Often, we seek advice, mentorship, or assistance from those that have experience in a role or area of interest. These conversations are referred to as informational interviews or career chats. Studies show that being clear and specific in your ask of someone can greatly increase your chance of receiving a response.
Use the questions below to draft a clear and concise message to send to a recruiter, fellow alumnus, mentor, or industry expert.
How to draft a LinkedIn Message
Increase your LinkedIn outreaching message response rate by using the questions below to draft a clear and concise message to send to a recruiter, fellow alumnus, mentor, or industry expert.
Remember to be clear and specific!
Who are you as a professional, and how are you connected to the individual?
What is the specific reason or goal for sending the message?
What is your ask of the individual?
What is the time commitment you are requesting?
Example
Who you are as a professional and how you are connected:
Sarah Seavey, ’12 University of Arizona graduate, seeking a career change from law to athletic compliance
Both members of the University of Arizona Alumni Association LinkedIn group
The specific reason or goal for the message
I saw the article posted in the University of Arizona Alumni Association LinkedIn group regarding the NCAA compliance updates for next year and was intrigued.
Your ask of the individual
Phone call regarding his career path in athletic compliance
The time commitment you are requesting
10 minutes
Example Outreach Message
Good afternoon Mr. Smith,
My name is Sarah Seavey, and I am a '12 graduate looking to make a career change from law to athletic compliance. I saw the article you posted in the University of Arizona Alumni Association LinkedIn group regarding the NCAA compliance updates for next year. Your comments on the matter were very intriguing and insightful. If you have time, would you be willing to chat on the phone with me for no more than 10 minutes regarding your career path in athletic compliance?
Thank you!
Sarah
Template
Who you are as a professional and how you are connected.
The specific reason or goal for the message
Your ask of the individual
The time commitment you are requesting.
How to draft a Networking Email
There will be times you will need to send an email to someone in or outside of your network requesting help. To start, you'll need a subject line that will need to encourage the reader to open the email and respond.
Creating a Networking Email Subject Line
According to Business 2 Community research, 47% of people open emails based on the subject line alone. Here are the top tips for writing an engaging subject line that increases the chances that your emails will be opened.
Keep the subject line to less than 50 characters. Email subject lines will get cut off if they’re too long, particularly on mobile devices. According to HubSpot, 77% of emails are opened on a mobile device.
Example Subject Lines for Networking Emails
Get Personal.
Like the LinkedIn message, you can denote how you are connected to the individual within the subject line.
“I found you through [insert first and last name]”
"Fellow University of Arizona grad looking to connect."
"Admired the [insert idea, topic, content] you shared
Fellow [insert commonality] who would love to connect
Spark Intrigue.
"Loved your recent article [insert publication or title of artcile]"
"[insert name] suggested that I reach out to you."
Hey [insert first name] — what is the most important aspect of a resume?
“Need your advice.”
From the LeadGenius test, “Found you on LinkedIn” had a 64% open rate.
Body of the Email
As for the body of the email, you can use the LinkedIn message template above.
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