Issue #41

How To Increase The Strength Of Your Network

I got my job at Amazon not because of my extensive technical knowledge, but because of the impression I made on people years before, back in high school in the 90s.

It’s not what you know but who you know.

The entire trajectory of my career and life would have been different had it not been for a coincidental connection.

After college in 2006, I had a terrible time finding work. I was a good programmer and had a solid grasp of data structures and algorithms, but because I lacked a computer science degree and any relevant experience, I wasn't getting any callbacks.

I was surprised to receive a call from a friend, let's call him Connor, whom I hadn't heard from since high school. Connor was now working at Amazon and wanted to know if I wanted to meet up for a drink.

The reason he called was that he had just met a coworker, let's call her Heather, and discovered that they grew up in the same town as I did, but attended different nearby high schools. Since it wasn't a large city, they racked their brains trying to find people they knew in common when my name came up.

I briefly dated Heather way back, but we parted on good terms. In high school, I spent many hours helping Connor prepare for the AP Computer Science test. In college, they both majored in Computer Science and ended up as SDEs at Amazon, working on adjacent teams.

Over some fine craft Pacific Northwest beer at a dingy bar in Seattle, I persuaded Connor to get me an interview at Amazon. Since I had spent so much time back in high school helping him with CS, he was able to secure me an interview. The rest is history.

The reason I'm telling you this story is because the strength of the connections you have with your network can greatly impact your career trajectory. And despite what you might think, the tech world is really small.

For everyone you work with today, even if you don't work closely with them, be sure to connect with them on LinkedIn.

I personally know two Senior Principal Engineers, four Engineering Directors, and six VPs with whom I worked at my first job at Amazon. They didn't have these big titles back then, but they worked their way up to staggering heights. And these are the people who stayed with the company.

Most people won't stay at a company for their entire career. When people send their goodbye emails, make sure to respond with some kind words of farewell.

Those who left the company back then now work at all the major tech companies, have started their own businesses, and everything in between. If I ever need to leverage those connections, they're available to me because I've done the small amount of work necessary to stay connected with them.

Even if you don't have a wide network, it's crucial to ensure that the connections you do have are strong, both personally and professionally. The holiday season is the perfect time to reconnect with someone you haven't spoken to in years.

Even though the thought of sending a message after so many years may be uncomfortable, in my experience, I've never had a negative experience doing so.

Here's some homework for the time between now and New Year's. Message three people you haven't spoken to in a while, either through a text message or social media. If you don't know what to say, use this template: "Hey {INSERT NAME HERE}, it's been a long time since {INSERT CONNECTION HERE}. How are you?" (If you end up doing the homework, let me know how it played out by responding to this email).

If you're looking for work and meeting with extended family, it's always beneficial to let your relatives know that you're searching, and perhaps educate them a bit about what you do.

It might not lead to anything, but you never know. I guarantee you, at the very least, you'll have a positive conversation about times past, and you'll be simultaneously strengthening your network. And that can only have a positive impact on your career.

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