A random comment from my old professor about networking still haunts me

I was in my junior year at a small college in Ohio, and after class one day I mentioned how exhausting it was to keep emailing strangers for job shadowing. My professor, this older guy who taught marketing, just looked at me and said 'You're not trying to make friends, you're trying to learn what they know. Ask them one specific question instead of a favor.' That totally flipped how I approached it. I started asking people in my field about one tool they used daily, and the responses were way better. Has anyone else had a random piece of advice from a teacher that actually worked out?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carr253d ago

Wait, isn't that just a different kind of favor though? You're still asking them for their time and knowledge. I had a teacher tell me the opposite, to just be upfront about networking being awkward and ask for a quick coffee chat. That honesty opened way more doors for me than trying to be slick with a single question. Plus people see through the "one specific question" thing real fast if it's just a trick to get your foot in the door.

the_jordan3d ago

Yeah, I guess I just don't see why this whole networking thing has to be such a big deal. @victor_carr25 you're probably overthinking it if you think people are gonna get tricked by asking one question. Worst case they say no, big whoop.