A Tactical Guide to Networking for Veterans
Step 1: Set a Goal
Like any project, begin with the end in mind.
Random networking is not helpful. It's like the difference between spraying and praying vs. having a tight shot grouping. Sure, you may hit a target if you close your eyes and hold the trigger, but you'll save ammo and time by aiming!
Have a tight shot grouping by knowing where to aim!
Do you want to work in financial services? Trying to score a job in consulting? Want to raise money from investors? Write it down on paper via a SMART goal.
Example Goal: "I will get a job in investment banking by December 31, 2022."
Now that we have the endstate, we need to figure out what intermediate goals will help us build up to that endstate. We will call these Key Results. Your key results will look like this:
Key Result 1: Reach out to 200 total bankers via LinkedIn or Email by October 31st.
Key Result 2: Speak to 100 total bankers on the phone or zoom at those banks by the beginning of December.
Key Result 3: Apply to 15 investment banks by mid-December.
Key Result 4: Obtain a 90% on mock interviews as measured by XYZ guide questions by mid-December.
Armed with our Objective/Goal and our Key Results, we can begin actively working to accomplish those Key Results that build up to our Objective/Goal.
Step 2: Make a Target List
You should network with people who can help you achieve your goal.
Ideally, you would target 75% of your contact/outreach to people 2-3 years ahead of you in your journey and 25% of your contact/outreach to people 5-7 years ahead of you.
First, we make a list of target firms - who are the major companies in the career field you are looking to enter? List them out in a google sheet and begin gathering intelligence on them.
Next, sort and filter through LinkedIn to find people with commonalities in their backgrounds who work at those firms in the right role.
Sort and filter by: shared university, shared branch of service, all military service members, etc. The more things you have in common with someone, the more likely they will be to respond.
Step 3: Reach Out on LinkedIn
Truthfully, this is the hard part.
Be kind, polite, interesting, grateful - basic human decency goes a very long way via LI message.
Send LinkedIn messages that look like this:
This simple message is short, to the point, courteous, and builds connection upfront. Did I mention being courteous?
Do some research on the connection, find the commonality, ask for some of their time and send it off.
Want to include more info? Not really necessary, I can read your LinkedIn (basically your resume).
Step 4: Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up!
Virgil once said, "fortune favors the bold" but he should have said, "fortune favors those who FOLLOW UP ON THEIR LINKEDIN MESSAGES."
Seriously -
Everyone is busy. We want to help you, but sometimes I open a message and forget to respond. It happens - I'm sorry.
Politely follow up. YOU ARE NOT ANNOYING BY SENDING 2-3 FOLLOW UP MESSAGES - as long as they are polite! No need to re-write the entire message, just say this about a week after the initial message.
If I don't hear back from you, I assume it wasn't that important!
Cynically, I know there are also people who will not respond until the 2nd or 3rd message. If you get hit up 10x each day and need a way to filter by who has tenacity and perseverance, this is a way to filter people reaching out.
Politely follow up with a 2nd and 3rd message. Just say, "Hi, I'm following up on the above message to see if you'd be willing to connect."
Give it 3 or 4 attempts - you may feel awkward about "bothering" someone, but it's a lot less likely than you think since... again... MOST PEOPLE WANT TO HELP YOU.
On your last attempt to reach someone, say, "Hi, it seems that you're extremely jammed with work at the moment, would you be alright with me reaching back out to you in a few months to see if your schedule has cleared up? If you'd prefer, I can also stop contacting you as I do not want to jam your inbox - just let me know!"
Step 5: Come Prepared to the Call
Research the person's background and make a list of questions. You're looking to evaluate if the role makes sense for you, how people generally get into the role, and show that you know a little bit about the job.
DO NOT DOMINATE THE CONVERSATION.
You should spend most of the call listening - this seems really obvious, but if you're asking someone to tell you about their job/career/life, LISTEN to them.
I've had a handful of calls in which someone has just attempted to demonstrate how much they know - it makes me wonder why they didn't just do this in front of a mirror. Why was my participation necessary?
Rapid fire suggestions for these calls:
1. Take notes during the call to remember key details.
2. Start with a 60-120 second pitch on who you are, highlight similarities between your background and their background.
3. Have a great list of questions.
4. Make sure to say thank you at the end.
5. Make a mental note about how helpful they were, if they were, to remind yourself to pay it forward when you can AND also to try to remember to help them in the future if you can
Step 6: Thank You Notes & Additional Contacts
Always follow up with a thank you note!
You can ask for additional connections at the end of the note (and during the call, this is a good tactic) - "who else would you recommend I speak with?"
Include a detail or two that shows you've listened to what they're saying. Here's an example you can feel free to plagerize:
Step 7: Keep Organized
Keep a spreadsheet of who you have reached out to, keep it organized, and remember - What gets measured gets improved.
Tracking your outreach week to week will help you stay on track.
Stay Connected:
1. Join our LinkedIn group for exclusive events, early signup, and hot-fill jobs
2. Follow Brendan and Tim on LinkedIn - we highlight Milvets doing great things
3. Join us for our weekly office hours, every Sunday at 9 am PT.
4. Join us in person on 9/30 and 10/1 in NYC.