Introduction
A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly."
When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger.
People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know.
Starting a dialog
To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you.
You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals.
This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts."
In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source.
Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic.
Researching your contact
Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons.
Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it.
However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today.
Here are some other sources:
Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation
Industry visibility, or conference presenter
Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article
She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal
Participates in a newsgroup or other post
Making contact
Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions:
Technical help or advice
Recognize their professional achievement or work
Feedback
Introduction
A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly."
When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger.
People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know.
Starting a dialog
To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you.
You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals.
This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts."
In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source.
Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic.
Researching your contact
Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons.
Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it.
However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today.
Here are some other sources:
Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation
Industry visibility, or conference presenter
Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article
She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal
Participates in a newsgroup or other post
Making contact
Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions:
Technical help or advice
Recognize their professional achievement or work
Feedback on a professional article
Introduction
A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly."
When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger.
People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know.
Starting a dialog
To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you.
You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals.
This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts."
In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source.
Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic.
Researching your contact
Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons.
Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it.
However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today.
Here are some other sources:
Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation
Industry visibility, or conference presenter
Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article
She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal
Participates in a newsgroup or other post
Making contact
Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions:
Technical help or advice
Recognize their professional achievement or work
Feedback on a professional article
Slashdot Mirror
Pig Statistics
Introduction A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly." When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger. People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know. Starting a dialog To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you. You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals. This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts." In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source. Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic. Researching your contact Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons. Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it. However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today. Here are some other sources: Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation Industry visibility, or conference presenter Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal Participates in a newsgroup or other post Making contact Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions: Technical help or advice Recognize their professional achievement or work Feedback
Introduction A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly." When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger. People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know. Starting a dialog To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you. You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals. This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts." In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source. Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic. Researching your contact Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons. Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it. However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today. Here are some other sources: Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation Industry visibility, or conference presenter Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal Participates in a newsgroup or other post Making contact Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions: Technical help or advice Recognize their professional achievement or work Feedback on a professional article
Introduction A "cold" contact is when a reptile food seller calls to sell you Iguana food, but doesn't even know if you own an Iguana. A "warm" contact is when a reptile food seller who owns an Iguana calls on the phone to sell you Iguana food because he read an article that you wrote in a recent "Reptile Weekly." When the caller opens with the fact that they also own an Iguana, and were contacting you because they'd just read your article in "Reptile Weekly," you probably wouldn't be inclined to hang up on this person. You may have Iguana food stacked to the rafters, but knowing a shared interest exists, you'll probably talk to this stranger. People respond to other people with shared interests. Few respond to e-mail or phone calls from people they don't know. Starting a dialog To successfully start a dialog with a professional peer you need a message that interests the other person enough that they will respond to you. You, presumably, have a success record of good communications skills with people you already know. At some point in time, your friends or coworkers were new to you. You discovered ideas, interests, experiences -- friends in common, or goals you shared, and then built a friendship from these common threads. The same thing applies in building bridges with people who will be able to help you realize your career goals. This article is intended to help you to understand the "table structure" necessary to build dialogs with new professional peers through "warm contacts" and "cold contacts." In career terms, warm contacts are starting points that can include referrals from family and friends; internship and volunteer work references; current or former classmates; university alumni associations; current or former teachers; fellow SIG members; Industry-specific Associations and local chapters; user groups; current and former coworkers and managers. A cold contact is a person who doesn't already know you, with whom you have not (yet) found a common thread, and there is no direct referring source. Codeproject authors and members fall into the warm contact category because we share a community and an interest in software development. A fellow alumnus of the university you graduated from is a warm contact, even if the only common bond with this person was from reading a conference speaker biography. You share a group affiliation and educational experience; and chances are, if you read their biography in a conference program, you also share an interest in the conference or speaker topic. Researching your contact Front-end research can make a huge difference between cold contacts and warm contacts. People are listed on the internet because they have a public interest or achievement, group or university membership; hobby; and other personal or professional reasons. Once you have a contact name, using several search engines, identify additional common threads you share. Read papers, posts, work examples, biographies, or whatever you find for insights to their ideas, interests, experiences, or goals. There is a wealth of information available to you. Use it. However, only use information that is publicly available, or that came through a direct referral from someone they know (and, ideally, whom they respect.) Privacy and business ethics are big concerns today. Here are some other sources: Shared acquaintance, personal or work experience, interest, group membership, or university affiliation Industry visibility, or conference presenter Contact wrote a white paper, article, posting, or knowledge-based article She/he was quoted in industry article or on a portal Participates in a newsgroup or other post Making contact Before making initial contact, ask yourself "Why this person?" and then tell them why up front, in a compelling and brief manner. Also consider what you want from this contact. You should have a reason, or a result that you want for contacting any industry peers. Here are a few suggestions: Technical help or advice Recognize their professional achievement or work Feedback on a professional article