No one thanked me for my advice, they thanked me for the stories.
I got to present to a group on St. Patrick’s day, I honestly wasn’t prepped much on who was in the group and how strong it would be. But boy did it blow me away!
I showed up to the Zoom call with 50+ attendees who were all actively paying attention and asking questions. Maybe it’s because of the topic, but dang was it cool to see folks jamming out and trying to improve their professional lives.
So why the title here? They did thank me for showing up. But I could tell that the stories are what hit home with people. During the hour and fifteen minutes that I ranted, I walked through active stories that were working for my 1:1 clients at the moment.
Literally from my coaching session earlier that morning.
And folks dug that because most of the advice on LinkedIn is yelling at you (I’m guilty of this at times) and rarely showing you what’s happening behind the scenes.
The topic that hit home the most was around the outreach that folks are conducting… it should be a mix of peer level operators and recruiting level folks (what I call gatekeepers).
Operator Outreach: “Hey! I saw you were doing [work you like] at [their company] and it hit home with me. I’m considering my next move and I wanted to hear more about your experience so far. Hope you’re having a good week!”
Gatekeeper Outreach: “[Name] - I saw your post around the [role opening] and I wanted to get connected. I’ve done [what experience speaks to that role] and would love to hear more! Thanks for taking a look”
Ps) gatekeepers are recruiters or screening folks and they are FRIENDS of yours.
Quick note:
People are waiting to hear from you. Even close friends, start there and find comfort in putting those people on notice.
One question for your next interview:
“What does this role unlock for the business if done right?”
This helps you start to build your business case as you go through the interview process.
Before you leave…
If someone hasn’t responded to your outreach in 48 hours, it’s completely fine. Don’t feel bad about following up. I usually do so 3 times and then I let it die. If you need help figuring out your outreach approach, let me know here.
Best 🤝
Dominic
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