Academic courting ritual

There is much to learned in graduate school and depending on your mentor you might not get the mentoring you need. Some mentors are human-sized lab rats, living in the lab and pumping out publication after publication. Other mentors are gregarious connectors, they know which other researchers have free cycles and available money (possibility more important). Both personality traits are useful in scientific career but the social bootstrapping is the one most frequently missing.

Part of a young scientists' maturation is developing the ability to work with collaborators. Those collaborators hopefully will grow into colleagues, people to join with for grants and suggest graduate students. This is the power of weak ties. The process starts with the academic courting ritual.

Academic courting ritual:

1. Make small talk
2. Find common connections
3. Discuss current projects
4. Exchange papers to read