Terrible cold-email response rate
Hi All, I'm a rising sophomore at a non-target. I'm cold emailing several banks and my response rate is around 1-2%. Without follow-up, mostly I get 1 response out of 100 emails sent. At Deutsche, I got 0 for my first email and 1 only after my first follow up. If I include alum (for firms where my school has alum at), the rate would prolly be 2-4%. I heard that it should be 5-10% even for a non-target. I'm sure my resume and my email aren't bad. I usually send my emails at 8am on Tuesdays. Could it be that I'm emailing them too early? I don't really know what's wrong with me. I'm so frustrated by this and hoping to get some advice.
8am wayyyy too early. Also make sure each and every email is personalized:
Look at each person’s linkedin or athletics page and mention something cool they did and your own interests.
If you go to a big public school talk about a rivalry (ohio state vs michigan).
If you go to utd ask uta kids and talk about texas.
If you go to a nontarget LAC talk about the liberal arts environment.
Find something to talk about beyond banking dont be robotic and tbh no need to even attach your resume.
Also why is your school rate so low?
It's just that my school doesn't have a lot of alum in IB. For some firms my school has like 2-3, for some we have none. That's why even when I add alum it can't still pull the rate much higher. Thank you, I'll try 9am then.
What are you saying in the email? I was non target and hit around 25-30% response
My typical email is like this:
Hi Analyst,
I hope you're doing well. I'm yupey, a rising sophomore at X with several Finance internships. I noticed your experience at Y, which is one of my top preferences for investment banking because of its Z.
Would you have 15 minutes for a quick call in the coming weeks to share about your LAC background and how it has shaped your career? I’m generally free from a-b ET and happy to work around your schedule.
I will attach my resume below for your reference. Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Too long
Nobody reading all that lil bro , if it can’t pass the credit card test too long
I have a generally 7-12% reply rate and I’m not at a target school best tips would be
1: Personalize , No banker working 90 hrs a week wants to reply to your half assed copy paste format. Insert things like asking abt how lateraling between different firms was, if they are a non target ask about their experience with that process, try to make a connection through anything; school, hobby , birthplace , ANYTHING
2: You don’t have to ask just about their current role: I’ve gotten a fair few people on the phone over asking about stuff like previous internships or experience it shows them that you did a little more research than just checking their LinkedIn headline
3: Credit Card test: As mentioned these people are comically busy and they don’t want to read your essay, hold a credit card up to your screen and if it doesn’t cover the base of the text ( excluding the top “Hi XXXX,” bit and the sign off ) then it is way too long
4: It’s a numbers game : I’m beating a dead horse but these people are so busy that sometimes they just don’t see it, your email could be great they just didn’t see it. I’ve found that emailing again about a month or two later I’ll get a response and they are happy to chat.
5: Timing : Try to send your emails mid day and never on a Monday, at 8 am they are just getting in the office and trying to start cutting the daily work down, same idea with Mondays and Fridays they usually want to try and wind down for that Saturday break.
6: Don’t blow up the same firm: Try to only email 1-3 people per firm per few days, it’s kinda an awkward situation when you blow up the entire floor and you usually won’t get a response
That’s all I can think of right now, best of luck !
I don't hate the 8am timing, because I think some people (I am one of them) are in a better mood in the morning and more inclined to answer an email that might feel more annoying by mid-day when the day has already started to go to shit.
But as Mad Max correctly said, early morning may not be ideal because some people wake up and are in "knock shit out" mode.
So I'd split the difference and say, shoot for mid morning. Like 10-11am. Still early enough to be on the better end of the moody crowd, and late enough that the rise & grind folks have cleared their overnight inbox by then.
Also agree with his advice on being more personal and keeping it short. Optimize for both but if push comes to shove, being short is more important. Opening up a long email is the worst.
And early in the week is better than late in the week because I think the same mood/fatigue principle applies.
Personally been targeting Wednesdays/Thursdays for emails, would you say I should shift that earlier to Tuesday/Wednesday?
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