Hacker News Reader

Comment by hellogoodbyeeee | Hacker News Reader

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 about looking for a position or should the initial email be more of a request for an informational interview on the industry or company?

View on HN

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.

Why are hiring managers thinking that way, though? I was in the process of finding a new job a few months back and mostly what the HR people did was matching words from CVs and job descriptions and then handing off the whole process to the actual management of the company. Often it was a mismatch. It's like inviting the first level support from your telco company to coffee because your internet is not working.

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.

Even if it's presumptuous, what's the worst that could happen? I think you should email and see what happens.

As a consultant and employee, I would be a bit surprised by such an email because I'm not in a position to hire people. But my manager is always looking for people and we have a referral bonus system, so I would get some money for introducing someone to my manager who gets hired. Both me and my manager would have selfish reasons for seeing you, apart from just being nice people that want to help others out.

If you suggest a coffee close to their office, I don't see a problem. They'll either ignore your email, tell you they're busy, or meet up. I would definitely suggest that you make your intentions clear that you're looking for a job, but also that you're interested in learning more about the job or the industry. I would also suggest that you say how you found the person, otherwise they may be more suspicious or confused. Just say if you found them on LinkedIn, on the company website, or wherever, so that they know where you're coming from.

Good luck!

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

I'm in this camp too. Always happy to email back with info to help someone, but not always interested enough to want to meet up, or might just be busy. If you give people the option of either, they can choose what suits them best.

I also vastly prefer email over calls.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com