I have used this method to successfully network from being an enlisted infantry Marine to an analyst at a hedge fund. I hope that you can use it to further your career, as well.
LEARN YOUR STORY
It is incredibly important to know you story. Why should they help you? What do you want? These are the two main questions that have to be addressed the first time you contact someone, and it has to be short and convincing. You have to catch their attention with the Subject Line and then make the message something they want to read.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
This first sentence is about letting them know why you're THE person that they need to help. Maybe you're from the same town, or you went to the same college. Whatever similarities you have, they need to know immediately. This gives the reader a sense of familiarity with you, and it's proven that people like to do things for people they like - who doesn't like someone just like them?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Why are you qualified for the opportunity you're asking for help with? This shouldn't include your full resume. You WANT to leave them hanging, but you also need to show that you've been preparing for this opportunity. Use this portion to tell them what you're studying, what jobs you've had that helped you prepare for the one you're trying to get, and other mentors you've worked with to prepare. This shows them that you didn't just hear about this opportunity yesterday and thought you would check it out.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
This really has two components. What YOU want to do and what you want THEM to do. This portion of the initial contact is crucial. Most people make a HUGE mistake in their initial email and it is typically the difference between me responding or not. Tell them what you want to do - "My goal is to begin my career in the _________ industry". Simple enough, right? Next comes the part that people struggle with - what you want them to do. You both know you want them to help you get an interview or an introduction. What you don't know is that they don't want to be asked... yet. What you want them to do is "Share with me how you got into the industry and what your experiences have been like so far". That sentence, or some version of it, will increase your chances of getting a response 1,000 times over. Why?
People LOVE to talk about themselves
If there's one thing a person loves, it's to tell someone else their story. This sentence turns the conversation away from asking for a favor, and allows them to share their story with someone who wants to be like them. When you get a response from them, it's time to continue easing them towards what they're ultimately going to do for you.
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
Okay - you've buttered them up and paid for their drinks. It's time to convince them to give you their number. Preparation for your initial conversation with your new-found friend is crucial, so make sure you have done this prior to contacting them. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, you'll be armed to the teeth with knowledge of the industry, their company, and additional information that will catch them off guard and make them take notice.
KNOW THE INDUSTRY
Key issues in the industry today
Changes that have occurred in the industry
Major players in the industry
Where the industry is headed
KNOW THE KEY PLAYERS
Which companies do you like?
Why are certain companies more attractive than others?
How does a certain company fit you specifically?
BONUS POINTS
Industry groups you've been following
Different corporate cultures at different companies
News that isn't in the headlines
Specifics about their company or employees
If you can have a working knowledge of the bullet points above, you will show them that you've been learning about this industry for a long time and that you have taken the time to be prepared for their time they've set aside for you. Even if they don't believe that you genuinely care about all of the things you're talking about, they will appreciate the fact that you have taken so much time to prepare for the conversation. That goes a long way. The specifics about their company just continues to build the idea that the two of you are similar, and that will keep them by your side above anyone else's.
"People will recognize and appreciate that you have taken the time to prepare for the conversation"
LET'S MEET THE CONTESTANTS
You've drafted up a few variations of your initial message and you've done your research. Now, we need to figure out how long the list of contacts is going to be. You have access to a huge group of people to help you, but there are a few key segments that are easy to find who we'll focus on. People in the industry, people formerly in the industry, and people in related industries - those are the major groups. Within each of those groups we'll take an even more targeted approach, and that's the reason for multiple variations of the initial message.
FRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES
This on is a no-brainer. They will have the highest rate of return and the most loyalty to helping you and only you. The initial group you want to find are friends you keep in touch with, are from your hometown, or went to the same college as you. Once you've compiled that list, broaden your net to people who are from your hometown or college. Remember, you're doing this for people currently in the industry, formerly in the industry, and in related industries. This list will seem like enough on its own, but we want as many contacts as possible to begin with so who's next?
ALUMNI
These people all went to the same school as you and there is loyalty there. This is also the easiest group of people to search because your university maintains an alumni database that they'll share with you. You can typically filter these lists by career or degree, which allows you to focus on the people most likely to be in a position to help you.
ORGANIZATION IS KEY
Now that you have all of these contacts, they are going to start blurring together. You're going to have people who work in the industry, some went to your school and some didn't. You're going to send them all similar messages at almost the same time, and you're going to get responses that all sound very similar. If you want to avoid letting any chances slip through the cracks, do yourself a favor and organize them in an Excel file. Include column headings such as:
Name
School
Company
Former Company
Hometown
Source
Original Message Date
Response Date
Conversation Notes
Next Contact Date
Priority
It may seem like a lot of information to put into a file, but it will help you from stepping on your own toes down the road. I used this when I was networking for my first job out of college and it was incredibly helpful. I would jot notes in from our conversations that weren't major talking points and then mention them in our next conversation. I could always tell that they noticed when I mentioned something small from a previous discussion. So now you know who you need to find and where you're going to find them, but how are you going to find them?
