news.ycombinator.com

1–2 of 2 posts

Ask HN: How Do You Keep Track of Professional Connections?

Post by oneturkmen » Thu, Feb 13, 2025, 2:04 AM UTC

Hi HN,

I'm a software engineer by profession, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to maintain meaningful professional connections over time. Right now, I mostly rely on LinkedIn and WhatsApp, but neither feels great for keeping track of past conversations, following up naturally, or remembering to reach out.

Has anyone faced a similar challenge? How do you manage and nurture your professional network in a way that feels organic rather than transactional? Any tools, workflows, or habits that have worked well for you?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Ask HN: How Do You Keep Track of Professional Connections?

Post by scarface_74 » Thu, Feb 13, 2025, 2:34 AM UTC

It’s LinkedIn. Everyone knows it’s transactional and there is nothing wrong with that. If I’m looking for a job, I reach out to my network on LinkedIn and they usually respond.

If I have an open position at my company, I will post it on LinkedIn and people reach out to me.

There is usually a natural decay with how often you keep in touch with former coworkers.

I have been working for almost 30 years and there are six former coworkers I have spoken to in the last month and one of those is my wife.

Post reply on HN