After reading part 1 you've received a reply from a cold message, and successfully scheduled some time to chat with that person. Now it's time for the conversation. This is the most important part of your networking journey. It is an opportunity to learn about a specific career or industry. Not only that, you have the chance to prove that you're worth a referral from this person.
Quick side note: A referral is never guaranteed, and you shouldn't ask for one until the conversation is over (nobody likes an apparent ulterior motive).
Fundamentally, having a high quality conversation with someone you just met is difficult. It's particularly hard in this situation because you are the one that will lead the whole conversation. Let's talk about some steps you can take and tips/tricks you can implement to maximize the quality of the chat.
Step 1: Research and generate questions
Research is the key to having an effective conversation. It's important to know who you're talking to so you can form a framework for your conversation. Look through every single part of that person's LinkedIn profile. Here are some questions you should answer before going into the conversation:
- What university(s) did they go to?
- What prior work experience do they have? (roles and companies)
- Have they made any significant career changes? (i.e. software engineering to B2C marketing)
- What company do they work for now?
- What is their role at the company?
- What does that company do?
- What has the company been up to lately? (i.e. recent news, acquisitions, etc.)
- What are some of their hobbies?
- What were they involved in while in college?
After getting some of this information through LinkedIn, use it to generate questions to ask and guide the conversation. These questions are the most important aspect of your conversation. It's your opportunity to show how smart/driven/motivated you are. In addition, asking great questions maximizes your opportunity to learn. It shows that you're genuinely interested in learning from them, and displays that you're not trying to waste their time.
Coming up with good questions is always hard, but no matter what, each question should be rooted in genuine curiosity. Additionally, tailor your questions specifically to the person you're talking to. No matter how humble someone might be, everyone loves talking about themselves. Try to ask them about their personal experiences rather than overarching things. Below is a list of topics I'd recommend generating questions around:
- Recent company events
- The person's current position
- General career advice
- The person's career path
- Professional development
These seem like very obvious topics to ask about, but in order to make your question about one of these themes "good," the verbal delivery of the question is really important.
For example, you could just ask someone who works at Salesforce, "What is Salesforce's culture like?" Or, you can tailor the question specifically for the professional and tie in some of the research you did, "Which of Salesforce's four core values do you resonate with most and how does the company go about implementing that value?"
Both questions are about Salesforce's company culture, but the second asks about the employee's personal experience with the culture and shows that you did research on the company. Here are some questions related to each of the above themes you could utilize in your conversations:
- How has the acquisition of (insert company name) by (insert company the professional works for) affected your role?
- What have been some of your favorite projects you've worked on so far in your current role?
- What are some things you wish you did as a college student that you think would make you more successful?
- How did your time at (insert company name) contribute to your professional growth?
- What are some skills that you think are important for young professionals like me to learn?
I recommend having about 5-10 questions prepared for your 20-30 minute chat. As you continue to do these phone calls/coffee chats, you can generate a question bank and slightly tweak those questions based on who you're talking to.
Step 2: Execute the conversation
There are some slight differences in the chat depending on if you're doing it in-person or over the phone. Let's talk about in-person chats first.
Typically, when you meet-up with a professional in-person, you'll be at a coffee shop, at that person's company office, or a restaurant. If you're a student, the professional will sometimes offer to buy you a drink/food, and it's completely up to you if you want to take that offer or not. They know that you're a student with likely little income, so they're just trying to be nice. As you could imagine, the dynamic of an in-person conversation is totally different than one on the phone. You need to be mindful of your body language, keep consistent eye contact, and maintain a positive attitude. Show that you're excited to be there and that you can't wait to learn from them. Going into this, you need to have all your questions memorized and also be ready for lots of small talk.
Virtual conversations are easier to execute, but making a strong connection is harder. Nonetheless, maintaining a positive attitude and charisma are crucial. Show the person through your voice that you're excited to be talking to them. During these conversations, you can have your notes out with your pre-planned questions. Regardless if you're in-person or not, here's a brief format you can use as a guide for your conversations:
- Small talk (ask how they're doing, talk about recent events, etc.)
- Thank the person for being willing to chat with you
- Re-state why you were interested in specifically talking to them
- Ask the person to briefly go over their background/career path thus far
- Give more information about your background
- Ask your questions
- Make the "ask"
- Wrap-up by thanking the person again
As you're going through your conversation, make sure that you smoothly transition between each part. You want to make the conversation as cohesive as possible so there is no awkward silence.
