Asking someone out for a coffee chat sounds intimidating for a lot of us, international students. Perhaps in your home country, asking someone out for a coffee is a strange concept entirely. What about when you have to write a networking request and send it to people on LinkedIn? That must be challenging for a lot of us too!
- Have you ever written someone something and you have never heard back?
- Have you ever felt like you do not know how to appropriately ask someone for something?
We will unpack how to send a networking request message to your new & existing connections on LinkedIn. Here are the 6 ways you can do it.
1. Always personalized
First of all, when you connect with any new connection, always include a personalized message when sending an invite. This will increase the likelihood of them accepting your invitation and your chance of getting connected with them.
2. Ask to be introduced instead
If you have mutual connections, ask the connection to introduce you to the potential network. This will help you add credibility to your connection request and increase the chances of the potential network to respond by 100%.
3. Know your tone
Identify the appropriate tone when communicating to your audience. Identify the tone (informal vs formal) based on seniority level. Who are you talking to? Is this person someone who is a lot more senior than you or something within your range?
4. You need to look credible
People receive LinkedIn invitations everyday and their connections can be flooded. If you want to make your message stand out and increase the likelihood of getting a response, you need to look credible. You can increase your credibility by telling them how you found them such as alumni circle, target industry, article, or company profile. This is the first step of building trust!
5. Tell them about yourself
Without having to tell them your entire life story, when reaching out to someone for the first time, make sure to give a slight bit of context of who you are and what you want from them. Summarize a quick introduction including your targeted industry, position, and what you are looking for from them. This will help the other person understand how they can help you.
6. Have a clear ask
At the end of your message, you need to make an ask to them. What do you want them to do or what will you be doing for them. Provide a clear call of action, time commitment & expectations.
