Almost any excuse will do when you’re reaching out to networking contacts
➔ An integral part of successful networking is not letting the flame die out. When you connect with someone you don’t want to let that trail go cold.
Do you need an excuse to follow up? No. But it helps. It gives some credence to your relationship.
And the calendar says…
We may be entering the latter part of January but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to reach out to someone with whom you haven’t spoken
in more than month just to say “Happy New Year.”
Once that foot is in the door you can expand the conversation by asking if they have some time to talk… about the company, about any openings, about anything that they’ve heard which could help your job search, etc.
Regardless of the time of year or circumstances, another effective introductory line is: "I followed up on your suggestion." This is a comment that makes your contacts feel like the time they spent with you was useful and that their input isn't being wasted.
At the end of the day (figuratively, not literally), it doesn’t take much creativity to find some suitable reason or rationale to reach out to any of your contacts. The payback on maintaining those conversations and those relationships can be astronomical.
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