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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  3812 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Stalking Your Mentors: a question

Be genuine. A VP and a CEO are going to be much better at being disingenuous than you are and as a consequence, much better and smelling out disingenuousness. You're young: you won't be expected to have your head wrapped completely around everything and you are not going to be held to the same standard as a colleague.

Your best move is to ask them questions you really want answers for. Bonus points if they're related to the banking industry. Smile, pay attention and maintain eye contact will count for far more than you realize.

The fancy restaurant thing is a nice trick. Pay scrupulous attention to table manners and to what is ordered. If their elbows are off the table, so are yours. If their elbows are on..., well, still better to keep 'em off. Napkin goes into the lap when their napkins go into the lap. It is perfectly acceptable to eat the same order, but not at all mandatory. Be scrupulously polite to the staff and don't be afraid to ask their advice between, say, two entrees.

Your boss and the founder may engage in discussions that you can't follow along with. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Attempt to understand the subject at hand: they brought you along for a reason.

Finally, remember that you are not a peer at this engagement, so you don't have to act like one. You are expected to be an eager and naive acolyte to the process, so play the part. Your goal isn't competence, it's potential.

Good luck, and have fun. $40 mac'n'cheese. I'll bet that's damn good.





nowaypablo  ·  3812 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Your boss and the founder may engage in discussions that you can't follow along with. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Attempt to understand the subject at hand: they brought you along for a reason.

Good point, thank you. I have no problem asking questions, in fact my flaw may lean to the opposite extreme of being an annoying prick. I'll try to limit my engagement to the most significant/valuable opportunities.

That mac better be good, I'll also bet the portion size is a trendy spoonful.