I keep telling people that to get what they want, they need to start asking. Last week I encountered two of these cases (just in case you need any more convincing):
A very good friend of mine wanted to work at an event. He was late to the role call for volunteers and the person responsible for staffing told him: “Sorry, we’re full.” His response was: “This is awesome. Who else do I need to talk to at your organization about a potential position?” Seven (!) people later — always hearing “no” and repeating his ask — he got the job.
Just ask. And keep asking.
Then, last week, a sixteen-year old high schooler came and visited Mozilla (and Google… and Stanford… and Jawbone). He pinged me on Twitter a while ago, started asking questions, showed me some of his work. One day he said that he convinced his parents to bring him to Silicon Valley for a tour. And asked if I/we would host him at Mozilla. And sure as hell we did. And so did a bunch of other people he met on Twitter at other companies.
Just ask. And keep asking.
I bet you money — for every person who asks, there are at least 1,000 people who don’t. The odds are in your favor.
Just ask. And keep asking.