Good morning, friends. It's Rohan with your latest Career Supplement, your personal mentorship email that takes a few minutes to read, but contains stuff that will speed up your career by years. |
Today, let's talk networking. And more specifically, networking email screw-ups. I've been on both sides of these emails – sending and receiving – and I've noticed patterns in what doesn't work (and what does). |
The principles I cover aren't limited to networking. Whether you're emailing potential clients, connecting with someone new, or even dating, these principles always apply. |
To my loyal readers: I've been much more active on LinkedIn lately, sharing bite-sized, candid career advice for quick boosts throughout your week. It's an easy way to stay motivated and keep your career on track. So if you like my writing, follow me on LinkedIn and say hi! |
Estimated read time: 5 minutes 9 seconds |
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📈 Mentor's Corner Insights put together by me or coaches who usually charge $750+/hour and mentor senior execs. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0. |
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The 5 deadly networking email sins |
"Hey Rohan, met you a few years back at ABC Conference and I'm wanting to switch careers. Can you ping anything that might be suitable my way? Thanks!" |
"Hello mate, I graduated from Harvard, and my resume is attached. I am looking for work in your field and hope you can be an employment contact." |
"Hey Rohan, can I pick your brain for 30 minutes? " |
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It's true that a good networking email can open a lot of doors. |
But a bad networking email? |
Will not only close a lot of doors, but get them slammed in your face and perhaps even locked shut permanently. |
So, today, let's go over what I consider to be the 5 "deadly sins" of networking emails. |
Ignore them at your peril! |
🗡 Being a time vampire |
Here's what we need to keep in mind: |
The people we're reaching out to are probably busy and successful. (If they weren't, why would we be contacting them?) And if they're successful, you can bet your Bloomberg terminal that they didn't get there by wasting time. |
So, let's not complain that these people won't give away their time easily. |
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(That's a bit like complaining that rich people won't give away their cash. When that's a part of why they're rich). |
=> Rule #1, respect their time. |
Which means: |
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| | | | …by the way, if you use LinkedIn, go to my profile and hit the 'Follow' button. I share a mix of practical career strategy and mid-week motivation — stuff that makes it easy to keep your career on track.
Topics coming up this week: Real examples of good and GREAT networking emails, hacks that have made me a better public speaker, and how to sound more confident (even if you're an introvert). See you there. | alright, let's get back to my essay… |
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🌡️ Defuse the pressure |
The brilliant Josh Braun explains it like this: |
Whenever you're communicating, you're either increasing the pressure, or decreasing the pressure, based on whether you're pushing your agenda or theirs. |
For example: |
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(High-pressure: it's not about Dave, but the sender.) |
Good: Hey Dave, you must be really busy at this time of year, so I'll keep this short.
I saw your article in Finance Weekly – really interesting read. I was wondering, as you've worked at both HSBC and Lloyds, which one would you pick if you were to start out again as an intern?
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(Lower-pressure: it's about Dave, not the sender). |
=> Rule 2: Make it about them, not you. |
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Plus, here's an extra tip for loyal readers: |
To increase your chances of a reply, make it REALLY easy for people to reply. I like to do this by asking a multiple choice question, I ask "what'd you do, A or B?". |
Take the second example above. We say, 'HSBC or Lloyd's – which one would you choose?' This method gets more responses than something open-ended like "How is working at HSBC?" |
🥺 Don't be a hungry stranger |
The year is 10,000 BC. |
You and your tribe live in a cave. |
Everything you eat must be hunted or foraged, and every tool, item of clothing, jot and tittle must be painstakingly made by hand. |
One day, 10 hungry strangers turn up outside your cave. They've got no food or possessions. |
Q: |
What do you feel? |
Probably, fear. Because in times of scarcity (most of human history), someone who "needed" the things you had was a potential threat. |
That's why most humans still to this day are repulsed by neediness. |
=> Rule #3: avoid all neediness. |
Keep the tone of your emails casual. And don't make huge asks. For example, you could do something like this in the P.S: |
"P.S I know you must be super busy this time of year, so no need to respond. Thanks!" |
That reduces the perceived neediness and shows respect for their time (Rule #1). |
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🧠 "Can I pick your brain?" |
Ok, I'm going to sound salty here…but, seriously, this right here is a networking monstrosity. Don't ever say this! |
First off — the person you're contacting has acquired their knowledge over years, sometimes decades of work. They aren't going to take too kindly to having that valuable brain of theirs "picked". |
Also, it suggests that: |
the convo's going to be vague (thus likely a waste of time) you don't even know what you want out of it (and you want them to figure it out) and there's nothing in it for them (so even more of a waste of time).
