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The old adage goes, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Indeed, many careers are launched by having just one crucial industry connection. With that said, making such connections isn’t easy, especially in a space as competitive as Chicago’s tech scene.
To help out those wanting to break into tech in The Windy City, we collected some tips and advice for making those important connections. Read on for thoughts from Jim Conti, director of talent at Sprout Social, Kristi Ross, co-CEO and president at dough, and Patrick Bakke, developer at Jellyvision.
Do your research
If someone is looking to make connections in Chicago’s tech industry, the first thing they should do is research, Conti said. They shouldn’t be asking people questions until they exhaust all available resources — a rule that Conti said results in intelligent questions that lay a solid foundation for relationships.
“I think understanding the ecosystem and understanding how all the different pieces connect is really important, especially in the Chicago market,” Conti said. “We have a rising technology sector here, but it’s still small enough that a lot of us know each other, that there’s a lot of interconnectedness.”
Conti, who has a background in nonprofit education, described joining Sprout while being quite unfamiliar with the software. To build great relationships with the engineering team, he did his research and attended meetings so that any questions he asked were not about basics, but were deeper and led to more fruitful conversations.
Don’t just ask
You need to offer something back in return.
“I think that is really important as a guiding principle,” Conti said. “Make sure you’re providing something and not just making an ask, because making an ask all the time is not going to open many doors for you.”
Don’t be nervous
Additionally, Conti suggests getting out to community events, and when you’re there, he encourages you not to be nervous.[ibimage==47812==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-right]
“I think [events] can really feel intimidating to people. It takes time and it takes patience, and it takes a little bit of resilience to not get scared off by a room that is full of people,” Conti (pictured right) said. “But for any of the events that I’ve been to within this tech sector, as soon as you get over that hump of being nervous, you realize that everyone else was probably nervous when they walked in the door, too.”
So, right off the bat, you have that in common with other guests, and surely have shared interests, as well.
Be nice and thoughtful
In addition to thwarting any nervous energy, showing basic human decency is effective, as well, according to Ross.
“Most people are more approachable than you’d think,” Ross said. “Be nice. Be thoughtful. Introduce yourself to someone in the tech community.”
[ibimage==47814==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-left]Be open-minded
Another tip from Ross (pictured left) is to be open-minded when considering how to get into tech; you could go down many avenues and still get involved.
“Where there is innovation, there is tech. Where there is engineering, there is tech. Where there are startups, there is tech,” Ross said. “Be open to making connections in any of those spheres — and beyond that — and you will be making connections that lead to others in tech.”
Stay active
Once someone is in the tech community, they should not take that for granted, Bakke said. They must stay active. Attend events and meetups, Bakke recommended, adding that people — developers especially — should always take advantage of 1871.
“It’s just a really awesome resource where developers can just show up and hang out and help people and learn from them — either for their own product, their own idea, or just helping somebody else.”
Keep your connections fresh[ibimage==47815==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-right]
Going along the theme of being active, Bakke (pictured right) also recommends that people keep connections fresh and don’t burn bridges with past connections.
“Maintaining connections with past jobs and staying connected with people gives you more resources, more people you can bounce ideas off of,” Bakke said.
Be interested in something
Lastly, one way to make sure you’re interesting to others is having something you’re interested in discussing. Bakke said that could be your personal projects, what you’re doing for a startup, or simply what you work on during weekends.
“I think that is the thing that sets good developers away from average developers. If there is something they’re personally caring about — a personal project or whatever it might be — that sets them apart,” Bakke said. “People are attracted to passion, and sharing your own passions can make people interested in what you’re doing.”
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