You’ve been focused on reaching out to people you know. Today, we’re taking it a step further. If you feel a little uncomfortable reaching out to someone you don’t know personally, that’s normal. But remember, people on social platforms, like LinkedIn, are there because they want to connect and grow their networks too.
You may think they are cold contacts, but since they have a connection to your network, they aren’t. Think of it as moving the connection forward. In every instance you’re going to make them aware of the fact you have a mutual interest first. Your first sentence shouldn’t be “Hey are you hiring?” Ask questions about their business, goals, challenges, successes or industry. By finding common ground, you will warm them up. You can always say something like “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work there. How are you liking it so far?”
In your third workbook, on page 6, you’ll find some sample templates to help make the connections easier. I want you to schedule time to send this type of contact request out every couple of weeks. This gives you time to get on someone’s radar before you ask to connect.
The number one way people find a job is through referrals. So it’s important you continue to build up a network of people these referrals can come from. The good thing to remember is that messaging on LinkedIn has proven to be 3 times as effective as a regular email. There’s a level of trust among people on the career platform that you don’t get from a “spam” email.
If you don’t want to use the template, and you want to go it on your own, here are a few tips you need to keep in mind.
- Make sure you’ve found some common ground. You can find a lot of information out about someone on their profile. Use it to your advantage. Did you attend the same university? Do you have mutual contacts? Scope out what they have been posting about so you know what interests them.
- Keep it short. You don’t want to write a novel. This is an introduction so they start to recognize you in their feed and notice when you comment on their posts. You want to add value
- Give them a reason to respond. How many messages from a stranger to you respond to? Include a question at the end of your message. If you can make it a question about them, that’s even better because it’s hard for anyone to resist talking about themselves.