incentive to help others

I have been wondering this for a while.. what is the incentive to help others when they sign up to the forum specifically to ask a question pertaining to interview/assessment X with company Y? I am all for altruism, but don't really appreciate it when folks just pump for info and give nothing in return. At least 2 folks have asked me about a particular company and not said 'thanks' after they got the info they thought they wanted to hear.

18 Comments
 

i agree on that point - or some individuals would come up, ask certain questions, and once they get answers, they won't provide updates. i tend to help others because i feel that when i`m lost at times, i get helped by these individuals on the site. do good to others and others will do unto you.

 

helping others helps you learn in the process. I think the key to a more rewarding experience is only answering questions that seem interesting to you - while trying to find a best way to answer, you uncover some truths for yourself along the way. If the question is too simplistic to warrant anything more than a 1-liner response, it's best to pass (or mock the asker, if you feel like it)

More is good, all is better
 

I recently started becoming an active member of the forum for this reason.. I needed some career advice and after receiving great feedback I have been passing it forward. I try to answer questions i see here that i have had experience with or have knowledge about to the best of my ability. Also, I believe that this site can provide another networking avenue that may be untapped by others and perhaps introduce you to people you otherwise would have never had the chance to meet!

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” - Malone
 

I do it to expand my network and knowledge base. I'm not in the industry but I can give a reasonable response to 75% of the questions I've seen asked on this forum. I also hope to some day meet up with some of the guys around here.

As for why they do it, I'd say because they're willing to help out other people that are excited about the industries they work in. Thanks, guys!

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
papeetedenver - you forgot to mention how you like to remind us of your sexual prowess every other thread

Being jealous is an easy way to not get laid as often as I do.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Networking tool. Boredom. Interest in the field. Desire to be the largest banana / silver banana holder on the site. Everyone has their own reasons. Most people I respond to via PM have said "thanks" or some equivalent. I've even run into some people that have mutual friends or know me from somewhere.

Personally, I try to focus my time on questions where I am uniquely qualified to answer (more so than most people on the boards). I don't put much effort into questions that anyone could answer (how would you rank these banks? what are my chances? how do I network? etc etc.) This is a lot more rewarding to me personally.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

I've gotten IB interviews by networking with fellow WSO members. I feel like part of the reason I got them was because I was a well-known member of the community at the time (admittedly, this wasn't on my Nouveau Richie account) and both guys recognized my username due to sheer volume/frequency of posts. I imagine that had I not taken the time to help out so repeatedly, my name wouldn't have been out there, and they wouldn't have taken a chance on me. There's A LOT of opportunity on WSO, you just have to post/hang around enough to recognize them.

Also procrastination.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

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“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” - Malone

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