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Avoiding winner's curse
Ben Casnocha has some suggestions for making good personal and career contacts:
How to find a hidden gem? Hints from my post on de-emphasizing popular filters: seek out introverts. Seek out people under age 30. Seek out people who are bad at marketing.
Recognize and discount the celebrity effect. Spend time with people who also have time to spend with you. My bet is you'll have a more rewarding relationship.
This is the same Ben who went to a talk of mine in Zurich and introduced himself to me. I'm not under 30. In any case, I agree with his bottom line:
The only reason to try to meet with Mr. Busy and Rich for 10 minutes is if you have a very specific request or need. If you're just trying to "network" or build a relationship, don't waste your time.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on November 5, 2008 at 03:56 AM in Education | Permalink
Comments
I think one of the comments is even more spot on.
Try not to view the powerful/ rich as assets or be struck in awe but treat and see them as "normal" people. Most appreciate it.
Posted by: Someone from the Other Side at Nov 5, 2008 5:08:38 AM
The problem with introverts is that they don't have lots of friends for a reason. The stock analogy is apt because you can find good ones to invest in, but the screening process is murder, especially for a fellow introvert.
Another alternative is to find extroverts in an introvert environment. One of my best friends is a guy who is very extroverted but seems to have trouble finding enough stimulating friends in his current surroundings. Find one, then be loyal as hell. You just have to endure being invited to a cookout every Saturday and figure out creative ways to beg out. One lesson I learned is NEVER turn down a round of golf.
The search process is work, but the growth picks and blue chips are the road to pain. I don't think they rocket to success by surrounding themselves with people who provide an even exchange. I've never gotten a call or e-mail initiated from someone I served as a stepping stone for, unless they needed another step.
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 5, 2008 7:25:41 AM
I love seeing Ben Casnocha on Marginal Revolution. His bottom line is gold as always.
Was this post designed because you were getting too many requests for people trying to network with you? If so, you're subtle as ever.
Posted by: Andy at Nov 5, 2008 12:14:19 PM
Networking was really hard in college. I participated in as many events as I could, and kept up contact with older people I had met through my internship, research work, etc. but it is still a very slow process.
I recently moved across the country not knowing a single person in this half of the US, but now I've got a wide circle of friends in very different environments. The problem is that career-useful contacts are extremely difficult to find, since I can't (and wouldn't want to) select groups of friends based on industry of employment.
Posted by: Erik at Nov 5, 2008 2:21:28 PM
Postscript-
I'm hoping that grad school, if or when it happens, will provide an opportunity to meet more interesting and field-specific people from diverse backgrounds, and I look forward to that opportunity.
Posted by: Erik at Nov 5, 2008 2:22:28 PM
That's true. I've known lots of VIP, I even have phone numbers of many. Yet my most useful (and most pleasant, too) contacts have been relatively low-profile people. The 30 years limit, however, is not correct.
Posted by: Pavel at Nov 5, 2008 7:22:08 PM
In equilibrium, people still try to network despite the bottom line that Tyler agrees with. I agree with Someone from the Other Side: I'm guessing that this happens because people get extra utility from just being in the physical proximity of someone famous and getting to chat with them. Given that people probably (eventually) get fed up with others fawning over them, that implies that there's an advantage to convincing yourself to stop fawning over celebrities. It's really not that hard to do, especially when you see how ordinary most of them look in interviews etc.
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