HELLO INTERNET
There is really only one tool you need to find every person that we outlined above and that is the mighty and all-powerful LinkedIn. I don't know if there has ever been a greater creation in the history of the internet. Sometimes I feel like I owe a portion of my salary to the folks over there. The level of detail that you can use to search for people is so incredible it should almost be illegal. This part will be easy, but thinking outside of the box will give you a competitive edge. Using the different groups we discussed above, you can set filters for your search on LinkedIn and find large groups of contacts quickly. You can search by:
Current Industry
Former Industry
Current Company
Former Company
Location
The list of filters goes on and on, but the ones listed above will be the best for searching for contacts currently working in the industry you're interested in. You can also search by company name and look at current employees to see if you have a connection with them that you were unaware of. The options for LinkedIn are endless, so think outside of the box during your search and you may turn up contacts that you hadn't originally considered. Once you have compiled all of the names and companies from your search, use that information to go to the company website or just use Google to search for any information you were unable to get via LinkedIn. You may be able to find details that are more personal, such as achievements or recognition they've received. You can contact them via LinkedIn, so tracking down their email isn't necessarily important right now.
"LinkedIn is your greatest asset for Networking"
THE POINT OF CONTACT
This is it! You've crafted your story, completed your research, tracked down potential contacts, and organized them. The day has finally come to begin sending out your fine-tuned initial messages to contacts. It may be hard to resist, but don't email them all at the same time. The last thing you want is to check your inbox and see that you have 35 replies that you need to respond to immediately. Half of them will answer your question in the email, while others will recommend that you set up a phone call or meet in person to discuss their story. That's a lot of planning and responding to organize in one chunk of time. The best way to go about it is to divide the entire group of contacts up into groups by priority. A veteran who works in the industry and grew up in your hometown is much more likely to be helpful than an alumni who works in a related industry, so use that as a way to loosely classify contacts. I always kept it simple and used a scale from 1-5 (5 being the best person to help me). You may have to figure out your own pace, but I always liked to send my initial message to a group on Monday morning at about 7:00. It's not so early that they think you're insane, but it's in their inbox when they check their email for the first time that day. I also found that Monday seems to be the time when people are most likely to check their email diligently as they're "starting a fresh week" and haven't been beaten down by work problems or coworker issues all weekend. Start by contacting all of the lowest priority contacts first. This may seem strange, but there's a method to my madness. Contacting these first accomplishes 2 things:
It is likely less of these will reply, so you won't get bombarded initially by emails
You can use the discussions with these contacts to practice for the big fish at the end of the list
Clever, huh? By the time you work your way down to the final group of contacts, you will have had dozens of conversations via email, in person, and over the phone with people from various backgrounds working for different companies in and around the industry. You can use these conversations as "practice rounds" as well as material for your most important contacts. You may pick up little tidbits of advice from these early conversations about industry topics, company specifics, or things that hiring managers find important. You can work those into your later conversations and stand out from the crowd.
YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH
This is similar to that initial message, but will be used when you get the inevitable question "Tell me about yourself". I will do a full post on elevator pitches because they are so important, but here are the headlines:
Keep it short and simple
Who you are
What you want to do
How you've prepared to do it
Each one of those bullet points only gets the attention of one or two sentences, so you need to have it dialed in tight. You can use your initial message as a starting point and expand on that. Just as the name implies, this is designed to get your entire message across, as well as give the person an impression of what kind of person you are, in the length of an elevator ride. Often times, that's all the time you'll get of someone's undivided attention to sell them on yourself.
THE LIFE (AND DEATH) OF A CONTACT
Initial message - You know this one - the key to the front door of every contact. Without one that works, you're not getting any further.
Follow-Up - They may respond by giving you a short blurb about their story, or they may request to talk. If it's the former, you need to have a follow-up email that can further entice them to speak with you or engage in conversation. Pick things they mentioned in their initial response and ask open-ended questions about those points. If the tone of their initial response was friendly, you may list a few of these questions and end the email by saying "I know I asked a lot of somewhat detailed questions, so if it would be easier to answer them over the phone please let me know". That is a very polite (and a little sneaky) way of soliciting a phone conversation where you can begin to form a relationship with them that is difficult with a stranger via email.
The Big Ask - If they haven't offered to by now, which many times they will have, it's time to get them to do what you've wanted all along - help you. You have now had at least one or two conversations with this person in one form or another, so you have had the opportunity to feel them out. It's time to ask them if they would feel comfortable helping you get into the industry. This will mean something different for every type of contact you have, but it can be anything from an introduction to an acquaintance of theirs, to submitting your resume, to giving you an interview. The key is asking for it very directly and then stop talking. Make them give you an answer by remaining silent.