PHASE 04 · NETWORKING
Phase 04 · Connections

Networking

Many roles are filled before they're ever posted, and a referral is one of the strongest routes to an interview. That is why most of your effort goes here.

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Set your career direction first
Everything downstream (CV keywords, job matching, outreach) is tuned to your target role. Two minutes here focuses the whole system.
Do it →

Your contacts

0 people · private to you

Everyone you research or message, at the stage they're at. Moving a card by hand is just a stage change; progress only counts a message you mark as sent and a chat you log.

Researched0
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Messaged0
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No contacts yet. Add the first person you research or message, and they'll stay here when you move on to the next.

Add contact

Only add what you need to follow up. No personal phone numbers or home addresses.

Research a contact

Paste what you can see on their profile. The real common ground you find is what turns a cold message into a reply.
Paste their About or experience first.

Nine things to look for

Scan their profile for these, then mention the one or two you really noticed.

Contact workspace

One person, start to finish: prep the chat, write the follow-up from what they actually said, then make the referral easy for them to act on.
Who are they?PeerRecruiterHiring manager
1 · Before the chatName and company first.
2 · After the chat
Add the contact name first.
Add the contact name first.
3 · The referralNeeds the contact name and the role.

Startup outreach

Small companies have no recruiter to route around: you email someone who can actually decide. That only works if you have read something they made.
Company name first.
Recruiter
Speed & keywords
Wants fast signal that you match the req. Lead with stack + a quantified win.
Hiring manager
Judgement & fit
Wants to see how you think. Reference their team’s real work, ask one sharp question. They decide on fit, so don’t ask them for a referral: peers and alumni give those.
Peer / alumnus
Warmth & referral
Shared background or alumni path. Ask for a coffee chat, never a job. The referral follows.

Who to ask for what

nobody here is asked for a job
WhoDecision powerReferralInsightApproachWhat to ask
Peers and alumniBelow the lineYesYesTrust-drivenTheir story and advice first. A referral can follow once they know you.
RecruitersAbove the lineNoYesFit-drivenInsight on the role and the process. Never a referral.
Hiring managersAbove the lineNoNoFit-drivenThey decide on fit. Show fit; do not ask for a referral or a job.

Who to reach, and what they're called

the titles to search on LinkedIn / Glassdoor
Recruiter
RecruiterTalent AcquisitionTalent PartnerTalent SourcerEarly Careers / University RecruiterHR
Find them: LinkedIn: "talent acquisition" + [company], or whoever posted the specific role
Research: Check if they posted about this exact role: they're the most responsive. Note the roles they usually hire for.
Hiring manager
Engineering ManagerHead of EngineeringTech LeadDirector of EngineeringVP EngineeringCTO
Find them: LinkedIn: "engineering manager" + [company]; often the person who posted the job
Research: Read their team's engineering blog and recent talks. Reference one specific thing they built, then ask one sharp question.
Peer / alumnus
Software EngineerGraduate EngineerAssociate EngineerInternJunior Developer
Find them: LinkedIn: "[your university]" + [company] + software engineer, then filter to engineers 1–4 years in
Research: Shared university halves the barrier. Prioritise former interns and recent grads: they remember applying and refer freely.
Startup founder
FounderCo-founderCEOCTOFounding Engineer
Find them: Their company site, LinkedIn, or AngelList: sub-100-person firms (the Direct Access method)
Research: Read their product, blog, and GitHub. The one specific detail about their work is non-negotiable. A generic email to 50 startups gets zero replies.
How to research before you reach out
1Read their LinkedIn, GitHub, and any blog or talk. About 30 minutes, once.
2Find ONE specific thing about their work that genuinely interests you (a post, a project, a decision).
3Find ONE real commonality: same university, city, a technology, an event you both attended.
4Note their team's current focus so your questions land on what they actually do.
5For the role itself: read the JD twice, skim the company's engineering blog, and check Glassdoor for the interview format, then map your evidence to their requirements.

