As you think about who can be helpful, first you need to ask yourself a few questions:

• Are you in research mode, trying to figure out what might come next for your career?
  If so, you probably want to talk to people in lots of different careers, to help you narrow your focus.
• Are you targeting a specific job title or company?
  Then your networking list should reflect that target you have in mind.
• Are you actively applying for roles? Then you’ll want to figure out who the hiring manager or recruiter is for the role, so you can let them know you’re in the applicant pool. For this specific networking need, check out this article on ways to reach out to a hiring manager from The Muse.

Now that you’ve thought about who you’re looking for, how do you find them?

To start, remember to consider your own inner circle. Who do you talk with regularly? Who sits around your Thanksgiving or other holiday tables? Who have you worked with in the past? Make sure you tell these folks about your career goals—and be as specific as you can. Even if they don’t do anything related to what your career goals are, you never know who they might know. Activating that core, existing network of advocates who already know you can yield surprising results.

Next, you’ll need to start reaching out to contacts you don’t know as well (or at all). Temple offers tools and advice to help you with this step.

LinkedIn
This is the best place to start the networking search. Don’t have a profile yet? Start with the Alumni Resume Guide, and then you can use your resume to build your LinkedIn.

• Leverage the find alumni tool to quickly identify Owls who can help.
• As you get more specific, you can use LinkedIn’s advanced search features to narrow in on exactly who can be helpful.

CareerShift
You can use this platform for lots of job search activities, but it’s a really helpful networking tool, allowing you to identify contact information for your networking targets.
(CareerShift requires your Temple credentials to access. You can create or reactivate those credentials to gain access.)

You know who you’re looking for, and you’ve already found them using one of the tools above. Now it’s time to reach out. Here are five points to include in your outreach message:

1. Start by briefly introducing yourself; it can be as simple as your name and title.
   Hi, I’m Pat Fligge, the director of Temple’s Alumni Career Engagement office.
    
2. Establish the Temple connection, how you know this person or what you have in common with them.
   I graduated from Temple’s College of Education with my master’s, and I see you’re also an Owl.
    
3. Tell them what you’re looking to talk about.
   I’m always interested in learning successful networking strategies, and I thought someone with your professional background in relationship management would have helpful strategies to share.
   
   Note: This step might take some reflection on your part or research into who you’re talking with. You don’t have to give them every question you want to ask, just a sense of the conversation you’re seeking to have. Make it clear that you are looking for information, not a job! That will increase the chance they reply.
    
4. Ask for their time. People are busy and time is valuable. Ask for a small portion of their schedule, placing boundaries around the ask.
   I’m free afternoons next week if you’d like to suggest a day that works well for you for a 30-minute phone or virtual call. If afternoons are tough, let me know times that work for you, and I can flex my schedule.
   
   A well-structured conversation should take no more than 30 minutes. You can offer times when you’re free so they can reply with exactly when you’ll connect. Try to be flexible and supply a general window of time so scheduling doesn’t become a barrier to connecting.
    
5. Finish with a thank you.
   Thanks in advance. I look forward to speaking to you!

Hopefully these five points, and the examples with each, provide a framework to make it easier to construct your initial outreach message. That said, here are a few more important notes:

• If you’re reaching out via LinkedIn, try to request to connect with them first (rather than send an inMail message). That connection message can be brief, just simply the first two points from above. And then you can follow up with a longer message once you’re connected.
• If you’re reaching out to a hiring manager or recruiter because you’ve applied to a job posting, your message can be much simpler. The Indeed Career Guide has great advice and examples on what to say in these kinds of messages.
• Be thoughtful about what goes in your subject line if you’re emailing a networking contact. The Muse has great suggestions and examples for this too.
• Networking is a numbers game. You won’t get responses from everyone, and that’s okay.

You’ve sent your outreach messages, and now folks are responding that they’re ready to chat. Now it’s time to think through your questions!

Think back to what stage of this process you’re in, and whether you have short-term questions connected to an active application you’re working on, or more long-term, exploratory questions.

A general principle you can follow in your questions is to think about how you can ask for information or advice, rather than ask for influence. It’s easy for a networking contact to simply share advice with you. It might be harder for someone to influence a process for you, at least until you take the time to build a relationship with them.

Also think about how you can make your questions specific to this person, even if they’re standard questions you always ask. Conduct some basic research about your contact, their field and their employer; looking at their LinkedIn profile is an easy way to do all of this! Prepare thoughtful questions based on your research.

Below are categories of questions and some examples to help you get started.

Personal and professional career questions

• How did you get started in this industry/role?
• What previous professional experiences have helped you the most in your current role?
• What credentials or key learnings have helped you reach this point in your career?

Company or job-specific questions

• What do you find most interesting and/or challenging about the work you do?
• How would you describe the work culture and environment of your employer?
• What skills do you think someone needs to excel in your role? And if I was to apply for a role similar to yours, how do I make sure I show that I have those skills too?

Researched questions

• I recently saw in the news that your company [encountered some newsworthy event, change, shift, etc.]. How does this affect your work?
• In researching your background, I saw you made a career pivot from one industry to another. How were you able to do so successfully?
• I’m thinking about applying for a [specific role] at your company. What suggestions do you have so that I can stand out as a candidate?

Show genuine interest in their responses, ask follow-up questions and engage in a meaningful conversation. If you feel like the conversation has gone well, a great final question is to ask if they have anyone in their own network they could introduce you to, based on what you discussed. That’s a natural way to keep your networking process flowing.

Thank You
Always send a thank you letter within 24 hours following a one-on-one networking conversation. It is a professional courtesy and demonstrates your consideration, enthusiasm and appreciation for their time.

Follow Up
If appropriate, maintain the connection by occasionally sharing updates on your career progress or expressing interest in relevant industry developments. Keep track of points you talk about when you connect in case that offers reasons to reconnect with someone, such as following advice they shared, or reading an article or news story that relates to the networking contact. But also know that you don’t need to sustain every networking contact. Sometimes a conversation is all you need or want to have with someone.