Hi Friend
Welcome to your weekly dose of personal and career fuel
Most people treat networking like a transaction, and that is exactly why nobody is calling them back.
They send the same generic messages on LinkedIn. They ask to buy someone a coffee just to pick their brain. Or worse, they offer to help a senior executive with their strategic goals.
Let me be blunt. A vice president with a hundred-person team does not need help from a stranger. They do not want your free assistance. They do not have time for your coffee. When you offer unearned help, you look like a solicitor standing on their front porch.
Applying to everyone is not a strategy. It is panic with an internet connection.
High-performers do not build relationships by offering favors. They build them by asking for judgment.
People love to share their expertise. They love to talk about how they solved a complex problem. When you ask a specific, high-stakes question, you are not bothering them. You are validating their career.
You get it, right?