How to Network and Ask for Professional Advice (Including Mine) 

Are you networking in a helpful or annoying way when you seek professional advice? I love this recent NYT article “How Not to Be a Networking Leech,” written by a management consultant and career advisor. Like me, she receives numerous requests from strangers asking for free advice and introductions.

Her top tips on how NOT to be a networking parasite: 

1. Show respect to the person you are asking advice from. Make it easy to meet or talk by phone. Offer to pay for the coffee or lunch. Don’t ask the advisor to take notes for you. (Yes, that has happened to me.)
2. Make the best use of everyone’s time by preparing beforehand. You can send questions pre-meeting so the agenda is clear.
3. Don’t argue over the (free) advice given. At most, ask for clarification or how they would handle a particular concern.
4. Show gratitude. Email thanks, and give an update on how things went. Think about how you can help, e.g., by making a professional connection or writing a recommendation.
5. Pay it forward; consciously try to help others. Don’t give more than you take. A simple test: list people you have helped and favors you have done without expecting anything in return that week, and make sure the page is not empty!

 
Follow these rules to get the most out of your network and still have people thinking highly of you.