Why Coffee is Good for your Career

Is coffee is good for your health or is coffee is bad for your health? There may never be a correct answer to this question, but when it comes to your career, coffee is definitely good.

Now before you go drinking as many vanilla lattes as you can, let’s be clear that the actual coffee meeting is what you are going to get the most out of.

Through your professional connections and personal connections, you are going to find people who have an altruistic desire to support you in building your career.

Using coffee dates to network with these people can be extremely beneficial in more ways than you might think.

Here are some of those ways:

• Informational Interviewing

Ask questions during your coffee meeting. Getting all the information you can about a certain career path or a company can give you an amazing insider perspective. These are usually casual get-togethers, so the person you are meeting with will likely be honest about their experiences.

• Interviewing skills

Practice your interviewing skills during your coffee meeting. This is a great opportunity for you to work on interviewing etiquette when a job is not particularly on the line. Dress appropriately, ask questions, and always always always write a thank you note.

• Resources for job hunting

Learn about valuable resources during your coffee meeting. You are having coffee with this person for a reason- because he or she likely knows about a certain job industry or company that you want to understand more about. You will learn about job boards, recruiting agencies, and other helpful tools that you never knew about, and you will be able to use these sources in your future pursuits.

• Confidence

Gain confidence during your coffee meeting. Whether you are entering the real world for the first time or looking to explore a new career path, applying to jobs and finding the right workplace can be overwhelming. Talking it out with someone can provide you with the assurance needed to stay motivated in your search. If all goes well, your meeting can even lead to having a new mentor in your life.

• More Coffee Dates

Get more coffee dates out of this meeting. The person you are meeting with is going to have a contact list of his or her own. Make a good impression, and you will leave your meeting with a list of people that you can potentially schedule more coffee dates with.

What are you waiting for? Talk to people in organizations you belong to, find people with similar hobbies (i.e. talk to someone at the gym or at a dog park), go through your connections on LinkedIn, and ask around about people in your desired industry.

Schedule as many coffee meetings as you can- you likely will not regret it.

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