It is very possible that one connection leads you to land your dream job. But how do we start? There is a set of principles you should follow to increase your chances of success.
Find what job you are interested in
You are now at the point where you know what type of job you are interested in but you are missing the details to really pin down if you would like that job or not. You only need to message the right people on LinkedIn to get a better idea of what does it look like on a day to day basis, and if you can see yourself doing it.
First step: If you haven’t already, read the article Target your market to understand how you should start your reserearch .
Target your lead
You are now in the shoes of an investigator trying to find someone who seems to be in the team and company you are looking for, or someone who worked in this position previously. It is important that you do not reach out random people, but target wisely! Note that, professionals have a very busy schedule, have very few free time for themselves. So, you have to be efficient in your messages, give them a good reason to meet you and make it as easy as possible for them to meet with you. Thankfully, a lot of professionals are happy to help and mentor people like you,
Slide in their DMs
In your message, present yourself, what is your current occupation and the most important is to explain the reason why you are reaching out to them. Explain what you would like to learn, how you think they can help you and if they can’t, ask if someone else they know could be interested to connect. Lastly, offer to meet them for a quick 15 min coffee chat next to their office and if it isn’t possible be open to a virtual meeting.
Here are a couple of examples you can follow:
Rinse and repeat the process to reach out to the other individuals you’ve identified during your research.
Note: Avoid reaching out to multiple people within the same team simultaneously, as it may create redundancy and inconvenience for them. Start by contacting one person per team and wait for their response. If you don’t receive a reply, then move on to the next individual.
Next step: Congratulations! Anne has accepted to meet with you. Now it’s time to prepare by reading Meet Effectively.