Response rate networking with alumni? Email
Hey guys, was just wondering what your response rate was for emails that you send out to alumni to set up calls etc? Especially at the analyst level? I know there are other threads on this, but now the recruiting timeline is just so early so wanted to hear thoughts.
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Hey man, thanks for your response. I was wondering though - don't MDs and VPS normally don't like being contacted if you have not spoken with analysts first? Should I not be referred to VPs/MDs? Idk I hear different things from different people, but some analysts (even those I have connections with/referrals) still do not respond
Not really, MDs/VPs are pretty willing to help you out (assuming you have some sort of connection and even if you don't why not).
Usually when people refer you, they're more willing to refer down. For example as a 1st year analyst one wouldn't exactly be comfortable referring a college student to an associate + or above.
And yeah some people don't respond even with connections + referrals but thats life, try 2-3 times (never go above 3 imo) and if you don't hear back move on
i would not gun for MDs, but associates and VPs. i find it very difficult to connect with MDs perhaps due to their age. they are also tougher to get on the phone/for coffee due to their busy schedule travelling. IMO you should always gun for the most senior person responsible for execution. at the end of the day as a junior guy you will be executing deals hopefully so you need to see things from their perspective.
analysts just dont have enough power to help you out imo
My alumni response rate is usually around the 30-40% range.
Cold emails with no connection is around the 5-10% range.
That's a super solid alumni response rate. Unfortunately I go to a non-target with barely any alumni on the street. Any advice on how to maximize cold emails response rate?
As far as cold emails, here is some general advice.
That is some general advice I have found helpful during the networking process.
My alumni response rate has been 85% through cold emails. Highly dependent on your school.
80%, granted I come from a school with very very few alumni in the industry so take that for what its worth
When I went through recruiting it was around 60 - 70% response rate for me (although sometimes it was delayed).
How are people getting such high response rates? I'm getting maybe 10% or so with a decent resume and 3.5 at a top public. Can you guys critique my cold email?
Hi [Person Name],
I hope that this email finds you well. My name is name and I am a sophomore at top public interested in a career in investment banking. If you have any availability in the coming weeks, I was hoping to speak with you over the phone to learn more about you, your firm, and your experiences. I have previously had an investment banking internship, and my resume is attached for your reference.
Thank you in advance, and I look forward to speaking with you soon!
I title them Sophomore (school nickname) - Reaching Out
Don't just focus on alumni, hit everyone. I got my offer from someone who didn't even go to my school
I've tried emailing random bankers. 0% response rate so far lol. my response rate with alumni has been solid though
I actually looked back at 93 cold emails I sent out and here were my findings:
Non-alumni response rate: 34% Alumni response rate: 43%
Of those that responded, 8% agreed to a call but ghosted on me.
Granted, I did this as a person who was already a working professional so that has an impact on results.
Frankly, I've had an almost 100% success rate with analysts from my school. I guess it really depends how loyal your network is and how many people reach out to them.
do you ever attach your resumes in those emails?
Always. If your resume is strong you should.
My response rate (non-alum, straight cold emails from a different city) has been around 50-60%.
Some key differences: Not contacting people in IB, I'm reaching out to real estate people (REITS, developers, REPE, etc.) as thats where I want to be.
I think this has been alluded throughout comments in this thread but my experience in the past has been that individuals in the Associate-VP level tend to be more receptive and willing to talk. Whenever I reached out to anyone, I would never explicitly state that I needed them to do anything for me and I tried to develop some connection with the individuals before hinting at my reason for contacting them. I've come to realize that people that you connect with will usually want to help you when they appreciate your honest introduction and feel you are not reaching out with the sole intention of only helping yourself in some way. Make it your priority to establish the conversation, even before it begins and your are sending emails, as a mutually beneficial encounter.
Hope this helps! This helped me increase the amount and value of the people that accepted my invitations to talk.
Alumni e-mail response rate (Originally Posted: 08/15/2010)
I just started in a MSF program and I am trying to network for consulting and F500 roles. I have just started networking this week (never had to in undergrad) and so far I have sent out 30 e-mails to alums to set up a time to speak and received 3 responses (10% success rate).
Is this the kind of response rate I can expect from my e-mails? I know it is early (only 1 week) and it is a small sample size, but I wanted to know if this is what I should expect going forward.
10% response rate sounds about right, I'm getting around that same number
seriously, make sure you know what you are talking about before you go spamming alumni. one week into school seems dangerously early to start contacting people, unless you really know what you want to do. (i suppose in an MSF program, you have a very good idea of what you are looking for, but nevertheless....)
just make 100% sure you don't sound like an idiot. Also don't paint yourself into a corner this early into your schooling. if you tell an alum that you 100000000% want to work in asset management, then he finds out later that you are recruiting for trading, he might become a little skeptical of you.
you might want to have your career dept take a look at those emails.
anyway, the email response rate sounds about right. but it might be indicative of a poorly written email.
Thanks for the responses guys.
Just wanted to clarify a few things.
1) I'm not saying anything along the lines of "I know I want to do this and this 100%" in my e-mails to alums. I am simply asking them if they have a few minutes to speak over the phone because I have become interested in the field/industry they are working in and would like to learn more about it. I keep the e-mails very neutral, because, to be honest, I don't have a preference for one specific type of job.
2) I have heard different things from different people about when to start networking. Some say its never too early to start, others say wait until Fall recruiting begins. What is the general consensus on this?
How can one week into school be "dangerously" early to start when recruiting is right around the corner? What’s the point of waiting longer?
I thought it would be smart to contact as soon as you're accepted...that way you have some time to build a bit of a relationship…
Geology is the study of pressure and time.
50% for me But i'm a Non-target undergraduate looking for internship in Fall&Spring/FT position post grad may 2011
Mines definitely higher than that, i'd say ~25-30%. This is probably because i'm coming from a non target and the alum's i'm e-mailing probably don't get anywhere near the amount of networking messages that you'd get coming from a target school. I also think these people are generally more open to the idea of helping kids out because they were in my shoes a few years back and know the extra work we need to put in. Just keep at it, and you'll do fine.
I'm looking at around a 25-40 percent response rate, depending. Make sure you are e-mail for advice, and not directly looking for a job. Alumni love blabbering about their successes and feeling almighty giving you advice, and are much more likely to respond to that than "so...I'm interested in a job..."
Yea that's exactly what I AM doing. E-mailing to ask for advice and see their perspective on the industry. Not directly asking for a job. It's still early into my networking efforts so I guess I should give it more time.
I've heard many different things about when to start recruiting. Most MBA students told me to wait until recruiting started to network (that's right...wait until September/October) and other people told me to start in the early summer (early June). As far as I know I'm starting early compared to most of my peers. I don't think many people in my MSF program have even started networking yet. I didn't have access to an alumni database b/c my school doesn't give access until classes start. I used Linkedin until school started (started in July) but most alumni told me to contact them when I started classes (I guess to wait until I was actually a student) so I did just that. Even on this thread I'm getting mixed responses between starting early and starting later during recruiting. I basically picked the middle ground between those two choices. Btw recruiting starts here on October 4th so I don't think I'm late on networking. I started basically 2 to 2.5 months ahead of recruiting.
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I have two different alumni network pathways.
My college one is decent... probably around 1/4 which looks pretty decent compared to others (non-target)
My high school recently released a alumni directory and there are a good 30 guys working in the industry and my success rates hovers around 85%+
As others have said, never ask for a job... only for advice.
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