This is part 3 of a 4-part guest post (See part 1 / part 2) on Networking from Luis Miguel Ochoa (see bio at bottom of page).
We've covered some basic but important topics so far including: 1. deciding what you want, 2. building out your firm and contact lists and 3. approaches to writing cold emails.
Now we’ll go over some tips for the best ways to keep in touch with your contacts:
- How/when to reach out to your contacts naturally (i.e. be a human being)
- Read ‘Never Eat Alone’ by Keith Ferazzi for tips on keeping track of contacts
- Making the ask
Tip #9: Reach out to your contacts by sending short relevant notes every one to three months.
“How’s your week going? I’m learning [name subject] in my [name class], it’s been really interesting so far. Hope things are well.”
Or
“I found this article on To-Do Lists from Harvard Business Review, and thought you might like to read it too. Here’s the three main points:
- [actual point]
- [actual point]
- [actual point]
Above all, the primary lesson to take away from Tip #9 is to be a human being, as opposed to someone who is always running around with an agenda. Some other examples of ways to reach out include:
“I was talking with a friend of mine about [topic] and remembered our conversation about [topic], I realized that [insert idea]”
Or my all-time favorite was a note I received the other day after a coffee chat. It really reflects the two-way nature of the rapport.
“I hope to stay in touch and let me know if there's anything else I can do to ease your role at the company and as a mentor.”
Tip #10: Read ‘Never Eat Alone’ by Keith Ferazzi. Ferazzi has a systematic way of keeping track of contacts, dividing them into categories (once a week, once a month, etc.). I think it’s an effective system, especially as you are getting to know someone and you might need more points of contact to develop rapport. As you might expect, it is important not to always talk about work and instead develop a strong relationship with your contacts. At the same time, not everyone is going to be receptive to your outreach -- if one person in a group doesn’t want to talk to you, try someone else in the same group.
Tip #11: Making the ask
After you’ve gotten to know your contact a bit, maybe over the course of a couple of weeks, you could ask them for a chance to speak with a colleague to hear another point of view. Or you might ask your contact “what’s the best way to position myself for an interview with your group?” It’s important to lay out the foundation of trust prior to asking these questions. Finally, when you do meet any of these contacts at their office, make sure you are fully prepared for a formal interview: wear a suit, bring your padfolio, and copies of your resume.
Keep in mind it’s an informational interview – a chance to learn all about the company from your contact’s perspective. What happens if you already know quite a bit about the role, and about the company? Well then, why not display that knowledge with the quality of your questions and convert the informational into a formal first round interview?
What are some other ways you keep in touch with your contacts? Stay tuned tomorrow for the final article of this series, Part 4.
Luis' full bio: He has worked in investment banking for several years covering the industrial sector. In addition to being an avid mentor for his alma mater, he volunteers for the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting. In his spare time he enjoys fencing and attends networking events in New York. He graduated from Stanford with a BA in economics.
