How do I approach a great opportunity I'm scared of messing up?

Hey! I've got a small dilemma, and hopefully someone can help. Context: I'm in my final year of university (non-target) in London, studying Banking & Finance undergrad.

I get along really well with a faculty member at my university, so she decided to put me in touch with her uncle who's an Executive Director (20+ years in that position) at a boutique derivatives desk in NY. He's accepted my invitation on LinkedIn and is expecting contact from me. Now, how do I approach this?

1. Message him with a long speech about how I'm interested in what he does (I genuinely love derivatives work), give a short intro about myself, and ask him a list of questions?

2. Send a very short message saying I'd like to get in a call with him to ask questions? (not so obvious with time zones, but I'd do it)

3. Something else?

I'd normally improvise something around approach number 1. But this time, the odds are in my favour and I really don't want to screw it up, so a few pointers wouldn't go amiss. He knows I'm looking for opportunities, he's seen my CV, he's expecting contact from me and he has a lot of power within his firm.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!

4 Comments
 

I definitely wouldn't go too lengthy. Maybe a paragraph or two in total. Say who you are, why you are interested in learning about what he/she does and a call to action - in this case some kind of a request for a future contact.

 

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