Step 8: Approaching the Magical Sparks
‘Alexa, I’m at the end of all my lists. Nobody I know can help me. And, yes, I messaged somebody at every single target employer — except for the ones where I couldn’t find any contact information. Nobody ever got back to me. This whole thing didn’t work. I’m going back to just sending in lots of applications and playing the numbers game.’
The first thing I ever promised you, way back at the beginning of this book, was that there will always be a next step you can take. I know that the dead ends can start to leave a bitter taste in your mouth after a while. (I’d like to make an argument that it’s actually a really good sign if you’re getting a little bummed out every now and again, because it means you’re chasing opportunities that you truly find interesting, but I know that can feel like a poor consolation prize if this process starts dragging on for longer than you expected.)
It does not feel good when you want to keep cruising, but look down to find that your petrol tank — in this case, the list of contacts to chase down — is running dangerously low. Well, fear not, friend. You know that I always have a plan.
In a moment like this, we can shift gears into Magical Spark networking mode. Magical Spark networking is my favourite of all the networking tactics because you basically get to go out into the world, sprinkle pixie dust everywhere, and watch things transform into technicolour right before your very eyes. It’s like realising that Hogwarts exists.
Magical Sparks are, in short, the strangers that can turn your world upside down. Whether that’s the person who asked a smart question at the event you attended this morning, the smiling face you took note of while scrolling through LinkedIn, or the person you’ve been bantering with on Twitter for the last six months — they all fit into the same category. These are the accidental and intentional connections that people like to make movies about. These are the human moments that make the world go round if you’re willing to let (or make) them happen.
If you take away anything from Step 8, let it be this: it is never too late to be the type of person who knows the right people because, in my experience, the ‘right’ people are constantly out there asking questions and meeting new people all the time. Very, very, very few humans on this planet were born into a social circle so elite that they shook hands with all their future business contacts on the playground and never had to make a new friend after the age of 13. I know it can feel like that’s how it works, but you’d be surprised. The possibilities of Magical Spark networking offer us a prime example of a way in which the internet has democratised access to opportunity.
You have the power to go meet new people any time you like. The most professionally impressive people I know are doing this all of the time. Weekly, in fact. Even when they don’t need a new job. They catch lectures on Tuesday nights because they want to learn something new. They follow up and grab coffee with someone they happened to meet at their cousin’s wedding. They DM each other on Monday mornings and say, ‘Hi. I’m so-and-so and I do such-and-such and right now I’m super stuck. Do you know how to do X? Or do you know anyone who knows how? My plan so far has been to stumble my way through — but I must be missing a trick. Can you point me in the right direction?’
Bo Ren (who I met on Twitter and then finally grabbed drinks with years later) puts it this way: ‘Professionally grabbing coffee with smart people is a skill. Knowing how to establish a genuine connection, presenting yourself authentically, and asking good questions is a skill that comes with practice. These coffees do add up in multiplicity.’
Whether this connection turns into a long-term mentorship or not is beside the point. Sometimes you just need to go hunt down a stranger who seems to have their shit together more than you do and — with the right amount of hubris and humour — ask them to give it to you straight. I equate this practice with the sensation of sticking your head around the heavy velvet curtain and finding somebody backstage who can pass you an extra safety pin so that your costume doesn’t come apart at the seams. Everybody knows the show needs to go on — you’ll be surprised how many people will conspire to help you keep dancing. (They’ve all been there, too.)
William, from Washington DC, shared this crazy story with me:
One day in university I cold-emailed Philip Mudd, the former deputy director of the Counter Terrorism Center at the CIA and deputy director at the FBI under Robert Mueller, after reading about him in a magazine. He said people hate on him all the time, so I shot him a quick thank-you note to balance out the hate. Anyways, he called me three days later while I was walking out of class. He asked me about myself and what I wanted to do with my life. I was just like, ‘Philip Mudd, from the CIA and FBI, that Philip Mudd?’ He told me to send him my CV at the end of the call. It never went any further than that, but it was still probably the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.
A friend once explained this as the practice of throwing serendipity bombs out into the universe, just to see what might happen. Strange, how the universe likes to reward us for such things.
Identifying the right people
You’ve got two choices:
Beyond that, there are no rules. You should approach the people you always assumed were unapproachable. You should treat every person you encounter as if they might secretly be holding the key to your dream job — because, for all you know, they are.
Where to start if you don’t know where to start (in person)
It’s possible to work your way through the entirety of an #ENTRYLEVELBOSS job search without ever leaving your house, but sometimes going out into the world and letting serendipity smack you in the face is exactly what the doctor ordered. I especially recommend offline networking when you’re trying to decide between industries, re-spark your motivation, or get more information about a new field. In person, you’ll come across people that you wouldn’t have known how to locate on the internet.
There are a thousand ways to find professional events happening in your local area. The key, as always, is to get specific and be strategic with your search. You aren’t just looking for ‘networking events in Los Angeles’ anymore. You know what you want and what your keywords are — so go find your thing! Do some browsing for public events on Eventbrite and Facebook. Check out the upcoming public lectures schedule at your local university or library. You don’t necessarily need to spend a ton of money on a conference ticket. You could, however, offer to volunteer at an event or festival or conference. Boom bam pow, free entry.
