Networking

Networking(blah)

Stats on Job Seeking

• 50% of all jobs are found through networking

• Weak ties lead to strong leads

Always Be Meeting

• Some simple math...

• Average person has:

• 130 friends on Facebook

• 60 connections on LinkedIn..

• That means you have 36,100 people in your second degree network.

• What we found at Meeteor is that you’re likely to have more than 450 connections overall.

• ...so 160,000 people in your second degree network.

Always Be Meeting

• Every person you meet...

• ...has 450 people they can introduce you to

• ...across 19 different industries

Where to Network

• Events/MeetUps

• Cold Emailing

• Alumni Databases

• Facebook/LinkedIn

Where to Network

• Events/MeetUps

• Cold Emailing

• Alumni Databases

• Facebook/LinkedIn

Finding Events/Meetups

• Startup City Seattle

• http://startupseattle.com/

• Guide to Seattle Community

• http://startupseattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Startup-Community-Guide.pdf

• Hops and Chops

• http://hopsandchops.com/

• Startup Poker 2.0

• http://startuppoker20.com/

• Hacker News Meetup

So you’re at an event..

Ask: What’s Your Story?

• “What do you?” do sucks

• Many people have day jobs they don’t like, starts conversation in a negative way

• What’s your story lets people tell a narrative:

• “I work at HP, but I’m really passionate about...”

• Easier to connect on a more meaningful level

Rule # 1: Mojo(Stop Grinfucking)

• If you’re not feeling it...

• Move on. It’s ok.

• I really connect with about 5/100 people I meet.

Rule #2:Everyone Can Help You

• The person in front of you...

• May not be hiring.

• May not be an engineer.

• But they definitely know someone who is relevant for you.

• Key is getting them to want to help you.

Rule # 3: Help Them

• Be curious about the person’s needs

• The more helpful you are, the more likely they are to want to reciprocate

Rule #4Have a Story

• Stories are easier to remember:

• “Oh, you’re that person who was really passionate about drones”

• Tell people what you’re looking for

• Problems you’re fascinated with

Rule # 5: Follow Up

• Get an email, or connect on LinkedIn, or use Bump

• Track information they care about, and send it to them

So what if that doesn’t work?

Where to Network

• Events/MeetUps

• Cold Emailing

• Alumni Databases

• Facebook/LinkedIn

Cold Email Strategy(Bleike)

Cold Email Strategy

• Identify list of companies you’re interested in

• Go to “About Us” or Team sections

• If you can’t find a list of relevant employees, go to the company blog, or search for the company on LinkedIn

• Look up personal blogs/twitter accounts for each individual you find - get as much data as possible on them

• Company blog will usually detail what their biggest issue is

Cold Outreach EmailAmit,

I hope this email finds you well. I’m reaching out as I’m currently in a one month Ruby on Rails coding bootcamp, and am looking to get a job as a junior dev upon my graduation in April. The program is called CodeFellows, and it’s organized by Andy Sachs, the founder of TechStars Seattle.

I was reading your blog post on making math make sense to programmers, and as a junior dev, I found it quite helpful! Translating the pythagorean theorem into basic Ruby really helped.

I was hoping you might be free to connect and discuss your career trajectory and current position at Pivotal Labs. Would you be free next Thursday at 5PM?

All the Best,

Philip C.

PS, below are some links to my resume, and work I’ve done:http://about.me/philco

http://www.github.com/philco11

• Found: http://pivotallabs.com/making-math-make-sense-to-programmers/

• http://assets.pivotallabs.com/1654/original/mathtocode.pdf

• A little about you

• Show them you did your research

• The Ask. (And for the love of god, always include dates and times!)

What to expect

• 10-20% hit rate, tops!

• People are hungry for talent, so they’re likely to bring you in

• They want a combination of cultural fit and ability fit. Culture will be what keeps you around, you can always “make more money” elsewhere

The Meeting

• Always ask what their needs are

• Give first, reciprocity is a powerful motivator

Where to Network

• Events/MeetUps

• Cold Emailing

• Alumni Databases

• Facebook/LinkedIn

Alumni Reach Out Template

Hello Robert,

My name is Philip Cortes and I am a 2011 graduate of Wharton's MBA program.  My co-founder and I recently launched our company, Meeteor, at Wharton and I am now in NYC fundraising.  I was hoping to get a few minutes with you to discuss Meeteor and our vision for the future.  Would next ____ at ____ work for you?

One Sentence Blurb:  Meeteor introduces you to people you don't know, but should, by leveraging data from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.   

Below are two links, one to our demo and the other to our summary video:

Demo: http://vimeo.com/20063840

Summary:    http://meeteor.posterous.com/yc-video

Thank you in advance for your time, I look forward to speaking with you.

All the Best,

Philip J. Cortes

• School connection is enough, mention it first.

• State agenda/why you’re interesting

• Give links to additional information, your online profiles, etc.

The Meeting

• Always ask what their needs are

• Give first, reciprocity is a powerful motivator

• Ask for two additional introductions

Where to Network

• Events/MeetUps

• Cold Emailing

• Alumni Databases

• Facebook/LinkedIn

Sign up for graph search!

Requesting an Introduction

Hey John,

I hope this email finds you well. Things have been good on my side - I’m spending the month of March in a program called CodeFellows, which is a one month Ruby on Rails (coding) intensive class. It’s been pretty exciting! The program was organized by Andy Sachs (the founder of TechStars Seattle), and the admissions rate into the program was about 7%, I’m surrounded by some really impressive peers!

I saw on LinkedIn that you were connected to Boris Wertz at VentureOne. I’m hoping to work full time as a developer at a startup after class, and am currently focusing my efforts on meeting venture capitalists in the independent publishing space. Would you be up for making an introduction? No worries if you’re not that close, but wanted to reach out and check.

Below is a brief blurb you can forward to him about me:

Philip is an ex-startup founder, reinventing himself as a junior developer. He was admitted into CodeFellows, which is a Ruby on Rails bootcamp organized by Andy Sack in Seattle. (Andy founded Techstars in Seattle). He’s looking to get into the independent publishing space as a developer. Do you think you would have time to chat with him?

Here's a little more about the Philip and what he did at Meeteor:  

http://deck.meeteor.com

Thanks John! Much appreciated

Philip C.

• Setup what you’re up to, your agenda.

• The Ask. Hyperlink whatever you can. Give them an out.

• Write up a blurb that they can forward. Make it easy!

• Add as many hyperlinks to your online identities as possible.

• They want to know that you’re not going to make them look bad. The better the justification, the more likely they are to pass it through.