Comment by zer00eyz | Hacker News Reader

Comment by zer00eyz | Hacker News Reader

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I am a consultant now so it's a new company every few months.

There are groups of people you always make nice with.

* Security people. The kinds with poorly fit blazers who let you into the building. Learn these peoples names, Starbucks cards are your friends.

* Cleaning people. Be nice, be polite, again learn names. Your area will be spoltless. It's worth staying late every now and again just to get to know these folks.

* Accounting: Make some friends here. Get coffee, go to lunch, talk to them about non work shit, ask about their job, show interest. If you pick the right ones they are gonna grab you when layoffs are coming or corp money is flowing (hit your boss up for extra money times).

* IT. The folks who hand out laptops, manage email. Be nice to these people. Watch how quickly they rip bullshit off your computer or wave some security nonsense. Be first in line for every upgrade possible.

* Sysadmins. These are the most important ones. Not just because "root" but because a good SA knows how to code but never says it out loud. A good sysadmin will tell you what dark corners have the bodies and if it's just a closet or a whole fucking cemetery. If you learn to build into their platform (hint for them containers are how they isolate your shitty software in most cases) then you're going to get a LOT more leeway. This is the one group of people who will ask you for favors and you should do them.

> Starbucks cards are your friends

like, how? are you straight up bribing people with coffee for security favors? or is it like, "hey man, thanks for helping me out I'd like to buy you a coffee but I'm busy with secret consulting stuff - here's a gift card"

Is this something that only works for short lived external consultant interactions?

You do that right after walking into the manager's office and getting a job with a firm handshake. Then you go outside and buy a hotdog for 15 cents and a detached house in San Francisco for $15,000 USD.

You learn peoples names, you say high every day you treat them like humans. You bring them coffee on occasion if it is early in the morning... or you ask them if they want something if your going for that post lunch pick me up for your self.

By the end of a 4-5 week run you will know all the security people in a building. If I go to lunch an forget my badge they will let me back in no questions asked. This is something I used to do as staff, and still do to this day.

Just give one as a gift occasionally. The holiday season is great for this. On your way in, "Merry Christmas Frank!" and hand one out. Or even just because. "Keep up the good work, here you go"

Its not about bribing to get a specific favor. Its about getting on good terms. Having people like you is a good thing and it makes their job a bit better and can make their day a little brighter. win-win

So true. If you want to know anything about an office, ask the sysadmins. Double-plus on being nice to the facility managers, cleaning people and security. Not only do they do a thankless job but they are often the most useful and resourceful people around if you need something taken care of. They know how to get shit done.

Much easier to be nice as default ;D

Agreed. Although being "extra nice" -- going out of your way to learn about people, eat with them, etc. -- does take extra time, so you can't do that with everyone.

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