I've had 100 coffees I can't remember

👋 Hi again!

I’m Charlie and this is the free weekly edition of The Inner Circle, where I tell you what's going on across the markets we operate in. Great to have you on board!

I’ve put together a (free!) PDF that compiles the four biggest takeaways that I see from having done over 100+ LinkedIn Video Reviews for people frustrated with not hearing back in the market.

You can check it out here 👈

Chain coffee. Fighting for a seat. Noisy. Someone else's leftover cups on the table.

That’s how 90% of my coffee meets over the past year went. Stale environments and not conducive to good conversation.

They're fine for quick catch-ups. But when there's someone I want to impress or really get to know, my new tactic is to switch them: "do you know somewhere good to eat?"

Ok, first, some background. Growing up I wasn't the most adventurous person. 

Where I grew up the opportunity for experimentation was limited, and I built the mindset that unknown = bad with food. 

It's taken a while to unlearn, but stepping out to Hong Kong and Asia more broadly is what finally got rid of that old mindset.

We're fortunate enough that it's an extreme rarity if we don't get 3 meals a day. 365 x 3 = 1095 meals. Try one new cuisine a month and those 12 meals account for 1.1% of your yearly meals. That's tiny, and I wasn't willing to take that risk?

It’s only now in retrospect that I have realised that food, and the discovery of new things, have formed the core of some of my favourite memories of living abroad.

Peking Duck in Beijing.
Kobe Beef Steak in Japan (still paying that one off…)
Iftars in Dubai.
Even that crazy Dim Sum place below the Shun Tak Centre in Hong Kong.

If I asked you your favourite cuisine/food, you'd have an answer ready to go without thinking too hard. It's a shared human experience, usually tied to upbringing that's hard not to be passionate about - which is exactly why it works. 

I’ve carried that logic into my networking, and it's led to some fantastic outcomes.

I had my first Chole Bhature this year. I now know an incredible Burmese restaurant in Singapore and found out there's a phenomenal Lebanese restaurant tucked away in TST, Hong Kong. Who knew?

It’s not just about the food. People are 100x more open over a meal. It's a happier, more relaxed environment to actually get to know and understand someone - and they remember you after.

Think about all the coffees you went on last year. How many can you genuinely remember?

Now compare that to offering to take someone to their favourite local spot for lunch. Completely different angle - and it keeps you top of mind long after the meal's over.

Here's the exact line I use. When someone suggests a coffee and I’m keen to impress, I reply:

"Rather than a coffee - do you know somewhere good to eat near you? My treat. I've been wanting to try somewhere new."

That's it. You'll be surprised how rarely anyone says no.

I'm no Anthony Bourdain, and this remains a careers newsletter, (don’t worry, I won't be launching a food Instagram anytime soon lol) BUT, give it a go. Turn your next coffee meeting into something memorable and live a little.

Best case: new cuisine, good time, nice food.
Worst case: one bad meal = 1094 meals left to make up for the experience.

P.S. If you’re reading this off the back of another week of sent applications and no response, I see you.

This is a tough market but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

If you’re fed up of the silence and curious about why your applications aren’t converting, I can fix that for you 👈

Thanks so much for reading!

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