Ask HN: How Do You Keep Track of Professional Connections?
Hi HN,
I'm a software engineer by profession, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to maintain meaningful professional connections over time. Right now, I mostly rely on LinkedIn and WhatsApp, but neither feels great for keeping track of past conversations, following up naturally, or remembering to reach out.
Has anyone faced a similar challenge? How do you manage and nurture your professional network in a way that feels organic rather than transactional? Any tools, workflows, or habits that have worked well for you?
Thanks in advance! It’s LinkedIn. Everyone knows it’s transactional and there is nothing wrong with that. If I’m looking for a job, I reach out to my network on LinkedIn and they usually respond. If I have an open position at my company, I will post it on LinkedIn and people reach out to me. There is usually a natural decay with how often you keep in touch with former coworkers. I have been working for almost 30 years and there are six former coworkers I have spoken to in the last month and one of those is my wife.