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Networking - How long to wait between emails? (Originally Posted: 09/26/2012)
After you send an e-mail asking for a call/info interview/whatever, how long do you typically wait before you send a follow up e-mail (if the person doesn't reply)? In your experience, what's the typical response time?
The e-mails are to alumni, by the way. Not to random people who have zero things in common with me.
I wait two weeks to email again if they don't respond
How long should I wait before sending follow up emails? (Originally Posted: 02/23/2016)
Hi wise people on WSO,
So I have been networking and trying to get myself a summer position in boutiques. I connected with an alumni last week and he said he would forward my resume to the right people at his firm, but I haven't heard from anyone since then. So I was thinking about sending a follow up email to him but I am not sure if I should wait for another few days(We connected last Weds).
I was wondering how long should I usually wait before sending follow up emails to people? I usually wait one week but currently I feel a bit behind the process and was thinking maybe I should shorten it to a few days (3-4 days), but I am not sure if that's a good idea.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
1 week isn't that long, if it's a legit shop they're probably pretty busy. I wouldn't worry at all and just send a followup sometime next week.
Also a lot of boutiques have intern recruiting that goes into April so I wouldn't worry about that too much either. Just keep doing what you're doing
How long to wait between networking emails? (Originally Posted: 09/15/2011)
So I sent an email to an alumni at a middle market bank yesterday, and I have not gotten a response. I know that I should wait longer than a day before I move on to someone else at the bank, but how long should I wait exactly?
Are you trolling? Imagine it from his perspective--he probably gets 200 emails a day and a random student from his school sends an email? There's a chance that he wont respond at all. This is why networking isn't a one egg in one basket thing--you need to contact literally hundreds of people and hope that one pays attention to you long enough for you to impress.
For the ones who do respond, what's your average response time?
Thanks!
Also, I was wondering should I just move to the phone and give hem a call when I hear nothing back after a week instead of sending follow up emails? Bankers usually have their phone numbers listed on their websites and phone calls are generally faster than emailing back and forth, but I am not sure if that's a good idea.
With proper practice, I could present myself as a well-spoken person on the phone but I am not sure if I will get better results that way (people can't dodge you when they hear your voice on the phone and maybe feel more sympathetic to your cause?)
How would you advise this? Thank you very much.
I noticed people usually respond within 4 hours or so. It depends how early in the morning you send your emails.
It depends on the firm. A lot of guys don't like getting random calls from kids, while some guys like to see that kind of initiative.
If they don't respond to you by next week after you send your followup email, then call the specific banker you emailed saying you emailed him a couple times, but didn't get a response after. After that, you'll be able to tell if the guy's just busy or just doesn't care.
A week sounds like a good amount of time to wait
Did you read my question? I know that the chances are that he won't respond. I am asking how long I should wait for him to respond before I send an email to another banker at the same bank. This isn't a specific situation at all - this applies to everyone I contact. I realize that some people just won't respond to me. I am fine with that, and I accept that. However, I still want to make a connection with someone at the bank so what is the appropriate waiting period?
I just followed up 11 days after my initial email and got a resposne back this morning. Anywhere over 7 days seems like a reasonable amount of time.
Sorry I misread your original question. The time frame with which you should contact anyone on your list probably doesn't matter. If you connect with both and two people are then referring you to HR then you damn well better get an interview. If one person doesn't respond; there is a higher likelihood that one of two will.
That makes sense. Thanks.
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