Today I want to talk about an honest feeling I’ve had while reading networking advice in my early career. Most networking advice always felt… transactional.
“Reach out for a coffee chat.”
“Ask them about their career path.”
“Connect with 5 new people on LinkedIn every week.”
It all comes from a place of taking. You’re asking for their time, their advice, their connections. It puts you, the junior person, in a position of neediness, and I constantly felt like I was bothering people. Since, I’ve had some time to really think and try a couple things.
What if you could flip the entire dynamic? What if, instead of asking for value, you started by giving it? 🤔
🤝 The Hack: Become a Micro-Connector
A Micro-Connector: Someone who provides hyper-specific, valuable information or connections with zero expectation of anything in return.
The core principle is simple: Give first. Give specifically. Ask later (or never).
Here’s the step-by-step playbook.
Step 1: Pick Your Micro-Niche
You can’t be a connector for "software engineering" or "product management." That’s too broad. Your value comes from specificity.
Choose a tiny, emerging, or rapidly-changing corner of the tech world that genuinely interests you.
"AI/ML"
Instead, go for: "Open-source tools for fine-tuning small language models."
"Frontend Development"
Instead, go for: "New state management libraries in the React ecosystem."
"Cybersecurity"
Instead, go for: "Compliance automation for SOC 2 in early-stage startups."
Your niche should be specific enough that you can realistically stay on the cutting edge of it by spending just 2-3 hours a week reading.
Step 2: Curate Intelligence, Not Just Content
Your job now is to become the best curator for your micro-niche. This doesn’t mean spamming generic articles. It means finding the signal in the noise.
Where to look:
Hacker News: Search for keywords in your niche. Read the comments - that's where the real insights are.
Niche Subreddits: Find the subreddits where practitioners are actually talking shop (e.g., r/ExperiencedDevs, r/MachineLearning, not just r/cscareerquestions).
GitHub: Look for new, interesting projects. Who are the maintainers? What problems are they solving?
Academic Papers: Use Google Scholar to find the latest research papers. You don't need to understand everything, just the key takeaways. Use AI to summarize these.
You're looking for the hidden gems: a new open-source tool, a brilliant comment on a forum, a little-known research paper that solves a common problem.
Step 3: The "No-Ask" Outreach
Now, you find people you admire who work in or adjacent to your niche. A senior engineer at a company you like, a PM, a director. Instead of asking for a call, you send them a piece of your curated intelligence.
Here’s an example to show you what that can look like:
Here’s why this works:
It’s short: It respects their time. They can read it in 10 seconds.
It requires no response: The "That's all" line is critical. It removes all social obligation.
It provides immediate value: You’ve given them something potentially useful with zero effort on their part.
It positions you as a peer: You’re not a student asking for help; you’re a fellow enthusiast sharing something cool.
📝 HQ Tip: Do this once every month or two with a small group of people. Don't spam. Slowly you’ll build a reputation as someone who is thoughtful, connected, and provides value.
Eventually, when you do have an ask - for a referral, for advice on a project - you’re not a stranger. You’re the person who sends them the cool stuff. They’ll be happy to take your call.
🧠 The Psychology Behind It
This method isn't just a tactic or a hack; it's rooted in fundamental human psychology. Let’s talk about why this works.
1️⃣ The Principle of Reciprocity: This is the big one. Humans are wired to return favors. When you give something of value first, without expectation, you create a powerful social obligation. An email asking for a call is a withdrawal. A "no-ask" email with a valuable link is a deposit. You have to make deposits before you can make a withdrawal.
2️⃣ Reduces Cognitive Load: A senior person in tech has a mountain of decisions to make every day. A request for a "30-minute coffee chat" is another decision to make, another block to schedule, another context switch. It adds to their cognitive load. A simple, valuable link is the opposite. It gets them excited to check it out and reply to you.
3️⃣ Builds Authority: You don't need 10 years of experience to have authority. You're not claiming to be a world-class expert, but you are proving you have excellent judgment and a good filter for what's important. This is a rare and valuable skill.
Stop asking for a coffee chat. Start sharing intelligence. You’ll be amazed at how quickly the doors start to open for you.
Play the long game 🌱,
and Step-tember into your potential 🍁.
That's it for today! Reach out to me about your experience with this by replying to this email or meet me in the comments – we can all learn from each other's experiences!
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I wish you a great week!
Until next time,
Sonika
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