Getting into the right mindset

You should always follow up any potential leads and never discount somebody that you haven’t met before. I can’t stress this enough. If a friend tells you that they know someone who might be able to help you or collaborate with you, take the opportunity to meet them, even if you can’t immediately see why the meeting might be relevant. You just never know. Some of the best opportunities that have come my way have resulted from a meeting that – at the time – didn’t seem to have any particular relevance to my professional life.

Top tip: consider maintaining a spreadsheet of who you’ve met, their contact details (or LinkedIn profile URL if you’ve corresponded via LinkedIn), how you met them (e.g. via an introduction), when and where you spoke to them, what you discussed, and how they might be able to help. You never know when you’ll want to get back in touch in the future, and if you meet dozens (or hundreds) of people in the interim, you might struggle to keep track of names and the relevance of each interaction. Having a database of contacts to hand has certainly helped me on countless occasions!

Respecting people’s time

Throughout this process, remember that the people you are contacting are likely very busy, slightly stressed out, and juggling a wide variety of personal and professional responsibilities. Demonstrate that you’re aware of this, you respect their time, and you’ll appreciate any help whatsoever. Tying into this theme, do everything you can to make the other person’s role as easy as possible. Don’t ask for 2 hours of their time, ask for 10 minutes (and then take it from there). Offer to meet them whenever and wherever suits them best, and if they do meet with you, at least offer to buy them a coffee. Don’t ask too much of them, as this can show a lack of respect. 

I’ve genuinely had people whom I’ve never met or spoken to ask me to proofread a lengthy application late at night, with a follow up message to say that the application deadline is actually the next morning! This didn’t come across particularly well.

Top tip: if somebody does agree to speak with you at some point in the future, send them a calendar invite and include a few brief notes reminding them of who you are, how you met, and what you wanted to discuss with them. That way, they’re less likely to forget about the call/meeting (or to delete the calendar invite having forgotten who you are).