# bank Career Network — Relationship Map and Action Register
> **Purpose:** Build a trusted internal network around Merchant Acquiring, payments, developer experience and AI, to explore suitable permanent product opportunities while continuing to deliver in the current contract.
>
> **Privacy:** Store only professional, work-relevant information. Do not record personal details, confidential hiring decisions, private conversations without permission, or subjective assessments of colleagues. Follow bank policies for use of AI and workplace information. Keep this file in an approved work location.
## 1. Career objective
- **Primary:** Explore permanent product roles in Merchant Acquiring when available.
- **Adjacent options:** Payments platforms, API/developer experience, AI-enabled operations and technical B2B product management.
- **Role direction:** Senior Product Manager / appropriate product leadership role with genuine problem ownership and measurable outcomes.
- **Approach:** Build relationships through shared work and warm introductions; avoid mass outreach.
- **Cadence:** Two meaningful career conversations per month; review register fortnightly.
- **Constraints:** Continue delivery commitments; hiring eligibility and headcount must be verified, not assumed.
## 2. Relationship tree
```text
Me — Merchant Acquiring / payments compliance / developer AI assistant
|
+-- A. Merchant Acquiring and Payments
| +-- Scheme compliance / operational risk
| +-- Merchant onboarding, migration and servicing
| +-- Payments platforms / transaction processing
| +-- Commercial product and merchant solutions
|
+-- B. Developer Experience and APIs
| +-- API engineering and architecture
| +-- Developer documentation / portal ownership
| +-- Platform engineering and developer tooling
|
+-- C. AI, Data and Governance
| +-- AI product / enablement teams
| +-- AI governance, model risk and evaluation
| +-- Cyber, privacy and operational controls
| +-- Analytics and observability
|
+-- D. Second-degree connections
+-- Product Leads / Group Product Managers
+-- Engineering managers / Heads of Platform
+-- Hiring managers / talent partners
+-- Credible sponsors familiar with my outcomes
```
These are *hypothesised relationship categories*, not a verified bank organisational chart. Replace with actual teams and roles as discovered.
## 3. Contacts
Use one row per person. Prefer work role and team over personal details. `Connection` should name a contact ID, not an unapproved personal dossier.
| ID | Name / role | Team / area | Branch | Connection / introducer | Relationship | Last contact | Next step | Due | Notes (work-related only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C01 | TBD — current scheme stakeholder | TBD | A | Direct collaborator | Known | — | Identify relevant adjacent product team | — | |
| C02 | TBD — API engineering stakeholder | TBD | B | Direct collaborator | Known | — | Ask about developer platform ownership | — | |
| C03 | TBD — AI governance stakeholder | TBD | C | Direct collaborator | Known | — | Ask about other AI product teams | — | |
| C04 | TBD — merchant commercial stakeholder | TBD | A | Direct collaborator | Known | — | Learn about merchant product priorities | — | |
**Relationship values:** Known / Introduced / Conversation held / Ongoing / Sponsor (only with evidence).
## 4. Opportunity map
| Area / role | Why it fits | Relevant contact IDs | Opportunity status | Evidence / next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Acquiring product | Existing domain expertise and continuity | — | Hiring constraints to verify | Learn when approved permanent headcount may reopen |
| Payments platform product | Scheme, transaction and migration experience | — | Unknown | Identify platform product leadership |
| Developer platform / API product | Developer docs and RAG assistant work | — | Unknown | Identify product ownership and current problems |
| AI product / operations | Governance, privacy, evaluation and monitoring | — | Unknown | Learn which teams own measurable AI outcomes |
**Opportunity status values:** Unknown / Relationship-building / Role anticipated / Open and verified / Applied / Closed. Never infer a vacancy or hiring freeze exception.
## 5. Conversation log
| Date | Contact ID | Professional topic | Useful insight | Agreed follow-up | Follow-up due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
Record only appropriate work-related notes; avoid confidential or sensitive information.
## 6. Next actions
- [ ] Replace the four placeholder contacts with actual work contacts.
- [ ] Identify one second-degree contact in each of A, B and C.
- [ ] Request one warm introduction through an existing collaborator.
- [ ] Arrange two 15-minute conversations this month.
- [ ] Record outcomes and agreed follow-ups promptly.
- [ ] Review internal permanent-role eligibility and approved vacancies through official channels.
## 7. Fortnightly review
**Review date:** YYYY-MM-DD
- Conversations completed since last review: 0
- Warm introductions made: 0
- New relevant teams discovered: 0
- Follow-ups overdue: 0
- Verified opportunities discovered: 0
- One relationship to strengthen next: TBD
- One concrete action for the next fortnight: TBD
### Review questions
1. Who already knows my work, and who only knows my name?
2. Which adjacent team is most relevant to my skills and interests?
3. What genuine shared work or question justifies the next conversation?
4. Is there a potential sponsor who has directly observed my outcomes?
5. Am I balancing networking with current delivery commitments?
## 8. Instructions for Claude
When asked to **review my network**:
1. Read this file as the source of truth. Do not invent names, teams, relationships, vacancies, or hiring decisions.
2. Summarise network coverage across branches A–D, upcoming follow-ups, and gaps.
3. Recommend at most **three** next actions, ranked by relevance, warmth of introduction and realistic effort.
4. Distinguish **verified facts**, **working hypotheses** and **unknowns**.
5. Suggest outreach based on professional curiosity and shared work, not transactional job requests.
6. If a new contact or conversation is supplied, propose a precise Markdown edit; update the file only when asked or authorised.
7. Do not autonomously message colleagues, access directories, inspect private messages, or create calendar events without explicit permission and approved tools.
8. Keep notes respectful and suitable for a corporate workspace.
9. Flag overdue follow-ups only when the file is reviewed; do not claim to monitor anything continuously.
When asked **who should I speak with next?**, consider:
- Existing collaboration and likelihood of a warm introduction.
- Relevance to Merchant Acquiring, payments platforms, APIs or AI product.
- Ability to learn about product ownership, strategy and career pathways.
- Whether the relationship expands beyond my current reporting chain.
- A manageable monthly cadence.
When asked to **draft outreach**, create a short, natural Teams message referencing a real shared topic and asking for a 15-minute conversation. Do not lead with a job request unless I specifically instruct otherwise.
## 9. Example Claude prompts
- "Review my career network. Who are the top three people or roles to approach next, and why?"
- "I spoke with C02 about developer portal ownership. Help me update the log and decide the next step."
- "Find gaps in my relationship tree without inventing actual people or organisational reporting lines."
- "Draft a friendly Teams message asking C03 for an introduction to an AI product leader."
- "Run my fortnightly career-network review and propose edits to this file."