Schmoozing With A Programmer's Brain
Tags: beginners, programming, productivity, 100devs
Published: 2022-02-02 15:09:00

---
title: Schmoozing With A Programmer's Brain
published: true
description: When networking, there are a few things you can do to ensure success and reduce stress.
tags: Beginners, Programming, Productivity, 100Devs
series: Programmer's Brain
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2mgf9hc7sro27tyk69qd.png
---

In my conversations with people online, I seem to repeat a few things about networking. Keeping things DRY as a developer, this is my way to ensure I am not repeating myself.

When networking, there are a few things you can do to ensure success and reduce stress.

## Communication

Communication is a tremendous part of a developer's life. It's almost as important as the code they are writing. In fact, you can consider the code to be another form of communication.

## Resume and LinkedIn

Your resume and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) account should line up. That's not to say that they should have identical information. Your resume should be a subset of what's on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/).

When I interview and look at a resume, I've often already looked up the individual's profile on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/). If the job descriptions are widely different, it triggers a red-flag and I start digging in deeper to see if something's been exaggerated.

Make sure they are in line with each other.

Additionally, I often recommend finding a Resume Writer that is willing to not just improve the language, but align the resume and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) account. They are generally well worth the money.

## Nervous like You

If I am at an event and just jump into a conversation with someone, I have to assume they are as prepared for the conversation as I am ... which is, **completely unprepared and probably nervous too**.

In this scenario, the best that can be done is to have prepared yourself ahead of time.

## People are a Black-Box

One of the descriptions that I like to use is that people are a "black-box." In computer science, there is an approach to looking at systems called [black-box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box).

The underlying concept is that we know the inputs to a function and outputs that should come from a function. What we do not know is how the function works on the inside.

I like to apply this to people.

The **inputs** are what you say to them. The **outputs** are their responses. We have no clue what they are thinking on the inside ... how they take our conversation and turn it into a response.

## Research People

If you know you are going into a meeting with someone, do your homework. Do a general search on that individual.

* Don't limit the search to [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/), but don't ignore it.
* Is there code on [GitHub](https://github.com/) you can look at?
* Are there questions or answers on [StackOverflow](https://stackoverflow.com/) you can check out? Don't forget that people have profiles on StackOverflow that can provide a lot of information ([here's mine](https://stackoverflow.com/users/3390364/rfornal)), as well.
* Do they write articles you can read?

## Research Companies

Along with researching an individual, research the company they work for.

Are you going to a conference (in-person or virtual)? Research the sponsors.

* Don't forget to look at the company's website. Do they have information that might be useful when having conversations?
* **Again**, don't limit the search to [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/), but don't ignore it.
* Do they have employees you are connected with?
* Do they have employees with similar interests beyond code?
* Do they have open-source repositories you can look at?
* Are they on [Glassdoor](https://www.glassdoor.com/)?

There are many other things you can look for, depending on your focus or goals.

## Plan for Recruiters

One of the most challenging areas of networking is talking with recruiters. They have a job, to hire people. Their job may not align with my goals. There is not a lot of research that can be done up front, but if you come across a recruiter you "click" with, here are some things to consider ...

1. They are people, too.
2. Their experience with tech can be limited.

When I find a recruiter that I connect well with I try to maintain that relationship over time. I'm not as concerned with who they are working for as I am with maintaining the relationship.

I have several recruiters that I will go to lunch, jump on a phone call, or simply send an email to. These conversations are a two-way street.

1. I want to learn what they are seeing as trends in the industry. Is there anything I can take away and use in my career?
2. They want to know they type of work I am doing and any trends I am seeing that they can take back and use on their job.

## Plan for Meetings

OK. You now have an idea of what kind of research can be done.

This information can be used in a variety of ways.

### Conferences

Researching the companies will give you an idea of who they are looking for. Knowing what they do can give you opportunities to start conversations.

### Interviews

Researching the company and interviewer should make you more comfortable. This way, you're not going in blind.

You should be using this information to prepare questions to ask ...

* What do you see my job looking like in 1-year, 5-years?
* Your company provides "solutions development," what does that mean to you? What does my typical day look like?

### Coffee Conversations

When planning for a "coffee" or lunch meeting that's not an interview, the research should be the same. Expect the conversation to be more fluid and two-way than speaking with a recruiter at a conference or being in an interview.

It's OK to talk about yourself, your goals and accomplishments.

## Conclusion

In my conversations with people online, I seem to repeat a few things about networking. When networking, there are a few things you can do to ensure success and reduce stress.

* Communication is important!
* Ensure your resume and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) account are aligned.
* Remember that we call get nervous. If it helps, consider people like the black-box ... we never know what they are thinking.
* Research people and companies.
* Plan for speaking with recruiters.
* Plan for the various types of meetings: Conferences, interviews, and coffee conversations.

I hope this helps as you move forward.