Networking with Professionals
As previously discussed, peers are a critical part of one’s network, and networking is not about finding important people. Still, there are many good reasons to cultivate relationships with experienced professionals who may be a bit (or a lot) further ahead so that you can learn from their experiences.
Preparing to Connect with Professionals
Step 1: Define your goals and target individuals
Before you start looking for professionals to add to your network, you should define 1-3 concrete goals for adding professionals to your network. For example, the goal might be to find an internship or a job or to better understand the opportunities in a certain function or industry for someone with your background.
Having concrete goals will also help you target the right experts. While it may be tempting to reach out to the CEO of a company you’re interested in, you should match your target professionals to your goals. For example, it’s unlikely that a C-Suite leader is involved in hiring interns, so it may be better to try to find an early career professional who may be able to share more relevant information for landing an internship and may also be more accessible to you.
Step 2: Do your research
Once you have a list of professionals with whom you’d like to connect, research their backgrounds, interests, and work. In your research, aim to get a general understanding of the person’s career journey. If they’ve published professional content (e.g., blog posts), read or skim them so that you understand what they are interested in. Your research may also help uncover mutual interests and opportunities for you to add value to the professional.
⛔ Beware! A lot of people have public personal social profiles (e.g., Instagram). In general, if you are looking for a professional connection, refrain from following/friending people on personal social accounts.
Step 3: Make a connection
The best way to connect to someone is via a warm introduction, i.e., reaching out through a mutual connection. If that is not possible, you may also seek to make a digital connection. Many professionals publish publicly (e.g., LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter). Connecting with them online might be a great place to start, when done thoughtfully. For example, you might leave a thoughtful comment on something they’ve written or participate in a conversation they are having.
⛔ Beware! Many people post spammy or irrelevant comments to influential people. This almost always backfires and makes them less likely to want to connect with you. Don’t post a comment saying, “I’d like to have a chat with you” on a random Twitter thread or blog post. DO NOT be that person.
A cold outreach via LinkedIn or email might be worth a shot. But, the chances of a reply are low, and if you go this route, you need to be respectful and avoid spamming or messaging too frequently. When reaching out to someone cold, the maximum number of attempts should be 2: your initial outreach and a follow-up within 1-2 weeks if you don’t hear back.
Evaluating Cold Outreach
Below are three examples of real cold outreach that Ope received on LinkedIn.
Outreach 1
Outreach 2
Outreach 3
