My inbox is overflowing — here are the 3 types of messages that make me never want to respond
WOCinTech Chat/Flickr
As a career coach, my inbox is often flooded with messages from people I'm connected with on LinkedIn who are reaching out about something or another.
Now, I don't mean to be judgmental, but I often find myself sighing with annoyance when I open them up—so much so that I was motivated to write this article.
You see, the thing is, I'm open to making new connections and willing to talk to anyone, so the fact that I often put off responding to messages means people are missing the mark.
And that stinks because it takes effort to both find people to connect with in the first place and then cultivate a networking relationship from there.
I want to be excited when I read your message and I know you want that, too (or at least I hope you do!). Often times, it only takes a few tweaks to your words or tone to make that possible.
Below are messages inspired by real ones I've received along with my thoughts on why they're not the best approach.
Quick note though: Unless you have LinkedIn Premium, you'll need to connect before you send a message. But that doesn't mean you can just send the generic invite. Instead, send a customized one with with these short templates so they'll accept your request and you'll be able to actually send over a note.
1. The empty query
It's nice that you want to find a way to help one another out, but this message doesn't give me anything to work with. Perhaps there's something in my my background that led you to reach out in this manner?
Revised message
Anyone can spot a generic, non-customized message from three Wi-Fi zones away, and if you care about standing out, you'll be careful not to be labeled as generic, right? The updated version attempts to start building a rapport. By including a customized, targeted line, I can tell George has looked into my background and is excited about finding a way to potentially work together. And that makes me much more inclined to respond to this.
2. The vague ask: initial reaction
How's everything? Hm, that's a rather large question for someone I don't know in real life. In fact, I'm not sure I'd even know where to begin in responding to this person.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
No comments: