4 ms·

The entry fee for a referral is striking up a single conversation at a conference. If someone from a big tech company is speaking at a conference, the fact that

The entry fee for a referral is striking up a single conversation at a conference. If someone from a big tech company is speaking at a conference, the fact that they are speaking isn't the primary reason for being present. They are there to recruit.

milofeynman 9y ago
Hah, that assumes their current employer will let them go to conferences.
- wwalser 9y ago
  I'd take the day off for the prospect of $100k+ raise.
richardknop 9y ago
Just having a chat with someone at a conference is often not enough to get a referral tbh. I'd assume for a referral you need to know a person at least reasonably well, i.e. you know each other on first name basis and have been out for a beer or worked together on some open source project or something like that. I don't believe you can just walk to a person at a conference, talk to them to 15 minutes and then ask for their referral.
- wwalser 9y ago
  I was a bit brief on tactics. Yes. Don't just ask for a referral. Tactics: Understand that they are there to recruit. This should give you confidence. This isn't some weird game, you're not manipulating or tricking them. They are here for these conversations. Some soft-skill tactics don't work for everyone. If some/none of the below materializes or isn't your thing, it's alway okay to ask. "Are you doing any recruiting while in town? I'm interested in talking to someone at NeatCo." If you can speak at the conference, that is preferable. If not, walking up and saying hi will work but it should involve you asking a well-informed question about the thing they are speaking about. Spend an hour before the conference researching their topic and come with something in mind: What lead company X to create Y? If someone were motivated, could they create ${interesting but not crazy new feature/thing} using Y? If you don't have a question, just talk about the content of the talk. Tell them what you thought. The person speaking on behalf of NeatCo will often bring another person with them. The speaker is the domain expert, the other person will often be someone capable of hiring. If they bring a +1, talk to that person as well. The goal of your chat is to get any of: dinner invite, next-day coffee, straight up ad-hoc interview.
- mpeg 9y ago
  Typically the referrals are paid pretty well, from my experience most people in a BigCo will refer anyone with a pulse as long as it's not to their direct team. I wouldn't even bother going to a conference for this, just find someone on LinkedIn who is a 2nd connection, InMail them (no need for an intro), mention your shared connection and that you're looking for a referral for [job spec link] at their company.

milofeynman 9y ago

Hah, that assumes their current employer will let them go to conferences.

wwalser 9y ago
I'd take the day off for the prospect of $100k+ raise.

richardknop 9y ago

Just having a chat with someone at a conference is often not enough to get a referral tbh. I'd assume for a referral you need to know a person at least reasonably well, i.e. you know each other on first name basis and have been out for a beer or worked together on some open source project or something like that. I don't believe you can just walk to a person at a conference, talk to them to 15 minutes and then ask for their referral.

wwalser 9y ago
I was a bit brief on tactics. Yes. Don't just ask for a referral. Tactics: Understand that they are there to recruit. This should give you confidence. This isn't some weird game, you're not manipulating or tricking them. They are here for these conversations. Some soft-skill tactics don't work for everyone. If some/none of the below materializes or isn't your thing, it's alway okay to ask. "Are you doing any recruiting while in town? I'm interested in talking to someone at NeatCo." If you can speak at the conference, that is preferable. If not, walking up and saying hi will work but it should involve you asking a well-informed question about the thing they are speaking about. Spend an hour before the conference researching their topic and come with something in mind: What lead company X to create Y? If someone were motivated, could they create ${interesting but not crazy new feature/thing} using Y? If you don't have a question, just talk about the content of the talk. Tell them what you thought. The person speaking on behalf of NeatCo will often bring another person with them. The speaker is the domain expert, the other person will often be someone capable of hiring. If they bring a +1, talk to that person as well. The goal of your chat is to get any of: dinner invite, next-day coffee, straight up ad-hoc interview.
mpeg 9y ago
Typically the referrals are paid pretty well, from my experience most people in a BigCo will refer anyone with a pulse as long as it's not to their direct team. I wouldn't even bother going to a conference for this, just find someone on LinkedIn who is a 2nd connection, InMail them (no need for an intro), mention your shared connection and that you're looking for a referral for [job spec link] at their company.