It’s a super open ended question and I know there’s lots already on this, but would love any and all opinions around the topic. Some specific sub-questions I have:
How valuable are 1-1s for new-EAs? In terms of building EA connections, feeling apart of the community, career value/measured impact, etc?
Are intro 1-1s better than career specific 1-1s for early stage EAs?
What do good 1-1s look like virtually (over Zoom, etc)?
Should they be structured (ex. going through a document) or unstructured?
Should there be follow up? Does it make a difference in terms of the participants further engagement in EA?
What are ways to improve the quality / outcomes of 1-1s?
Are 1-1′s ‘worth it’?
Should we just have a sink-or-swim mindset where people have to get further involved in EA only by their own effort?
I’d also love just general reflections on how you do 1-1s, what makes them ‘worth it’, and general advice.
In case you haven’t seen it, the Resource Centre has advice on doing 1-1′s! It also links some resources on 1-1′s, including the Global Challenges Project’s guide.
Just wanted to share my take on 1-on-1s from the POV of somebody relatively new to the EA community that has not had a session yet. I am currently rigorously going through my career planning process and have decided to postpone my 1-on-1 to when I feel I have laid most of the groundwork and have specific topics or issues to tackle. Nonetheless, I am very much looking forward to it and it is reassuring that there is personal guidance available from those more informed on the EA landscape and career planning process. Also, I am curious to hear how the experience of others has been, whether it made a difference for them, and in what stage of the process they had their session.