how do I turn down a persistent favor-asker?
About a year and a half ago, I agreed to have coffee with a company intern who was finishing up her internship and preparing to graduate. I did this as a favor to a colleague — this intern never did any work with my team or department and we never interacted prior to this coffee meeting. (Incidentally, or maybe not, she is also the niece of a company VP.) She asked smart questions about my career and department, and how to approach the job search after graduation. I gave her what information I could, told her I’d forward on any entry-level openings that were shared within my networks, and wished her luck.
Since then, I’ve received emails and LinkedIn messages from her at least once a month asking for introductions to people at seemingly every company she’d applied to (all large organizations in my industry). Some of the time, I don’t have an appropriate contact for her, so I tell her as much, but other times I do have a contact and simply don’t feel comfortable calling in a favor on behalf of a person I barely know and haven’t directly worked with.
I know it’s tough to find a good job right out of college, but this has been going on for A YEAR AND A HALF. How can I politely tell her to stop asking me, a virtual stranger, for introductions?
I answer this question — and two others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.
Other questions I’m answering there today include:
- I’m my employee’s landlord and I need her to move
- Explaining a restricted diet at work
#turn #persistent #favorasker #Manager
