How to keep in touch with professionals
You’ve had your first call or (virtual) coffee chat with a professional at your dream firm, now what?
Hey everyone!
As I have mentioned many times before, networking is one of the best tools for anyone looking to breaking into any type of industry. Staying in touch and building relationships over time is where the magic happens.
In case you missed it, I mentioned how to cold-email professionals in this article.
Let’s get down to it:
You’ve had your first call or (virtual) coffee chat with a professional at your dream firm, now what?
Take a temperature check on the connection
Not all calls go the same. In some you may connect very well with the person and on others you may feel like you didn’t. Try to get a sense for how well you connected with the person.
You can’t stay in touch with everyone
I’d recommend staying in touch with those you connected the best with.
Have a way to keep track of everyone you have spoken with
I use this excel template with minor automation that you can use too!
You can also use a CRM (salesforce or hubspot)
Follow up every ~3-6 months
It’s a balance. Try not to be too pushy, but don’t let the connection go cold. This timeframe is different for everyone you speak to. You have to feel it out.
I follow up with mentors of mine every month or so because I know them well at this point.
When you follow up, you can do something like this:
Send them a news article that reminds you of them or that they’d find interesting
Tell them about your progress or anything cool that’s happened to you on your career journey since you last spoke with them
Let them know a few more questions have come up that you’d like to ask them about
If you know them well enough, let them know you applied to a position in their company.
Moral of the story:
Building relationships takes authenticity, discipline, and time! I had been networking with people that have referred me to companies for 3 months - 1 year.
How do you track professionals you network with?
I’d love to hear ideas on how you keep track of your connections to avoid losing touch! I use this excel to track my connections, but would love to hear what you all do! Let me know in the comments :)
Connect with me on LinkedIn!
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