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So rule #4: make your ask clear. (No brain picking!) |
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🙏 Not sending a "thank you" |
If someone goes out of their way to help you… thank them! |
Over the last 4 years I've spent writing these emails, I've replied to maybe 2000-3000 people personally who ask for advice on their specific situation. |
90% of the time, I don't hear anything back. |
So if someone helps you, say thank you. You'll automatically be in the top 10%. |
And to be in the top 1%? |
Send an update email to them after a few weeks saying how you actually took action on the advice. |
This will make you stand out, and make them more likely to help you out the next time. |
Also: A genuine thanks by email is often enough, but I've sent Starbucks or DoorDash gift cards to show I really mean the thank you too — it's always well received. |
=> Rule 5: express your thanks |
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And let's do one quick tip to finish: |
💎 Add value where possible |
This can be tricky to put into practice as it requires some thinking. |
Whenever you're getting someone's opinion on something, try to create a platform where they'll get some props for it. For example, you could post their opinion to LinkedIn, or talk about it in a presentation, or feature it in a writing assignment, or a newspaper article etc. |
Example: |
Hey Steve, I'd like to interview you and share what you have to say about X, Y and Z on my LinkedIn profile. I have a lot of people I'm connected with who are trying to become X, and I think your view on them will be super helpful to them. |
That way, when you make your ask, there's something in it for them too. |
So, wrapping up, here's your cheat sheet on the 6 rules: |
Show respect for their time, keep it short Make it about them Avoid neediness Make your ask clear and specific Say thank you Add value
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If that struck a chord, please do either one of the following: |
Forward this email to people who might need it, and tell them about my emails. It takes me ~20 hours researching and writing each of these coaching emails. Sharing it takes just 10 seconds and helps me get my thoughts out there. Leave a review on my emails! I'd love to know what part resonated most and how I can make the next one better.
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Sharing/reviewing really does help get my writing out there (and makes it all worth it). Thanks! |
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🔎 Speed Up Your Job Search One actionable piece of advice to help you hack your job search. |
Resume and job search trends for 2024 |
Read the full article here. |
This guide shares specific things to look out for when updating your resume this year. Here are two tips I liked: |
🖖 Use AI to your advantage. Employers are obviously using AI, but so should you. An AI tool like Score My Resume can identify issues in your resume and give you examples of what to add. |
🧐 Update and link your LinkedIn profile. Hiring systems employers use often will find your LinkedIn profile and directly link to it so employers can get more context on your experience. So make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimized and mirrors the experience on your resume. Do that using this AI tool. |
Share this resource on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, or via email. |
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If you're new here, let's get the intros out of the way. |
I'm Rohan. Six years ago, I found myself frustrated with the sea of misleading career advice online, so I started Resume Worded. The goal was simple: provide guidance that actually works. |
But resumes were only the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of clichéd, generic career advice out there. So, I started this email series. Each week, I talk about real career strategy, informed not only by my experiences but by my conversations with industry leaders, senior coaches who train CEOs, and people with way more experience than I have. |
Every email you receive is written by me, not a ghostwriter. I'm here, on the other end, reading your replies. |
Until next time, |
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Rohan @ Resume Worded |
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What'd you think of today's edition? |
👍 I loved it. |
🤔 Pretty average, step it up. |
🤢 You didn't bring enough value. |
Here's a review of last week's email — thank you Roslyn! |
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P. S. To make sure your career never goes off the rails, don't miss my future emails. A simple way to make sure you get each email is: |
If you're using Gmail, hit the 3 dots at the top-right corner, and choose Move to -> Primary. Or drag this email to Primary if you're on your computer. If you're using Apple Mail, tap on our email address at the top of this email (next to "From:" on mobile) and click "Add to VIPs.".
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