Hey there!

Rahul & Lani strike again.!

You followed the advice. Your LinkedIn is polished. Your engineering portfolio is live and actually impressive.

So why does your inbox still look… abandoned?

You’ve applied everywhere. Maxed out daily limits on job boards. Refreshed your email more times than you’d like to admit.

And now you’re wondering: Did any of this even matter?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Applications alone don’t make you visible. People do.

Now, before you close this tab; yes, we know. Cold-connecting with engineers in industry feels awkward. Sliding into LinkedIn DMs isn’t exactly a confidence booster. And spending most of your free time building projects in your basement doesn’t help the social reps either.

But don’t worry, we’ve got you.

Because the goal is not to talk to everyone, it is to talk to right people well.

That’s the core of BeaverPrints:

Optimize Effort for Lasting, Meaning Impact

Small change. Big Results.

LinkedIn: Lani Aremu, Rahul Lakdawala

Job requests create pressure and usually end conversations before they start. Shared context removes that pressure by giving both people something real to talk about. It shows you are curious about their experience, not just their title or company.

Your goal is to open a conversation that feels natural, not transactional.

Being part of an engineering club, design team, or competition gives you a natural starting point for conversation.

When you and an industry engineer talk about the same club or project, the discussion stays in context. You are comparing experiences, challenges, and lessons learned, not asking for a job. That shared technical ground removes pressure and makes the conversation feel genuine. Connections built this way are easier to maintain and far more likely to turn into meaningful guidance or opportunities later.

Use technical interests as the anchor, not titles or companies.

Look at what they post, like, or comment on. Thermal design, controls, manufacturing, CFD, robotics. Ask how those interests show up in real work compared to school projects. This shifts the conversation from generic to meaningful.

At the end if the day, these engineers were once you and they want someone to ask about their interests so they can nerd out.

Leverage shared physical or virtual spaces. Attend actual in person events for fun, learning something new or if it to meet up with someone you know.

Career fairs, conferences, guest lectures, info sessions, and workshops all count. If you attended the same event or talk, that is your opening. Reach out while it is still fresh.

Plus everyone is that event knows that people will come up at talk to them so they are already primed to respond back.

Bonus tip: Key mindset shift

You are not asking for a job.
You are asking for insight.

That is how conversations last longer than five messages.
That is how connections turn into opportunities.

Just as you are trying to make more meaningful connections & lead into more interesting convos, Thursday Tips are about working smarter, not harder.

Making small, strategic improvements that compound over time.

If you’re ready to change the trajectory of your career, keep an eye out for Thursday Tips and future BeaverPrints posts designed to help you build, not just apply.

Small changes.
Better strategy.
Less stress.

See you next Thursday 👊

— The BeaverPrints Team