Yahoo News This Guy Has One Piece Of Career Advice For You (But Everyone Else Thinks It's Crap)
Don't do this. (Photo: SDI Productions via Getty Images)
How far would you go to network and make connections? Most of us would begrudgingly go to a networking event in the hopes of meeting other industry professionals.
But one guy says eschew all that and go directly into their homes. Yes, that’s right, creator and entrepreneur Sahil Bloom says go door knocking to land career advice.
The New Yorker shared a Twitter thread where he encouraged 16-24-year-olds to go to a coffee shop, fill up a large flask of coffee (enough for 10 people) and head onto a nearby rich area.
He then suggests asking people who open their doors about their career, spending 10 minutes with them to discuss how they made it.
The idea is that you’ll end up door knocking on someone who is so impressed by your plucky spirit, they’ll either give you excellent career advice or in a best case scenario, a job.
But, err, this approach comes with quite a few downsides.
As the tweet went viral, amassing more than 10,000 likes, people couldn’t help but point out all the flaws in the plan.
What happens, for example, if you’re a young woman knocking on a potentially dangerous person’s door? The power dynamics are obvious and you could be inviting yourself into further danger.
Or perhaps you’re a Black person knocking on a racist person’s door – you could be subjecting yourself to abuse or harm. People wasted no time pointing out all the cons.
This is advice to get kidnapped or murdered wtf https://t.co/INJ3VcSXTd
— SapphicWolf 🐺🏴🌲 (@LycanLesbian37) June 7, 2022
If you are a young black person reading this please be mindful of where you live and how culturally developed that place is. This may not workout for you as much as it may for others in certain neighborhoods. Instead, I would join wellness communities run,bike,hike
— Lusenii Kromah (@Sartorial_lu) June 6, 2022
Definitely don't take advice from @SahilBloom. pic.twitter.com/k7QuK3Z0LW
— Chile, I guess... (@Breyionna) June 6, 2022
What kinda of cartoon world do you live in where you think this is a smart, safe, or pleasant surprise feo for ANYONE involved??? https://t.co/LXZFTyg3Ib
— DY THE BI (@_LifeOfDy) June 7, 2022
I’m in that age range, and I would prefer not to be kidnapped. Plus no one wants to be bothered by a high schooler on a Saturday morning. It’s just not what you do.
— Kat (@Kat_ASB) June 6, 2022
I'm convinced some successful people give bad advice on purpose as a way of gatekeeping success https://t.co/nfdwX8ot2D
— halal talal (@TalalUnfiltered) June 7, 2022
You cannot just turn up to strangers houses with coffee 😂 This is terrible advice and also unsafe https://t.co/ysLgmAyFvf
— Sarah Perry (@SV_Perry) June 7, 2022
This is what happens when you get all of your ideas from business seminars and books written by white men.
You miss the real world dangers & implications of your ideas. It happens this way in business, too. But they pay people to make your ideas less dangerous.
Don’t do this. https://t.co/uT9JOMVXEW— Full Metal Feminist (@FlorenceOfLabia) June 7, 2022
No offense dude but as a single woman living alone I’m not letting a random grown man into my apartment. Even a teenager I probably wouldn’t.
— Gina B (@ahungoverbadger) June 6, 2022
Women in this age demographic: PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. This is actually not safe!
— KareBearScare (@KareBearScare) June 6, 2022
In the middle of global pandemic you're encouraging people to basically invite themselves to strangers houses? As a black person who did door to door canvassing for grassroots organizations i know youre more likely to get the police called then recieve helpful career advice
— Fat Booty Celine Dione (@eyoc_j) June 6, 2022
Though the method was widely criticised, some pointed out that in a few exceptional cases, it can work.
One such example included Reggie Nelson, from a London council estate, who door knocked in Kensington and Chelsea. His graft paid off as he landed a job in the city after networking with people.
If you’re not comfortable going into people’s homes, you could always just hold up a large sign. That’s what another man did, hosting a pop-up sign to attract big wigs at Canary Wharf. And it worked.
Or you could stick to the good old networking event or mentoring scheme, just an idea.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
