LinkedIn vs. Cold Email for networking
I'm an experienced hire...made redundant recently due to well known issues at the bank I was with and a downturn with the market segment I covered. So far, my immediate network has been disappointing in terms of referrals & advice and I'm thinking of reaching out directly to senior people for informational networking. I've tried this with a couple people on LinkedIn and a couple by direct email without success so far... this gives me pause as I don't want to appear desperate or commit a "faux pas" in a small industry. I'm also concerned about tainting myself with a massive firm if there are openings down the road, but I've approached someone at the top without success.
Would welcome any tactical advice:
- What's more appropriate, LinkedIn InMail or just direct contact via email (too forward?)
- Someone suggested sending a LinkedIn invite, then messaging only if they accept (but this can leave you in limbo if it's someone high on your target list)
- How to strike the right tone to ask for an informational coffee/call without blatantly job seeking (though it is self-evident I am in need of a job)
- If you see an advertised position, is it advisable to figure out the hiring manager and plan a follow-up direct approach?
- If you don't satisfy one or two requirements for an advertised position but feel confident you can do the job, is it better to NOT apply, then try to approach the presumed hiring manager (actually how I got my last job)
Hey Kruel,
The majority of my job searches have been through linkedin and not emailing. Unfortunately, that is just a symptom of the job search anymore. My rule has generally been "3 and out." So I send someone a message on LinkedIn (whether we are connected or not) and over the span of 4 weeks, send a max of 3 messages. Frankly, if they don't respond, try someone else in the firm or move on. There are a lot of firms out there so I'm sure with your experience, you should have no trouble finding a place that you will like, even if it isn't your top choice. Just don't be afraid to be aggressive, because those are the people that stick out. I'm not ruling out cold emailing by the way. That's actually how I got my current position; but it can be more exposed within the firm since people talk when they get a request for something like that.
Thanks for the feedback! To be honest, my approach has been "1 and out." Do you use InMails or do you wait for someone to accept an invitation? What do you say to the person on the 2nd or 3rd occasion if they've been non-responsive? Considering it's a small world, i'm quite wary of being pesky, especially if it's a senior person at a big bank.
I met with a supposed job-hunting guru at an outplacement firm, who encouraged cold-emailing - his advice was to figure out the ultimate hiring manager, then target that person's boss! That's going pretty high up in an organization, so I am skeptical as a lot of senior people would not even respond to me when I was their employee.
Hi Kruel, how is your cold message/email going on so far? I am a senior university student, and I have the same questions with you. Good luck for two of us!
Linkedin Messages vs. Cold Emails (Originally Posted: 10/24/2017)
Just as the title states. When networking across banks with no alumni (Southern semi/non-target think UNC/Duke/Wake Forest) and making Linkedin connections, would it be best to message them directly on Linkedin when they accept or use their listed email and cold email? Haven't gotten the best response rate to emails directly so was thinking about Linkedin messaging. Thoughts?
Hi Kruel, no, I never sleep and so I can respond to any lonely threads (like this one) at all hours of the night. Impressive, I know ;-)
More suggestions...
Hope that helps.
Cold contacting School alums- email or LinkedIn? (Originally Posted: 08/16/2016)
I have a pretty broad list of alumni from my semitarget and I want to start cold contacting them en masse now. Is it better to get their email or go through LinkedIn? I've heard that response rates are better through LinkedIn?
Definitely e-mail. It's weird to message people through LinkedIn. Plus, you can only message so many people on LinkedIn before you have to pay for premium to message more people.
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