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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.

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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.

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