By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
“I got an email invite from CTO of a software startup that was recently acquired. He mentioned looking up my profile/works online and was interested to talk to me over a coffee. I am, however, not looking for a change in job right now. How do I politely decline him while mentioning that I would like to be in touch with him / or get in touch when I am actively looking.”
I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, the head coach for JobSearch.Community. Here’s a fun question. How do I politely decline a coffee invite by the CTO of a successful startup? And they go on to say, I got an email invitation from the CTO of this startup that was recently acquired. He mentioned looking up my profile and my work online and was interested in talking with me over coffee.
I’m not looking for a job right now. Thus, how do I politely decline while mentioning that I would like to be in touch with him or her when they’re actively looking? And this person’s in the Bay Area. Now, I want to take this into a broader range of an answer and talk about how do you respond to an invitation for coffee from someone who might be interested in talking with you about you or might be interested in talking with you about them.
So, it goes back to the basic idea of networking. Why do you network? Well, it’s to build up relationships so that at a time where you might actually need help, they know, like, trust and respect you. And in this particular case, maybe this person is talking about recruiting you.
Maybe they would like to build up a relationship to find out whether or not there might be something at your organization. I don’t know your level of where you are professionally. So, it could go either way.
The likelihood is that they’re going to be talking about trying to recruit you. Now, a long time ago, I learned a wonderful lesson. It’s the notion that, you know, the person who gets ahead isn’t always the smartest or work the hardest.
Those are great qualities to have. People get ahead by being alert to opportunities. Sometimes they’re internal to their organization.
Sometimes they’re external. Whether you’re changing jobs or interested in changing jobs right now or not, developing a relationship with a successful individual, someone who’s further along the road than you are, can always pay off. And thus, the decline is really a goofy response.
Yes, you’re happy. Walk in there as a happy individual who likes his work. But consider that maybe, just maybe, you might like your work more if you were paying another $25,000 plus more options, right? Isn’t that possible? So, I would say, go on this meeting.
Now, if you want to politely decline, I would start off by responding back by saying, I’m curious. What’s the subject of our conversation? Make them explain to you what the purpose of the meeting is. And this way, I’d be happy to get together with you.
Let’s do it. You offer dates and times that you’re available. I want to be clear when meeting with you.
I’m not out looking for a position. So, this way, you’re not leading them astray. But I encourage you, get out there and talk to people.
Your network is your net worth. And developing a relationship with someone now, when you’re not actively looking, can only be profitable to you at some point in the future. Hope you found this helpful.
If you’re interested in one on one coaching from me, email me at jeffaltman at TheBigGameHunter.us. In the subject put the word coaching. I’d love to help you. Have a great day.
Take care
Do What Recruiters Do
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search
and succeeding in your career easier.
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