- Hi there, I'm your English coach Christina,
and welcome to Speak English with Christina,
where you'll learn about American culture
and business know how to become confident in English.
Coffee meetings are a fantastic way
to advance your career and get caffeinated!
You can have LinkedIn connections a mile or kilometer long,
but sometimes, there's nothing more effective
when you're trying to build your network
than face-to-face interaction.
In this episode, we'll discuss how you
can use coffee meetings to advance your career
and, of course, what to say in a coffee meeting.
So
grab
a hot beverage and get to ready to learn the art
of the coffee meeting; let's go.
(upbeat rock music)
The only thing that Apple founder Steve Jobs had more of
than black turtleneck sweaters
was his many professional relationships.
Steve Jobs is considered a genius in relationship building.
He believed that the most productive teams were the ones
that included people from different specialties.
He found creative ways that people
from different departments would interact.
He even applied this philosophy to architecture.
He would carefully choose the bathroom locations
at his company so that people from different departments
would interact, and the idea was that new connections
and collaborative teams would form.
Even if you have a small network
and even if you don't have a bathroom
where all the interesting people meet,
you can still expand your network.
One simple way is by sending a cold email to invite someone
for coffee, which I covered in a previous episode.
A coffee meeting isn't a job interview.
It's not a pitch meeting, either.
A coffee meeting is an opportunity
to meet with a professional contact face to face,
and this personal connection can strengthen the bond
that you already have online.
(upbeat jazzy music)
How can a coffee meeting advance your career?
A coffee meeting can help you learn about an industry
that you're interested in getting into.
If you're early in your career path,
you might learn how an industry leader got
to where they are, and this knowledge
can help you plan out your career strategy.
Or you might learn more about the workflow
and the challenges at a colleague's company,
and this insight might help you improve the workflow
in your own company.
And of course, a face-to-face meeting may give you the edge
if a job opening becomes available in the future.
Getting hired shouldn't be your main focus, however.
(upbeat jazzy music)
Although a coffee meeting is casual,
it's a good idea to do research and prepare.
What's the agenda for the meeting?
In other words, what's the goal?
If your goal is ultimately to try to get a job,
just try to put that in the back of your mind
because that's too much pressure for a coffee meeting.
Instead, think of feasible goals,
that is, goals that are easily achievable.
And one of the easy ways to have something
to say during your coffee meeting
is to have a list of questions prepared.
(upbeat jazzy music)
If you requested the meeting because you're interested
in how the other person got started in their career
and how you might learn from their path,
you could ask them questions that focus
on how they got their start.
For example, how did you get started in your career?
And this is a simple, open-ended question
that the other person will have no problem answering.
After asking this question,
listen to their response carefully.
You're looking for areas where you have things in common,
and this can be a city that you both lived in,
a school that you both attended, or perhaps an interest
outside your industry that you both share.
And connecting in this way builds a rapport
and a stronger professional connection.
(upbeat jazzy music)
While you're still learning
about your invitee's origin story,
you can ask followup questions
that involve how they got their start.
For example, where'd you go to school?
Where'd you study?
What was your first job after graduation?
(upbeat jazzy music)
Keep in mind that, after they share their story,
they'll likely ask you the same questions.
So be prepared to answer questions about your education,
your course of study, your career path,
and this is an opportunity to impress them
and demonstrate how well you know the industry
and your passion for this career path.
(upbeat jazzy music)
Asking them about their day-to-day responsibilities
is a great question.
This will give you a good idea
of the kinds of tasks you might be expected
to do further on in this career.
And this knowledge can help you prepare
and advance your career further.
So you could say,
so what are your day-to-day job responsibilities
or what's a typical day at work look like for you?
(upbeat jazzy music)
Asking the other person for suggestions
on networking events or meetups
is a great way to learn more about the career
or the industry that you're interested in.
For example, you can say,
can you recommend any networking events
or meetups that you find valuable?
And this question is great because you get
to discover new resources and communities
in your industry, plus you have an excuse
to follow up with them in email down the road
after you've attended an event.
And you can mention how valuable the event was
and why and thank them for that suggestion.
(upbeat jazzy music)
Leave your expectations at the door.
I'll demonstrate.
While it's fun to imagine that this coffee date
will lead to an amazing new job,
that can put a lot of pressure on the meeting.
Instead, try to go to the meeting
without any expectations other than to learn.
Be interested in the other person
and excited to learn more about them and their experience.
Your interest and curiosity will shine through,
and that'll make you even more memorable.
And don't forget, the conversation doesn't have
to be all business.
If it feels appropriate, you can bring up other topics such
as sports or travel or see if something resonates.
Who knows, you might hit on a subject
or hobby that you both have in common,
which in turn may create even more opportunities to bond,
whether that be over soccer or a favorite television show.
(upbeat jazzy music)
Now what about you?
Have you had a coffee meeting?
How did it go?
And did you find that it helped you to advance your career?
Do you have any tips on what to say during this meeting?
If so, share all of that in the comments below.
And if you wanna practice speaking English,
then consider my Faster Fluency Conversation Club.
Members can participate in three group sessions per week.
You'll be paired up in a small group
with other motivated students and get some help
from a Fluency Club leader, too.
The small group size ensures that you get plenty of practice
to speak English and receive feedback on your mistakes
and ways that you can speak more colloquially
so that you gain fluency faster.
You can get all the details and join the Fluency Club
by clicking on the link below.
And you also get extra resources
and a conversation guidebook
to help you increase your vocabulary
and become more confident in conversations.
Thank you for learning with Speak English with Christina,
and I'll see you next time.