Hitting a networking jackpot
I recently had a phone conversation with a good friend of my dad's from college. This buddy of my dad's was a finance undergrad who ended up going into i-banking at a BB (back in the 90's) and has since worked his way up the chain at said BB, received an MBA and PHD, and then worked as an executive at an elite boutique. He now works at a F500 as a senior director and is planning on retiring soon. Needless to say, the guy is pretty legit and had a lot of great advice to give and help to offer to me (not to mention he's a really cool guy on a personal level).
One thing he offered to do for me was open up his professional network to me and try and connect me with any of his connections on LinkedIn that I would want to talk to. Obviously there's no guarantee that they'll be able to, but he's pretty well respected in the industry so I'm assuming most people will respond if he asks for a favor. I've started going through his LinkedIn contacts to look for people to talk to.
At this point I'm just writing down names but the list is incredible. MDs and VPs at most of the firms you can think of. Definitely a great opportunity to have. In fact, there are so many people I'd be interested in talking to the list I was planning on sending him is getting kind of long (I'm at 10+ already and I'm only half through his contacts). I don't want to overload him with requests because I know he's busy but I also don't want to pass up on any big opportunities there might be.
Any advice on how to best approach compiling a concise list of people I'd like to talk to? If given an opportunity like this, how would you handle it (or, if you've had an opportunity like this, how did you?)
Good question...I would try not to overload him with requests since that can get annoying.
Usually for the WSO interns that do a good job for us I offer the same thing, conencting with them on LinkedIn and introducing them to 2-3 people they would like to speak with.
I'm not sure this guy is going to want to introduce you to 10+ people, so it may be best to pick 2-3 targeted people at a specific bank and division and have a specific reason why that bank and why those people (so he can use that as a reason to connect you -- besides you just being amazing :-)
The key here is not to overload him and to be specific in your requests...I also wouldnt just automatically run to the MDs in his contacts. It might be better to start off with a range of levels like 1 associate, 1 VP and 1 MD (and try to network so you can speak with the analysts as well since often they are the most helpful and can hold the keys to getting a 1st round interview).
Best of Luck, Patrick
Thanks for the answer Patrick really appreciate it. I'll definitely trim my list down to more targeted group of people.
I'd get together your list and tell him to pick the top 3 who he's known the longest and is considered an actual 'friend' rather than acquaintance
Just because you're linkedin connections doesn't mean there's an actual relationship there
This^
Maybe give 5 names, and ask HIM which three would be the most helpful.
Get together a list or have a specific area and ask his opinion. Also, don't start with VP or MD. Get all of the dumb questions out of your system on the analysts.
Do what Rubio said, and you could also be open to suggestions on whom best he thinks you should reach out to that are not of the 3 you provided.
This is the right track. Bring a list of your top 3 but then ask him who he thinks would be most willing to go out of their way to help a young guy out. I personally have some great friends that on the surface would appear to be good connections, but when it comes down to it, I know they'd never pull for someone that they don't have a deep personal connection to (like pulling for me vs. someone I intro'd them to).
Great feedback so far guys thanks for joining in.
I'll probably send over a shortlist of people (more than 3 but less than 10) and ask him if I could speak to whatever 3 or so he know's best. The shortlist is pretty specific to firms that cover product groups and industry sectors that I am most interested in.
I definitely agree that talking to analysts would be great but, believe it or not, he's actually not connected to any analysts (save for a few at some BBs). I've spoken with a lot of analysts in the past so I figure I'm pretty well-set to talk to guys higher up in the organization.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
yeah, i like Rubio's suggetsion as well...so if you give a longer list...ask who he thinks is the best contact to connect with, etc...
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