Week 23: October 19, 2024 | |
Get the introductions that will change your MBA | |
Andrea,
A timely introduction can change your MBA experience completely. It was an informal introduction that got me a spot on a closed list years ago despite an unconventional background. Introductions have created business partnerships, helped people to explore industries, and made the entire recruiting process just a little more personal.
One of the things we love most in our role is helping to make introductions, and even better, when an introduction is handled well!
This week, we're going to share some best practices on getting and giving introductions. Hopefully these tips are helpful as you look into internships or explore business ideas. Keep these points in mind when you're getting connected to multiple people (who may turn out to be influential to your future career) and need to follow-up with them!
The 100 Week Sprint team
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Got 5 minutes? Think about specific roles you would be interested in, and do a quick LinkedIn search for those roles.
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Got 30 minutes? Prepare a simple introductory email samples as a starting point. This can be your own template to introduce others or a simple email elevator pitch that others can share about you. Here's a round-up of ten tips that will be helpful, particularly for email introductions.
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Got an hour? Reach out to people who can help, and get those introductions going!
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Need help?
Before you even get an introduction, the first steps are to identify the two types of people who can help you: a) your connections who can introduce you to others and b) people you can be introduced to.
Begin by identifying who you need/want to talk to. An effective way is through LinkedIn's Advanced Search function. Check out some quick how-to's here!
After you've been connected to someone, the ball is now in your court! But before you respond, make sure to do the following things:
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Provide context: the person you've been introduced to may not know much about you (or anything at all, apart from a short description from your connection). Help them out and provide some context as to why you wanted to reach out - otherwise they might not know what information would be helpful to you.
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Include the details: you can even take a step further to attach your resume, relevant documents, or your LinkedIn profile (be sure to customize your URL and update your profile) so they can get a sense of your background.
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Request their availability: after briefly telling them about yourself, request their availability, making sure to accommodate their schedule and location, because after all, they are doing you a favor! Request 15 minutes of their time, at most.
Click here for some introductory email samples!
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Received help?
Here are a few things you can do after you've had an informational conversation with your newly formed connection.
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Thank them within 24 hours of your conversation: the sooner, the better! This way, your conversation will be fresh in their minds and if they suggested connecting you to additional people, they can remember exactly who they had in mind.
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Be specific and mention aspects of why they were helpful: not to flatter them, but as an affirmation that you were paying attention and that indeed, it was helpful to you. Follow-up on specific steps - did they suggest an additional introduction and provide contact information? Follow up in a timely way to note the value.
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Blind copy (BCC) the person who introduced you: be sure to do this when you send out your follow-up "thank you" email. That way, your original connection knows that you were able to get the help you needed. It matters! Additional introductions are more likely to come your way when you do so.
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Set a reminder to follow-up: when you achieve a relevant milestone, be sure to follow-up with a second thank you. People like to hear about what happened to people they may have invested time in. Keep your emails brief!
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Give help!
Want to return the favor? Offer to help someone else using the following steps:
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Keep others in mind: whether they are classmates, friends, or other people you know in mind as you begin to meet people in different industries and functions. Take note of the people who you are thinking to connect to each other - after all, it reflects on you as well.
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Make sure both people agree to "meet": the term for this is a double opt-in introduction - this prevents the awkwardness of creating unwanted obligations and making others feel like they must be willing to connect.
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Use LinkedIn to find contacts and connect others together: hear about classmates who are interested in the industry that your best friend is in? Reach out to your best friend first, then offer to connect the two of them. Keep friends and classmates in mind as you begin connecting with people of different industries/functions - I'm sure your connections would appreciate it!
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Use email to make introductions: it offers the flexibility to include attachments and usually gets a much faster response than LinkedIn introductions.
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Know someone who applied to Wharton?
Wharton’s interview process is unique in that it includes a group discussion. In an effort to help you prepare for this challenge, we offer group interview practice sessions. We conduct these sessions in a secure, online format to give you a chance to simulate the interview environment.
As you may remember, taking part in our practice session allows people to:
- Experience the stress of interacting with Wharton-grade peers driving towards a time-sensitive deliverable (for many participants, a first) in a risk-free environment
- Articulate their response to other Wharton applicants, hear their ideas, and gain valuable group feedback
- The chance to give and receive critical feedback from their peers
After the session, we will offer detailed written feedback, highlighting our assessment of the following:
- Effectiveness of their idea
- Their contributions to group dynamics
- Strengths to leverage and weaknesses to address
If you know someone interested in learning more, share this link:
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