I suck at voicemails

Hey, I left a couple of important voicemails recently and feel like they suck and might even be rude.

Most recently it turns out my mom's friend's husband is an MD at a research and s&t firm in NY. She gave me his number and I called and got voicemail. I say (paraphrasing):

"Hi I'm blablabla, my mom's son. I was hoping we could connect to talk about career opportunities or if you had any advice for me. A bit about myself - I'm a recent graduate from nontarget school with a degree in economics and am interested in equity research or sales and trading. I'm on central time and get off work around 5 my time [should have converted to his]. My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx, hopefully we can connect."

Is it really bad to call an MD and ask him to call you back? I feel like it is beneath him to give me a direct call back. But what else am I supposed to say? I should have given my e-mail probably? Should I call again tomorrow when I get off work? Just hang up and keep calling back until I get him in person? He is expecting my call btw.

Also had a similar thing with a recruiter. He called me, I called back about 45 mins later, got his secretary, he's in a meeting, she forwards me to his voicemail. I leave my phone number and say I can talk during my lunch breaks and after work.

How do you do networking calls while you work FT when you can't take calls during the day? If I knew exactly when they were going to call I could go off somewhere and take a personal call but I can't just have my phone out and answer it immediately during work hours.

I'm sure this is a really common situation and I'm just totally socially inept. networking guide has nothing on voicemail.

Thanks.

3 Comments
 

Chill out B.

Leaving a message asking for him (nicely) to call you back is fine, especially if he's heard that you're calling from his wife. He'll be hard to get a hold of so just make sure you get him your number AND email; in fact email might be better to begin with since you can plan out a time to talk and avoid the phone tag purgatory voice mails will leave you in.

On a less relevant note, cut down the voice mails you're leaving. He doesn't need to hear about you in your message; just tell him your name, how you got his info, and a BRIEF description of what you'd like (a convo). Then give him your contact info and ask him to call back.

"Yes. Money has been a little bit tight lately, but at the end of my life, when I'm sitting on my yacht, am I gonna be thinking about how much money I have? No. I'm gonna be thinking about how many friends I have and my children and my comedy albums."
 

Listening to voicemails on my cellphone and work phone are pet peaves. I see your missed call and I will call back. Worst case text message me (not possible at work), but you can do this thing called email. Now I got to look for my damn password and I got no idea where I last put it. I wouldnt leave a voicemail unless it was the second or third time that you tried the person. I think leaving email would be better. Just my .02

 

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