For example, for steps 2-5 of the above format, I would say something like "Yeah, thanks again for taking some time to chat with me. I'm always looking for more opportunities to learn about (insert career path, i.e. product management) and thought you would be someone great to reach out to. To start things off, would you mind giving me a quick overview of your career path/background, then I can go ahead and do the same, and then we can go from there."
When asking your questions, don't just blatantly recite them from your notes. Give some context and add transitions between topics that you're asking about.
There may be situations where you didn't have time to pre-plan your questions or you just forgot your question, but don't panic. Something you should do in every conversation you have is ask follow-up questions to the professional's answers. They might say something that you have never heard of or that you find interesting. By asking follow-up questions, you get to continue learning and show that you're actively listening.
An important thing to be conscious of while talking with a professional is the time. People tend to be really busy throughout the day, and being mindful of that is something people really appreciate. Wrap up the call at the end of the time you allotted to chat with this person and allow them to get on with their day.
Ultimately, try to keep the conversation natural and professional. Don't stick to a "script," just let the chat flow and ask your questions where they fit in.
Step 3: The ask
Now that you've gotten through the meat of your conversation with this person, you can now attempt to make "the ask." There are a few things that you can ask:
- Contact information (if you don't already have it)
- Referral to their company
- Warm introduction to other professionals
- Opportunities at their company
The most important thing when making any ask is to be as polite as possible about it. Don't blatantly say "Can you refer me to this position at your company?" Emphasize how you've really enjoyed talking to this person and that your interests in the role have only grown, "Learning about your experiences in marketing was really interesting and that's only further affirmed my thoughts about pursuing it as a career. Do you think it would be possible for you to help me get my foot in the door at your company for an internship?"
You won't always get a "yes" from these people, but asking doesn't hurt. Worst case scenario is that the person says no, and that person is most likely a stranger, so it's really no big deal.
Step 4: Follow-up
No matter what, always send some form of a follow-up message to the person you chatted with within 24 hours of the conversation. Make sure to re-thank them and note some of your main takeaways from the chat. This shows you’re thankful, polite, and that you actually learned something. Here's an example of a follow-up email I've sent in the past:
Hi [Name]
Just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me yesterday! It was so cool getting to learn about your career path [Details about career path], your time as the very first SDR for the company, and what it means to be an effective leader of your team. Hearing about what it was like to experience the IPO phase was especially interesting.
I will definitely be in touch if I see any roles with [Company Name] that are interesting to me. [Company Name] such a great company with a great product, and that is definitely something I want to be a part of.
Thank you again and have a great rest of your week!
Step 5: Keep in contact
Keeping in touch with your network is tricky. You don't want to just mindlessly reach out to these people every month. I would recommend reaching out on these occasions:
- If you came across a resource (i.e. article, podcast, etc.) that you think is relevant to the person
- Life and career updates
- If you come across a role at their company that you're interested in
Tips and Tricks
Here are some miscellaneous things that I've implemented while networking that have tremendously helped me:
Network early
Meeting people at companies that you're interested in before applications open is the best. Then, you can make "the ask" after developing a relationship with these professionals over time rather than right after you first chat.
Warm up your voice
Talk to yourself before you chat with someone to make sure you won't stumble on your words when you get on the phone.
Don't follow a script
Though you should have pre-planned questions, let the conversation flow as it may. You want the chat to feel natural to both sides.
You'll know if the conversation went well if...
- They sound excited to be talking to you
- The person immediately offers to help you without you asking
- The chat went to the planned time or over time
The more someone talks, the better
If time flies by and you're over the time allotted, you know the person enjoyed speaking with you and is genuine about helping you.
Treat these chats like interviews
After all, you are making a first impression on this person. That impression may dictate you getting a referral or not. Take these seriously and be professional.
Never take it personally
Not all of your conversations are going to go well. If one doesn't, don't beat yourself up about it. Not everybody will get along with everybody. Take time to understand what went wrong then immediately move on.
Closing Thoughts
By now, you understand the importance of networking. This part is by far the most important aspect of networking. Having quality conversations with professionals is what leads to new opportunities, no matter what stage of your career you're in. Conversations with professionals are definitely more of an art than a science. I hope you find yourself implementing these strategies and that you have genuine conversations with the people you reach out to!