Dear Prudence,
I am a hormonal young woman and was craving an easy hookup, so I
tempted fate (and horny dudes) on the Internet. Fate (and the dudes)
took the bait, and of the hundreds of responses I received, one stood
out because he accidentally attached a professional summary. I found out
it was a man who works in my field, and is a fair number of years my
senior. We met up; we hooked up; we became friends. He and I are both
unmarried and unattached, but neither of us wants to move have a
romantic relationship with each other. I have now begun to date closer
to my age group, so I don't want to share playtime with him anymore, but
haven't told him yet. Being entry-level in the field, I could really
use a mentor and have excellent access to this guy. I really don't want
to exploit him or make him feel rejected or awkward, and I want to be as
professional as possible to keep suspicions of "secret lovers" at bay.
Two questions: 1) Is it OK to pursue his help with my career, maybe in a
formal informational interview or by asking for introductions? And 2)
How do I go about this tactfully? Connect with him on LinkedIn and send a
formal email to his work address?