LinkdIn

NuyWS

Generally never use it - it's creepy getting inMail, don't you think?

And sending a cold email by guessing email strings isn't?

First of all, never purchase InMails on a one use basis, not worth the $10. At the very least, go with the Business Account for $25 / month, you get 3 InMails on top of the search features (seeing last name is huge).

I'm a strong proponent of InMails / LinkedIn, but I think you're missing the main purpose. InMail response rates aren't any higher than cold emailing. In reality, they might even be a bit on the lower side, as people check their work email more often than their LinkedIn. But, as someone who went to a non-target, I can't even imagine scoring my current gig without the help of LinkedIn. The search filters allow you to find alumni all across the country that you would never have stumbled upon otherwise. Since you'll probably have a 80%+ response rate with alumni and a 25%-30% response rate with fraternity brothers, I'd defer to cold-emails. However, as far as completely random people are concerned, InMails are the better option. First off, instead of fabricating some BS excuse about how you guessed their email, you can simply state that you ran across the person's profile and felt like learning more about the industry. This is especially true in Consulting, where networking isn't as prevalent, and cold-emails might be perceived as unusual. There's also no penalty if the person doesn't respond. LinkedIn refunds the InMail after seven days if there is no response. Of course, InMails are also really useful if you can't guess the email string. There are a couple BB's (JPM?) that throw a middle initial in the email, making email strings a lot more effort.

Tip: Always leave your email address at the bottom of the InMail. Sometimes, if the user works in banking / finance and understands the grind, they'll respond back directly in an email, that way saving you the InMail and netting you a response free.