Congrats. If you're reading this, you've made it past (arguably) the hardest part. You sent the email, a stranger replied, and now you have a coffee chat in the diary. You are now one step closer to gaining knowledge or access into a previously unexplored domain (see part 1).
— now what?
— nail down a date and time
This one sounds obvious but people mess it up. Reply promptly. Don't let the thread go cold by sitting on it for a week while you check your diary three times.
When proposing times, make it easy for them. Offer two or three specific windows rather than asking "when works for you?" — that puts the mental load back on them. They've already done you a favour by responding; the least you can do is make scheduling frictionless.
Keep it short. Something like:
"Would Tuesday at 2pm or Thursday at 4pm work? Totally happy to work around your schedule."
That's it. One email. Done.
— preparing for the coffee chat
Don't overthink this, but do prepare.
The point of the call isn't to impress anyone, it's to learn something. Go in with a handful of specific questions you genuinely want answered. Not a script, not a list of twenty things. Three to five real questions you'd be glad you asked.
Think about what you actually want to walk away knowing:
- What does their day to day actually look like?
- How did they get into the role? Was it a straight line or not?
- If they were starting out again, what would they do differently?
- What does the hiring process at their firm actually look for?
Do five minutes of research on the person beforehand. Not stalking, just enough to have context. What's their background? Have they written or said anything publicly? This makes the conversation feel less like a cold interview and more like two people actually talking.
— enjoy the process
This is the part most people forget to do.
A coffee chat is not a job interview. There is no pass or fail. The person on the other end said yes because they remember what it was like to be in your position, or because someone once did the same for them. Give them the chance to actually be helpful.
Be curious. Ask follow up questions. Let the conversation go somewhere unexpected. Some of the most useful things you'll learn won't come from your prepared questions — they'll come from something they mention in passing that you choose to pull on.
And when it's over, follow up. A short, genuine thank you email the same day or the next morning. Don't use a template, write something that references a specific thing they said. It takes two minutes and it's one of the simplest things you can do to stand out.