????每年這個時候，每周一般都有2-3個希望進軍風投行業的在校大學生或應屆畢業生邀請我“喝咖啡”。我發現自己總是一次次給出相同的建議（其他人似乎也一樣），因此，我決定把它們放到博客上，提供一點指導。

#1. 構建正交人際網絡，掌握有利人脈。

????新人在風投公司中的價值在于他或她通常擁有一個相對于公司而言的正交（這里意味著沒有重疊）網絡。除非合伙人只是要找能執行交易的人（也可能確實存在這樣的情況），通常他們真正要找的是能帶來新交易的人。

????這意味著你需要立即開始構建一個正交網絡。考慮一下自己的獨特優勢：你在哪里長大，在哪里學習，在哪里工作，以及年齡等等。正如暢銷書作家馬爾科姆?格拉德威爾在《異類》（Outliers）中所講的一樣：“我們是誰與我們是從哪里來的密不可分。”利用你來自哪里作為你的優勢吧。

2. 深入了解風投領域，形成自己的見解

????科技最奇妙的地方在于新事物層出不窮，沒人能完全看懂。我們支持的一位首席執行官不久前告訴我說，一名應聘者自稱“有4年的iOS開發經驗”，對此他是這樣回復的：“要么你在撒謊，要么你是史蒂夫?喬布斯。”因為當時iOS出現的時間也不過3年。

????開始關注目標行業的所有博客，了解業內最重要的公司。（使用老一套的借口——“我是名學生”）與這個領域的企業家攀談，詢問他們同誰競爭以及他們如何看待市場的演變。培養對行業的洞察力，其中一半來自于搜集市場資料，一半要靠自己。

3. 帶上“見面禮”

????就像希臘人一樣，如果想敲開特洛伊城的大門，帶上禮物無疑會有幫助。風投行業屢試不爽的做法是引薦出色的企業家。帶著前面第一、第二項的成果，再加上一些企業家資源，就可以去心儀的風投公司碰碰運氣了。

????我保證，如果能主動提議引薦一名企業家，風投公司給你你回電話的幾率就會大大提高。60%的情況下，這種做法都會奏效。

????最后，祝大家找工作順利。如果你在風投行業找到了工作，也請告訴我。我會很高興地歡迎你加入這一行。

????本文作者艾力克斯?陶西格現任高地資本合伙公司（Highland Capital Partners）負責人，投資早期科技公司。讀者可以在他的個人博客網站ataussig.com上讀到這篇文章以及更多的內容。

????It's that time of year when I get about 2-3 weekly requests to meet for "coffee" with current students or recent grads who want to get into venture capital. I've found myself giving the same advice time and time again (as have others), so I decided to write a quick post with a few words of guidance.

#1. Build an orthogonal network

????The value of a junior person at a venture firm is that he or she often has an orthogonal (meaning, in this case, non-redundant) network, compared to the aggregate of the firm. Unless a partner is looking for someone to simply execute on his own deal flow (which can be the case), that partner is really looking for someone who can bring in net new deals.

????What that means is that you need to start building an orthogonal network immediately. Think about your unique advantage: Where you grew up, where you studied, where you worked, how old you are, etc. As Malcolm Gladwell says in Outliers, "Who we are can not be separated from where we're from." Use where you're from to your advantage.

#2. Build an expertise and develop an opinion

????The wonderful thing about technology is that something new is always popping up that no one fully understands. We backed a CEO who told me a little while ago that someone applied to his company with "4 years of iOS development experience," to which he responded: "Either you're lying, or you're Steve Jobs." iOS had only existed for 3 years at that point.

????Start following all the blogs in your industry of interest and get to know all the key players. Talk to entrepreneurs in that space (use the old "I'm a student" excuse) and ask them who they compete with and how they see the market evolving. Develop an insight that is 50% gleaned from the market and 50% your own.

#3. Come bearing gifts

????Like the Greeks, if you want to open the gates of Troy, it's helpful to come bearing gifts. The currency of the venture industry is introductions to exciting entrepreneurs. Take the results of #1 and #2 and generate a source of warm leads for a couple VCs you want to work with.

????I guarantee that an offer to introduce an entrepreneur will get a higher hit rate in terms of VCs returning your call. 60% of the time, it works every time.

????So, happy job hunting. And if you land a job in the venture industry, let me know. I'd enjoy welcoming you to the fold.

????Alex Taussig is a Principal with Highland Capital Partners and invests in early stage technology companies. You can find this blog post, as well as additional content on his blog ataussig.com. You can also follow Alex on Twitter @ataussig.