Coffee chat playbook

The four-part framework · 20–30 minnever ask for a job; the referral follows
Prep, ~30 min: re-read their profile + one recent thing · 30-second intro ready · 5–6 open questions prepared (you'll use 3–4) · video on · you watch the clock.
1Opening~1 min
Intro + gratitude + set a light agenda. Setting the agenda reads as leadership.
“Would it be OK to spend most of the time on your path into the team, and grab any advice for my next year at the end?”
2Their story10–15 min
Your prepared questions: about them, never “what should I do”.
“What actually separated strong interns from average ones on your team?”
3Positioning2–3 min
Mirror their language, then map one concrete thing of yours onto it.
“That retrieval problem is close to what I hit building PathFinder’s RAG pipeline. I used pgvector.”
4Closing2 min
One takeaway + continued interest + agree the follow-up channel. The indirect close:
“What would you focus on over the next six months, in my position?”

Your one-liner

role · bridge · problem

Built from your Direction answers. Anything in [brackets] is something only you know: fill it in, then say it out loud. Pick the one that fits you; the other two are for other situations.

The Rolebest for: Job seeker
I'm a student aiming for [the role you want], and right now I'm working on [what you're building or learning].
What you do + who for + what you're focused on now
The Bridgebest for: Career switcher
I used to [what you did before]. Now I do [skill] in [new place].
I used to [old thing]. Now I do [skill] in [new place].
The Problembest for: Founder
I help [who] with [problem].
I help [who] with [problem].

Networking at events

in person · from finding the room to the follow-up

You are probably not bad at talking to people; you may just not know what to do once you are in the room. The numbers below are TechTalk rules of thumb, not research.

1 · Where the events are
Platforms
Luma, Eventbrite, Meetup, LinkedIn Events
Communities
Slack and Discord groups, Alumni networks, Women in tech groups, Student and career communities
Hiding in plain sight
Company careers pages, Conference side events, Speakers you follow
2 · Which ones are worth going to
  • 30 to 80 people if you want to network; 80 or more if you want to learn (a TechTalk rule of thumb).
  • Think about who will be in the room.
  • Think about the format: roundtables, workshops, a seated dinner or something sporty make talking easier.
  • Try recurring events, so faces become familiar. TechTalk suggests picking one series and going three times.
3 · Fifteen minutes of prep
1Read the guest list. Some platforms show who is attending. At minimum, check the speakers.
2Tidy your LinkedIn. People will look you up that night.
3Think of a one-liner intro. A clear one-line story. The card below builds three.
4Have questions ready. One about the event, one about their work.
5Arrive in the first 10 minutes. Joining five people is easy; joining fifty is not.
6Take a breath. Everyone there feels just like you.
4 · Six openers that are not small talk
“What brought you to this one?”
“What are you working on at the moment?”
“Mind if I join you? I'm [your name].”
“Have you been to one of these before?”
“What did you make of that last point about [topic]?”
“What are you hoping to get out of tonight?”
5 · How to leave a conversation
“I'm going to grab a drink, but this was great. Are you on LinkedIn?”
“I want to let you meet a few more people, but let's keep talking.”
“Before I go, I would love to connect.”

Connect with them there and then, before you walk away.

6 · The follow-up ladder · the longer you wait, the faster you are forgotten
1
That night
Send the connection request at the event.
2
Within 48 hours
A short message that says where you met and one specific detail from the conversation.
3
The next few weeks (keep showing up)
Engage with what they post and comment where you can, so you stay visible.
4
The next few months (keep showing up)
Send something useful with no ask attached: an article, an intro, a resource.
AI outreach · tailored to your contact
RecruiterHiring managerPeer / alumnusStartup founder
Paste their profile in “Research a contact” above to personalise this. Otherwise the AI writes from your target role alone.
Subject · CS student: quick question on your swe intern track
Structural template: fill the bracketed parts, or generate a tailored version

Hi there, I'm a CS student focused on swe intern work (React, TypeScript, Node). I saw the swe intern opening and wanted to reach out directly.

[Name one real project you can point to, with a link.] I'd value 15 minutes to learn what a strong application looks like to your team. No ask beyond that.

[Add one specific thing you noticed about the team or a recent post before sending.] Thanks either way. [Your name]

0 outreach messages logged → tracker stat

Follow-up cadence

The 4-step sequence
1
Thank-you
Within 24h of any reply or chat
2
Action proof
Did the thing they suggested? Show it.
3
Value-add
Share something useful, no ask
4
Long-term reminder
Light check-in ~6 weeks later