Posted by They say it’s not just what you know, it’s who you know.
There are ways to make the professional connections you have built throughout your career work in your favour. Even if you’re just starting out in the concrete jungle – only good things can come from cultivating a solid network of contacts.
Enter, networking emails.
How do you connect with someone electronically without the awkwardness? We’ve scoured the far ends of the web to bring you some of the best networking email templates to hold on to.
A friend of a friend
SAMPLE 1:Â Career Addict suggests you send this:
Hi [contact’s name],
It was great meeting you at the party the other day. My friend told me that you work at [place where he works] and I would love to get to know more about what you’re currently working on as [job title]. If you have time this week, I would love to meet up with you for a coffee and talk about [area you are interested in].
Thank you in advance,
[Your Name]
SAMPLE 2:Â Ben Sands from Regret Free Life suggests you send this:
Hi [contact’s name],
My name is Ben Sands – founder of Regret Free Life. Our mutual friend, Bill Smith, suggested I reach out.
In a nutshell, Regret Free Life helps graduates of great schools better navigate the personal and professional decisions they face. Bill suggested I connect with you following my recent presentation on [topic]
Would you have time to speak this week? I’d like to tell you more about my program and discuss if/how what I am doing might complement your 2013 alumni engagement strategy.
I am available at the following times:
Monday: 11, 2:30 or 4 pm
Tuesday: anytime after 2 pm
Please let me know what works for you – or, if you prefer, I will follow up with you directly to confirm.
Best,
BenPS: Attached, a short article I wrote on the challenge of going from high-potential to high-performing; think you will find it interesting.
SAMPLE 3:Â Christin from Mailbird suggests you send this:
Hi [Name],
It was wonderful to meet you at [mutual friend’s party/event name]. I’d love to hear more about your role as __________. I’m in the _______ industry as well and want to see if we would be a good fit for future work.  If you’re not too busy, I’d love to meet up for coffee sometime next week and chat, if that works for you! I hope you’re having a lovely day.
Thanks,
[Your name]
A former colleague
SAMPLE 1:Â Career Addict suggests you send this:
Hi [contact’s name]
How are you doing? I hope that you are well and that you’re enjoying work at [company name]. I just wanted to tell you about this [article] I read yesterday and sent it to you as I thought it would be something you would be interested in. Let me know what you think and hope to catch up with you soon.
Best,
[Your Name]
SAMPLE 2:Â Christin from Mailbird suggests you send this:
Hey [Name],
How are you? It’s been ages since we’ve spoken but I just wanted to reach out to say hello. I hope you’re doing well at [Company’s Name]. I was browsing online when I saw this article [link] about [topic of interest]. I immediately thought of you! Let’s catch up soon.
Cheers,
[Your Name]
Someone in a higher position
SAMPLE:Â Career Addict suggests you send this:
Dear [contact’s name],
It’s been a pleasure talking with you/listening to your speech about [the subject] which I found very inspiring. I was particularly impressed with [a specific area of his work]. If you’re willing and free to meet up, I would love to take you to coffee and learn more about what you do.
Kind Regards,
[Your Name]
Someone you met at an event
SAMPLE 1:Â Career Addict suggests you send this:
Hi [contact’s name],
It was great meeting you at [name of event] on [date]. I found our discussion about [the subject] really interesting and would love to hear more about what you do. I noticed on your LinkedIn profile that you’re working on [current job duties/responsibility] and this is something that could tie well with what I’m currently working on. Let me know if you would like to grab a coffee whenever you are free.
Best,
[Your name]
SAMPLE 2Â Career FAQs suggests you send this:
Subject line: Nice to meet you, Alex!
E-mail Body:
Hey Alex,
It was fantastic meeting you last night/week at [specify place e.g. product launch party, convention, conference]. I agreed 100% with what you had to say about [whatever talking point you discussed] – it was on point, insightful and certainly more of what we need in the industry!
As I mentioned the other day/night, I’m looking to [specify your career objective e.g. start my own business/to specialise in an area] and I’d really appreciate your opinion on [topic].
If you’ve got a spare half an hour, I’d love to pick your brains over coffee/lunch sometime this/next week.
I know you’re super busy, so I’m happy to meet wherever works best for you.
Best regards,
[Your name]
SAMPLE 3:Â Christin from Mailbird suggests you send:
Dear [Contact’s name],
It was a pleasure meeting you at the event yesterday! Your tips about [topic] were extremely helpful–I actually sent an email summing them up to my team. I’d love to chat further next week if you’re available.
I hope you have a lovely day!
Best,
[Your Name]
Someone you have never met
SAMPLE 1:Â Career Addict suggests you send this:
Dear [contact’s name],
How are you? I took the liberty to contact you and tell you that your résumé and skills in [his job/field of work] are impressive. In fact, I found that your [work/project he worked on] was [impact it had on you or others] and would like to discuss this further with you. Let me know if you would be interested in setting up a meeting whenever you are free.
Regards,
[Your Name]
SAMPLE 2:Â Aja Frost from The Muse suggests you send this:
Dear [first name],
My name is [your name], and I’m a [job title] who works in [your location]. I’m reaching out because [reason why you want to speak with this person]. I’d love to learn more about [two or three things you’d like to learn from the person].
I’m sure you’re busy, so even 20 minutes would be appreciated.
