Struggling with Networking
Hey everyone, I hope all is well.
I'm a rising sophomore at a non-target, and I've been on around 50 coffee chats with bankers/professionals in the industry. I've been having some trouble getting referrals from people on coffee chats, and I usually end up with the following predicament:
- Call lasts anywhere from 30 mins minimum to 1 hour (most calls go to the 1hr mark)
- Calls are very conversational and the person on the other end usually tells me, 'you're asking the right questions, you know what you are doing, you know the market, you can do this, etc etc'
- I know the markets well, so I can display some decent knowledge and have a thoughtful conversation. I never ask people about 'firm culture' or any nonsense like that, all my calls end up going 'down a rabbit hole'
When it comes to referral time though, I usually end up asking, "so is there anyone else I can chat with in XYZ firm" or "do you know anyone else on X desk" and the response I end up getting can either be, "I'll think about it" or "no I don't know anyone on that desk. keep in touch with me though"
I'm confused as hell.. I have never had a "dead 15 minutes Q&A" yet this is happening.
Would appreciate insights. thanks
Don’t ask for specific desk. Just ask, “is there anyone else u suggest I reach out to?”
If ur speaking w people outside of ur schools network that might be why you don’t get referrals.
In ur thank you email just reference it again
yeah, he was a guy in macro sales/trading. He cant talk to folks in capital markets even. I asked wrong! wont do it again
Any tips on how to make the call conversational from the jump. Like after intros how do you keeping it flowing
One banker (whom I had a really awkward call with, but took pity on me and gave me some networking tips) recommended that if I'm talking to an alum, after introducing myself, I should ask them about their experience at our shared alma mater. I took this to heart and had a much better call with another banker a few hours later.
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