Ah, the networking letter: a carefully crafted letter of introduction that lands somewhere between a cover letter and a “let’s get coffee!” These letters are an old-school form of networking that involve actual papers and actual stamps, sent through the actual postal service and landing on the actual desks of people you would like to meet for the purposes of your own career development.
Some people think its days are over, thanks to the pervasiveness and ease of email and social networking sites like LinkedIn. But are these people right? Let’s discuss…
What’s a Networking Letter, Again?
Networking letters are typically written by people who are currently in a job search, or considering starting one. They’re particularly beneficial for people who want to learn more about a specific industry, company or career path because they set the stage for you to gather advice, opinions and helpful information about your would-be career.
The job seeker (that’s you) decides to learn about something specific (e.g. solar sales, or HR, or manufacturing) and then looks for people who are already succeeding in that arena. You then draft a letter of introduction that doubles as a request for an informational interview. If the recipient agrees, you’ll sit down and discuss the industry, the qualifications for success and anything else that’s pertinent — including people in the recipient’s network who may be looking for someone with your skills.
Your networking letter should be one page long, written in a casual business tone and addressed specifically to the recipient. It needs to showcase your skills, explain your interest in the company or industry and explicitly state that you’re looking for career advice and to build connections in an effort to find a job — you are not writing to get a job from that person. Include your contact information and mention how you’ll follow up — whether by phone, email or both — and the timeframe you’ll use for following up. You’ll do well to enclose a copy of your resume, too.
The Benefits of Networking Letters
There are two main benefits of the networking letter: an opportunity to gather very useful information and the chance to expand your network (which is always a good thing when you’re looking for a new job).
The benefits of informational interviews are boundless, especially when you’re thinking about expanding into a new industry or a new function within your same industry. Toward the end of the interview, the job seeker usually asks for the names of anyone else who might be able to answer a few questions, and on and on the network grows. Further networking facilitates better information, as well as more access to unadvertised job openings.
While networking can be done a multitude of ways and informational interviews can be requested over email and even through LinkedIn, the real benefit of the networking letter is the fact that it’s tangible, which makes it different. Anyone can send an email; not everyone will mail a letter. Most people like getting real mail and being singled out as knowledgeable, and the “surprise factor” of a networking letter might be just the ticket to get a call back.
It makes you remarkable as the sender, if nothing else, and sometimes standing out is the very best thing you can do for your career.
The Drawbacks of Networking Letters
In today’s screen-oriented, efficiency-driven, all-email-all-the-time work environment with too much to be done and not enough time to do it, a paper letter in the mail can come off as outdated, stiff, weird or even wasteful to some.
The present-day offspring of the networking letter is the similarly crafted networking email, which may be a better way to approach some professionals. Otherwise, people who are technology-oriented might think you’re out of touch with the way the world runs these days. (You may want to address this potential concern somewhere in your letter if you give this strategy a try on paper.)
Your Mileage May Vary
If you do decide to go with a networking letter for your job search, the key to its success will lie in how well you have organized your follow-up plan. Keep track of every letter you send, and follow up exactly the way you said you would, in the timeframe you laid out. Doing so will make it easier for your new contact to be in touch with you — and the easier you make it on them to connect, the more likely it is that they’ll actually do it. https://careerattraction.com/follow-networking-contacts-without-annoying (Tweet this thought.)
Networking letters certainly aren’t the right move for every person, but this old-school technique offers a lot of potential when done well.
Your turn: Is the networking letter a great tool that has lots of value, or would you not touch it with a 10-foot pole? Share in the comments!
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