Looking for a simple contact management app for networking / job search
December 7, 2018 1:21 PM Subscribe
I am currently networking as part of a job search. I'm meeting lots of people who are in turn introducing me to more people. I need to keep track of all these people. Help!
I know that the simplest answer to this is just a spreadsheet. I'm doing that, but it could be so much better with a real little database. For each person I'd ideally like to be able to include notes on each interaction, the name of the person who introduced me to them, the company they work for, the date to follow up with them, etc. What I want, really, is a simple CRM that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars or involve complex setup.
The main things that don't work in a spreadsheet are:
* Notes. There's just not enough room for writing real notes, so I end up losing information.
* Multiple entries per person. I'd like to be able to add to my notes over time.
I could fix the notes problem by just putting all my contacts into a text document, but then I lose other potential sorting and tracking capabilities.
I realize I am probably over thinking this. So I guess my question is:
1. Is there an app (Macintosh or web) that will do what I'm looking for?
2. Is there some system you've used that works really well for this?
3. Any general tips &etc?
Thanks,
I know that the simplest answer to this is just a spreadsheet. I'm doing that, but it could be so much better with a real little database. For each person I'd ideally like to be able to include notes on each interaction, the name of the person who introduced me to them, the company they work for, the date to follow up with them, etc. What I want, really, is a simple CRM that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars or involve complex setup.
The main things that don't work in a spreadsheet are:
* Notes. There's just not enough room for writing real notes, so I end up losing information.
* Multiple entries per person. I'd like to be able to add to my notes over time.
I could fix the notes problem by just putting all my contacts into a text document, but then I lose other potential sorting and tracking capabilities.
I realize I am probably over thinking this. So I guess my question is:
1. Is there an app (Macintosh or web) that will do what I'm looking for?
2. Is there some system you've used that works really well for this?
3. Any general tips &etc?
Thanks,
Sounds like you're looking for a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool -- they're built to do exactly what you want. There are many free options out there at this point; personally, I really like Hubspot. You can set up an entry for each person (and their companies! ) and take notes, log calls & emails, etc. You can also set up tasks and other kinds of tracking per person. If Hubspot isn't to your taste, you can find several good alternatives on this list. Best of luck in your job search!
posted by ourobouros at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ourobouros at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I had this exact same need, and ended up settling on Monica. It's not perfect -- it's a bit clunky, more steps required to update a contact than I want -- but it works fine.
The other option I considered and even sketched out was, as JamesBay suggests, Airtable. I was able to do some nice automation between Airtable and Gmail using Zapier (eg automatically update the "last contacted date" when I email someone). But ultimately I liked Monica more, being purpose built for this sort of thing.
posted by jacobian at 5:03 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
The other option I considered and even sketched out was, as JamesBay suggests, Airtable. I was able to do some nice automation between Airtable and Gmail using Zapier (eg automatically update the "last contacted date" when I email someone). But ultimately I liked Monica more, being purpose built for this sort of thing.
posted by jacobian at 5:03 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've used Insightly CRM for a few years. It's $9/month for one user, and probably worth a look.
posted by 4midori at 11:10 AM on December 9, 2018
posted by 4midori at 11:10 AM on December 9, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for all these suggestions. I'll check them out and I expect one of them to work. Will circle back after I get some experience.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 9:11 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by Winnie the Proust at 9:11 AM on December 10, 2018
It's more famous as a of a project tracking software, but Trello might also be something to investigate. If you were to do something like create a Contacts board and have different lists ("To Contact", "Waiting on Reply", etc.) and/or tag categories (Local contact, [INDUSTRY] contact, etc.) that might help you keep track.
Definitely agree with others about investigating dedicated CRMs first, though. They're made for stuff like this.
posted by helloimjennsco at 12:03 PM on December 10, 2018
Definitely agree with others about investigating dedicated CRMs first, though. They're made for stuff like this.
posted by helloimjennsco at 12:03 PM on December 10, 2018
Response by poster: I spent some time looking at the various CRM solutions people suggested, and following links from the lists of CRM solutions.
Monica looks like a interesting project, but that's the rub: it's a project and not a product, and it looks like it's running on fumes.
I found all the other CRMs to be very intimidating. They are all hyper-focused on business generation and work-flow integration. The companies providing them are all focused on getting businesses to sign up for their services, promising to solve problems that I don't have, like integration with other online services, email, etc. I spent some time poking at a few of them and ended up concluding that it would take too long to figure out how to use one of them for my relatively simple purpose.
That left me with Airtable. I was skeptical at first, because I didn't want to roll my own. But after watching ten minutes of intro videos it looked like it would be trivial to set up what I wanted. I started doing that and it's working for me.
Thank you!
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2018
Monica looks like a interesting project, but that's the rub: it's a project and not a product, and it looks like it's running on fumes.
I found all the other CRMs to be very intimidating. They are all hyper-focused on business generation and work-flow integration. The companies providing them are all focused on getting businesses to sign up for their services, promising to solve problems that I don't have, like integration with other online services, email, etc. I spent some time poking at a few of them and ended up concluding that it would take too long to figure out how to use one of them for my relatively simple purpose.
That left me with Airtable. I was skeptical at first, because I didn't want to roll my own. But after watching ten minutes of intro videos it looked like it would be trivial to set up what I wanted. I started doing that and it's working for me.
Thank you!
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2018
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I just had lunch with someone, call her Sally. We had a great conversation and she gave me the names of a bunch of people I should be in touch with. I want create an entry for each of those people, with notes about what Sally told me about them, and maybe some other stuff that I find online. Then I want to tag that person as someone I need to contact, maybe with a date.
Later, when I contact them, I want to note that in. If we actually talk, I want to be able to put in the notes from the conversation, etc.
The goal is to have my work -- following up, thanking, contacting the next person etc -- right in my face when I start my day, rather than something I have to dig through a spreadsheet for.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 1:40 PM on December 7, 2018