If you have read any standard American career guidebook or scrolled through LinkedIn for more than five minutes, you’ve heard the advice: “Just invite them for a virtual coffee chat!” It sounds so easy. It’s low-stakes. It’s friendly. In many business cultures—particularly the US—it is the “Swiss Army Knife” of networking; an efficient, accepted way to break the ice and uncover opportunities. But I’m going to give you a piece of unpopular advice, specifically for those of you trying to build a professional network from scratch here in the Germanic countries, which are all considered “low context” countries in intercultural theory: Stop asking strangers for coffee chats. First, A Necessary Disclaimer (Because Culture is Complicated) Before the comments section explodes, […]