how to tell a pushy networker to back off
A reader writes:
I’m more and more discovering myself in a place the place newer professionals are asking to discuss getting began after faculty, or asking for recommendation. I at all times leap on the probability to assist nevertheless I can and I’m universally flattered when anybody asks to meet with me.
I’m struggling, nevertheless, with one one who doesn’t appear to know the place the road is between useful networking, and pestering. I met with him briefly months in the past after he requested certainly one of my staff if I’d be keen to chat with him. I used to be blissful to achieve this. In the next months, he despatched me a few emails updating me on what he was doing and that he was in search of extra everlasting work. Then he began to pop up at programming occasions I’d put collectively, and just lately despatched one other unsolicited electronic mail asking if we might met once more. I advised him I’d have to get back to him once I was much less busy. Every week after that, he was at one other occasion at which I used to be presenting. He cornered me, asking once more to meet, saying he wished to tell me what he was engaged on. Again, I advised him I might have to be in contact as a result of I couldn’t schedule something on the spot. That was final Friday. I bought one other electronic mail right this moment, asking once more to meet.
I don’t need to discourage somebody who’s new to a small discipline that’s laborious to break in to, however I additionally actually now not need to meet with him. I get the sensation that he thinks this type of persistence is how you discover work, however I might by no means take into account hiring him even when I did have an open place purely as a result of he has been so intrusive. What is the easiest way to make it clear that he wants to back off, with out being too harsh about it?
I reply this query — and three others — over at Inc. right this moment, the place I’m revisiting letters which have been buried within the archives right here from years in the past (and generally updating/increasing my solutions to them). You can learn it right here.
Other questions I’m answering there right this moment embrace:
- My worker was omitted of a workforce thank-you
- Meetings that run over our scheduled time
- Shouldn’t a recruiter be … recruiting me?
