This guest post is from Jennifer Weinmann, Student Employment Consultant at IUPUI.
In recent weeks, I have been helping my sister (who will soon be graduating) implement strategies for her upcoming job search. In my recent conversations with her, networking has come up time and again. As many of us are aware, networking today most often consists of LinkedIn and other electronic sources of reaching out to individuals. Striking up a conversation with an old contact sometimes seems hard to do in an online environment.
That is the question I wanted to help answer:
How do I reach out to my internship network for help with my job search?
In my sister’s final years of her undergraduate degree, she completed two internships and two immersive learning projects. All of which have left her with a great deal of knowledge and an excellent group of contacts in her LinkedIn profile. Her concern was how she could now reach out to these contacts, when she hasn’t “worked” for them in up to two years?
It was quite simple actually, I told her to research their connections and see if any of their connections were at companies she was interested in seeking employment. Then, reach out to your contact with a message such as:
“Hi <Name>,
I haven’t spoken to you in a while. How are things going in your current position? I had such a great experience working with you during my <title> internship and am now preparing for a full-time job search. I noticed you are connected with <name> at <company> and wondered if you had ever talked to them about their employer and how they like working for that organization? I’m interested in applying to their <title> position and would love any insight you might be able to share.
Thank you in advance for any information you might be able to send my way.
<your name>”
Some of the key elements that I believe are important in a “reintroduction message”:
- Reintroduce yourself and how you knew this person (they may see dozens of interns every year and may not have time to read through your LinkedIn profile, so remind them of who you are.)
- Indicate you are job searching (make it clear why you are contacting them while still being conversational.)
- Provide details of a specific contact or organization you would like information on and instead of asking for a reference, ask for “insight”. This leaves it open to them to offer to connect you to someone in their network or better yet, to give you personal referral.
- Close with a message that implies you do expect to hear from them.
My sister implemented this strategy and heard back from contacts she knew a year or two ago…and they were more than willing to vouch for her because of the great experience they had working with her during her internships.
Though it may sometimes feel forced to initiate a conversation for your personal advancement, approaching it in a courteous and conversational way will almost always yield positive outcomes!
So remember, and internship is not just for the experience you gain at that moment, it’s for all the contacts and relationships you can develop that will become a personal network to launch you into career success in the future!