Christina, an American based in Mexico City, tried the conference volunteer route for her most recent job search:
I couldn’t afford the ticket, so I applied to be a volunteer, and then strategically chose my hours on the day before or outside of conference hours, so that I could attend the conference full-time. I downloaded the attendee spreadsheet in advance and did some deep stalking. I ‘Ctrl-F’-ed my way through it, looking for anyone with a title associated with the kind of role I wanted. I contacted a whole bunch of people in the days leading up to the event, asking for just 5–10 minutes in person to learn about their career path and how they put the pieces together for themselves. Most didn’t respond. Of the ones who did, one person agreed to have coffee with me first thing in the morning on the last day. We had a good but brief chat about her career. Then, about a month later, she actually wound up leaving her job … and she put my name forward as her replacement. Because we had met, and she had context on me, the team approached me and encouraged me to apply. And now I’m the head of investor relations!
TIP
Make the most of every Q&A opportunity. Ask your most thoughtful question to the speaker — but remember to introduce yourself to the audience, too! Dr Christian Busch, a professor who teaches on serendipity at New York University, refers to this as the practice of dropping conversational ‘hooks’ into the world. If you give others something specific to latch on to, they might see a connection you couldn’t have predicted. They may approach you. If you include some context in your question, someone else can come and talk to you about it after the session ends.
Example: ‘As someone who just recently moved here from San Diego …’
Example: ‘I’m currently teaching myself Photoshop, and …’
Example: ‘I just read [some book], and it made me see that …’
Example: ‘I’m the first university graduate in my family, and …’
TIP
Keep your eyes open at all times. You can use that same tactic of dropping ‘hooks’ into conversation any time, not exclusively at professional events. I once coached a student who ultimately landed a job through a person he met at his friend’s grandmother’s funeral. When people casually ask you what you do, tell them what you want to do. Tell them about your future.
TIP
Arrive alone and a little bit too early, on purpose. When you’re the first one to show up at an event, the organisers will be excited to greet you and start a conversation. As more people arrive, the organiser will usually introduce you to the next guest so that they can excuse themselves to get back to dealing with the event logistics. Now, even if you don’t make a single other friend, you’ve met the most connected person at the event (the organiser) and at least a couple other early-arriving comrades.
Where to start if you don’t know where to start (online)
If you’re really stuck and have no clue who you’d want to talk to in your industry, start by googling your way towards people who are doing interesting and market-leading work in your home town (or desired new home town). Don’t get overwhelmed and think you need to reach out to celebrities. Think local. Look for the people in your own backyard who have already put in the work to become part of the business community that you are trying to tap into. As a start, you could google stuff like:
You could also look for people who have job titles similar to the ones you are seeking, but at companies you might not want to work for right now.
TIP
Find the right people by using the hunting techniques you used for Step 7, but instead of going straight to your would-be hiring manager, seek out people who can assess your skillset properly without any of the pressure that comes with a real interview situation. These will likely be people five or six years ahead of you in their career path. They are probably working at a company you respect (and would maybe even like to work for) but that isn’t your I-would-die-to-interview-there first choice.
One idea: go solicit feedback from smart people
While there’s no roadmap for serendipity, I have an example of when Magical Spark networking might be helpful for you.
I once coached a student named Caroline who had gone back to university to get a second degree in computer science, after having started her career in a completely different specialisation. She was about to graduate. While she was really excited about becoming a data scientist, Caroline had no personal connections to anybody who did anything of the sort. Over the course of my own career, I had worked with enough data scientists to roughly assess Caroline’s skillset and ask a few questions about her course curriculum, but I didn’t know enough, either. Neither one of us were sure whether or not she had enough training to be considered for junior roles.
‘We need to go get some opinions from real data scientists,’ I told her. This was a perfect situation for Magical Spark networking. We reached out to five data scientists. Three answered her emails, two invited her to their office for coffee, and one explained to her exactly which critical skill she was missing. She taught herself that thing using YouTube tutorials, and then checked back in with her Magical Spark person in order to make sure she had got it right. Within six weeks, she was a fully employed junior data scientist.
Whether you’re changing careers, just starting your job search after leaving school or graduating from university, or putting new skills to work for the first time ever: you can do this, too.
Why is reaching out for feedback such a helpful tactic? Two reasons: 1. you get expert opinions from people who already have the job you want, and 2. they might think you’re talented and want to put you forward for another job that you don’t even know about yet. Score.
#ENTRYLEVELBOSS Template
Hey [Magical Spark],
I’m [Your Name] and I’m about to graduate with a BS in Computer Science this August. After two years in the charity sector, I decided to retrain and I’m now excited to dive headfirst into the tech industry. I know I want to be a data scientist, which is great, but I’m not 100% sure what that actually means for me yet.
Here’s where I’m at: I can run basic queries in SQL and, from my charity background, I know I’m most passionate about backing up strong UX decisions with solid data understanding.
I’m reaching out to a couple of seasoned data scientists (like yourself) who work at big-name companies to get a deeper understanding of what the gap is between my current skillset and what I need to start getting hired for paid internships and junior-level DS jobs.
Would you be willing to take 15 minutes on the phone with me next week?
If yes, shoot me your email address and I’ll send over a couple time slot ideas. Thank you so, so, so much in advance. I could really use the help.
[Your Name]
Step 8 task list