When I speak to those contacts who take the time to network with job hunters, they are always amazed and saddened that they “never hear from the candidate again”.
They assume you’ve landed and no longer need help.
Or worse, they think you were just wasting their time.
These are people ready to help you but they are busy –
so don’t let them forget you! These are your hard-won contacts; don’t lose them.
To stay in touch with contacts you’ve made, here’s an idea I’ve recommended to job seekers at CEO level to those who are entry level:
regularly send an email update
. Every 3-4 weeks is plenty: it will keep you on their minds yet it won’t be too much.
This little “ping” every few weeks
reminds them
of you and your talents,
and
lets them know you’re still looking. That way, they’re more likely to think of you when they’re with
their
network, or when they hear about that opening that you fit. So you’re more likely to hear from them again.
Keep it short, simple and upbeat
, and
always offering
to help
them
, so that they open it. There
are
e-newsletter software programs out there for this kind of thing (I use Constant Contact), but they are often screened out by many email programs. Posting on LinkedIn can work, IF all your contacts are in your LinkedIn network AND if those same contacts read their LinkedIn feed – highly unlikely. For those reasons, my clients in job search report that using regular email is actually best.
Use phrases such as:
- "Since I last wrote, I’ve enjoyed talking with several people in leadership roles, and they tell me they..."
- "I’d love to talk with people in Marketing at ABC Corporation...who do you know there?"
- "I’m looking to talk with people at companies with ____ problems, my favorite to solve. Who would you suggest I speak with?"
- "I have a healthy, wide network...who are you looking to meet? Perhaps I can make an introduction for you."
Doing this for individual emails would be very time-consuming.
To reach as many people as possible each time,
gather your contacts’ email addresses into a spreadsheet that will be your “update email” database. In your email, put all email addresses into the blind copy (“bcc”) area of the email header so as to keep them private, visible only to you.
An upbeat message each time means they will be thinking of you
between
your emails
and they will connect you with others -
which is exactly what you want!
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