Thought the 'coffee chat' thing was just corporate fluff

I was super skeptical about reaching out to people for informational interviews, thought it was just awkward networking. But after I actually did one with a senior designer at a firm in Austin, she gave me a tip about a portfolio project that directly led to my current job. What's something you guys thought was pointless but actually paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_barnes4822d ago

Honestly, how can you even trust that advice? Tbh most of those coffee chats are just a waste of time for everyone. You got lucky once, but for every person that works out, ten others just get ghosted or get useless tips. It feels like people are just being polite and don't actually want to help. Ngl I tried it a few times and it was always super awkward and never led to anything real. It's just corporate people pretending to care.

king.lisa22d ago

I had three coffee chats last month that felt exactly like what victor_barnes48 is saying, just going through the motions. It's like they're reading from a script about company culture instead of giving you a real look at the job. You start to wonder if they're just doing it because their boss told them to be a mentor. The whole thing can make you feel more alone than if you never reached out at all. Why do we keep pretending this is the best way to build a network?