Thanks so much,
[Your name]
SAMPLE 2: Follow-up email
Dear [his or her name],
I hope you’re having a great week! I wanted to follow up on my request for an informational interview. As I explained in my previous email, [reason why this person has impressed you] and I’d love to hear about [questions you’d like to ask]. I’m happy to meet whenever and wherever is convenient for you. However, if your schedule is too full, I completely understand.
Best,
[Your name]
Asking someone to be your mentor
SAMPLE:Â Career FAQs suggests you send this:
Hey [Name],
As you know, I’ve reached a stage in my career where I want to [specialise in subject/ move into management/ take my skills to the next level].
I’ve always admired the way you handle yourself as a professional and deeply respect your [incredible knowledge of subject/management style], so I was wondering whether you’d be willing to mentor me.
I’d love to [summary of what you’d like out of the mentorship, e.g. shadow you once a week during/assist you with a project/catch up with you once a month to get feedback on the subject].
I understand that this isn’t a small request, so please take your time to think about it. Please also know that I take this proposal very seriously. As a mentee, I promise to be open to feedback, as I am very keen to work on my weaknesses.
I’d also be keen to help out with [insert specific project] as a way to build my skills and reciprocate the time and effort I know you’d put into being my mentor.
If you’d like to chat, let’s grab a coffee whenever you’re free.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Cheers,
[Your name]
Asking for a recommendation
SAMPLE 1:Â Career FAQs suggests you send this:
Hi Andrea,
Hope all is well and things are great over at [company name]! I noticed [insert something personal or professional depending on your relationship with the person e.g. you were shortlisted for ****** awards – nice one!/you just got back from New Zealand – that trek looked insane!]
It’s an exciting time on my end. I’m currently in the process of applying for a new job/heading back to uni. As you were my supervisor/manager for [number] years, I was wondering whether you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation.
I know you’re quite busy, so I’m more than happy to write up a draft that you can edit if it makes it easier.
I’m hoping to submit my application by [date], so if you could let me know as soon as possible that’d be great!
Cheers,
[Your name]
SAMPLE 2:Â Alexandra Franzen from The Muse suggests you send this to your client:
Hey [name of client],
I’m so glad you enjoyed working with me, and I really appreciate the kind words in your last email. (With your permission, I’d love to quote you in the “testimonials” section of my website. Let me know if that’s OK. No pressure, and no rush.)
And while we’re on the subject of good work and nice words, I wanted to mention that I’m currently booking clients for [month], and I have room for about [number] more people on my schedule.
I love working with people who care about [subject] and are excited to [insert action here]—you know, people like you!
If there’s somebody in your orbit who might benefit from the work that I do, feel free to send them my way.
You can give them my email address, or point them to my website.
My services are listed here: [webpage]
My story is right over here: [webpage]
My client testimonial page is here: [webpage]
And that’s about it!
With appreciation,
[Your name]
Asking for an introduction
SAMPLE:Â Alex Cavoulacos from The Muse suggests you send this:
Hi [name],
I hope all is well with you. As you know, I’ve been [context: looking for a new job, raising capital, working in sales at XYZ company]. I noticed that you’re connected to [target name] and was hoping that you could introduce us for [reason] if you feel comfortable doing so.
I’ve included an easy-to-copy blurb below, to provide context, but let me know if there’s any other information I can provide. I appreciate your help!
Warm Regards,
[Your name]
[Blurb about yourself and your project/product/company]
Making an introduction
SAMPLE 1:Â Thibaut Vergez-Pascal from BreathR suggests you send this:
Hi [Name],
Thank you so much for meeting with me today. I really enjoyed our conversation about [subject] and learning more about what you do. I truly appreciate all the advice and tips you shared on how to break into [industry].
I actually just met [name of contact] who runs the [name of department] team at [company name]. She has an interesting perspective that I think you would find useful. Can I make an introduction?
Thank you for your time,
[Your name]
SAMPLE 2:Â Alex Cavoulacos from The Muse suggests you send this:
Hi [name 1],
Thanks so much for agreeing to talk to [name 2] about [context: e.g., her job search, what it’s like to be in your field]. I’ve copied him/her on this email so you can connect directly for [a short call/coffee meeting/drinks].
[Name 2], as I mentioned, [name 1] is [most flattering one-line description of your contact: e.g., “is the best sales person I know” or “is a true expert in the industry, and should be very useful”].
I’ll let you two take it from here.
Best,
[Your name]
Â
[Your name]
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Follow-up Email After A Job Interview
Connecting during the holidays
SAMPLE:Â Danny Rubin suggests you send this:
Hi [Name],
I hope you are having a good break/holiday.
I know December is a busy time of year, but if possible I would like to get together and talk about [the task at hand; for instance, “new ways our companies can work together in 2015.”]
Please let me know a [day and time] that works for you.
Thanks so much,
[Your Name]
Â
Connecting to gather information
SAMPLE:Â Jodi Glickman from Fortune suggests you send:
Hi [Name],
How are you? I just noticed via LinkedIn that you joined [New Company] in July, congratulations! I’m sure leaving [previous employer] was a tough move. I’ve actually been interested in [industry]l for a while and I’d love to talk to you about your experiences at [Company]. Please let me know if you might consider scheduling a call to talk about how things are going for you.
Warm Regards,
[Your Name]