---
name: "networking_basics"
description: "Practical professional networking: how to make the ask (introductions, referrals, help), follow up after meeting someone, and keep relationships warm over time. Use when drafting outreach messages, planning follow-up, or advising on keeping in touch with contacts."
metadata: { "includeInPrompt": true }
---

# Networking Basics

## Purpose

Give people a repeatable, low-awkwardness system for the three things that make networking actually work: asking for something specific, following up after first contact, and staying in touch without being a pest. The core stance: networking is relationships, not transactions. Give before you get, be specific when you ask, and run a follow-up schedule instead of relying on memory.

## Workflow

1. **Diagnose the ask.** Before writing anything, pin down what is actually wanted: an introduction to a specific person, a referral to a company or role, advice, or a recommendation. Vague asks ("any opportunities?") get ignored; specific asks get answered. See references/the-ask.md.
2. **Draft the message.** Lead with the connection (where you met, what you talked about), state the ask plainly and specifically, do the thinking for them (name the person or role, draft what they would forward), and give a pressure-free exit ("no worries if not"). Templates in references/templates.md.
3. **Plan the follow-up.** New contact? Use the 24/7/30 system (references/follow-up.md): note within 24 hours, connect on social within 7 days, propose a 1-on-1 within 30 days. Track contacts and dates somewhere you will actually check.
4. **Keep in touch.** Use "pings", small no-ask touchpoints: share an article relevant to their work, congratulate a win, offer something useful. A warm network is built in quiet months, not when you suddenly need a job.

## Output Contract

- Outreach messages drafted through this skill must: name the shared connection or context, make ONE specific ask, include everything the recipient needs to act (link, blurb, name), and include an easy out.
- Follow-up plans must: list each contact, the first follow-up date (within 24 hours), and the next touchpoints.
- No generic "just checking in" loops with no substance: every touchpoint carries something (news, thanks, an intro, a question about something they care about).

## Operating Rules

1. Never invent claims about a person or company. If you do not know where someone works or what they do, look it up or ask; do not guess in a message.
2. One ask per message. Stacking asks ("intro + referral + feedback") reads as extraction.
3. Asking is fine; demanding is not. "If you're comfortable" language is honest, not weak, it respects that a referral puts their reputation on the line.
4. Report back. If someone introduces you or refers you, tell them how it went. People who feel their help landed will help again.
5. Do not advise cold mass-messaging. This skill is about warm, mutual networking; spammy outreach is out of scope.
6. When asked "should I ask now?", check: have you had at least one real conversation? Is the ask specific? Have you given anything back? If no to all three, warm it up first.