This can be a difficult task, especially when you are coming out of college. You know more people than you think you do but that’s not what this post is about. You are reading this because you think you don’t know anyone to network with. Well, here is some advice on how to plant the seed of a relationship to harvest later.

Before I get started let me just say that if you are looking to network with someone and expecting to land a job the day after your conversation you are nuts. The world doesn’t work like that. This is why I have come up with a successful email template which I will share with you here for planting the seed of a relationship. The seed comes in the form of an informational interview. The informational interview is your foot in the door to creating an everlasting and beneficial relationship.

Remember that even if you make a connection with an entry level worker at your target company – they might know other people who you can talk to once you finish connecting with them.

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Step 1: Identify the industry or field you want to work in. For this example let’s use finance since I’ve used these techniques to break into the finance world successfully.

Step 2: Collaborate a spread sheet of individuals you would like to email. Simply list their names in one column and their emails in the next column.

Step 2a: You will find their emails in a few different places. You have to get creative but here are a few ideas.

• Alumni database
• Organization database (such as a fraternity, trade association, etc.)
• LinkedIn – there email most likely won’t be public here especially if you are not a connection of theirs but if you can get their name and company they work for there is a good chance you can call the company and ask for their email directly. If the secretary won’t give you the email try asking who you can email your email to so it will get into your targets hands. Once they give you an email check to see the format of the email for instance if it is ‘J.Doe@gmail.com’ then you can get a good idea of the companies email format.

Step 3: Send them an initial email set up like the following.

“Dear Mr. Jones:

My name is ______ and I am (state your position in life – ie student at blank U or VP of blank company).  I received your information off of (be honest where you found their information – if you go it from a secretary then you can say that).

In order to learn more about (state the industry or field you are interested in) I have been reaching out to professionals who know more about the industry than I do (this strokes their ego a bit).

(In this paragraph you can state only one or two lines about your experience or related experience in the field you want a job in. Remember keep it only to one or two lines and that’s it.)

(Here you can indicate whether or not you would like to meet in person or speak over the phone. You should always try to meet in person if possible because you have a better chance of building true rapport in a face to face meeting.)

If I do not hear back from you I will be sure to follow up later this week. I thank you for your time in advance and look forward to speaking with you.

Kindest regards,
(Your name)”

Step 4: After sending the email out there is a good chance you will not hear back from this person. From my experience it has taken 2-3 emails over the course of weeks to finally land a response. Remember, follow polite persistence. Never come off rude or annoyed when you finally hear back. If I do not hear back by the third email I will usually call them if I have their number. The phone script will be for another post.

You will want to use the following schedule to follow up:

Send initial email. Two weeks later send a follow up. One week later send a follow up.

Step 5: When you receive a response look to set a time to meet or speak.

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In the coming week I will post the second part to this post on the actual conversation script to use when networking with someone you don’t know to find a job.