5 Ways to Level Up Your Cold Outreach

“Every person who responded to me was either Asian or African American. None of the non-minorities replied.”

This is what one of my clients said to me this morning. She’s a brilliant Asian woman with experience that spans 3 continents and 7 countries. She’s a big four consultant who has used headhunters in the past but realizes that in her new job search, networking is key!

In her journey to find the next role, she’s taken on connecting on LinkedIn because it does work.?

What she didn’t expect was as she put it, for the response rates of minority vs. non-minority to be “so blatant.”?

As a Black woman on LinkedIn, I have had many years of practice in making myself known when it comes to sliding into DMs and have been pretty darn successful.?

So here was my advice to her and my advice to you when it comes to connecting with strangers successfully on LinkedIn.

1.Make it About Them

Flattery goes a long way. So rather than opening up with “I know you don’t know me” or “I recently applied for X job at your company” Take yourself out of the equation. That first sentence should begin with the word You or Your. Here’s an example:?

“Hi, Sheila,

Your recent post about working moms returning from maternity leave was one of the most solid pieces of content I’ve seen in a while!”

“Hey, Greg,

You have such a unique career transition.?Going from Finance to Nonprofit sounds like it's truly rewarding!"?

2. Find a common thread

LinkedIn showcases our photos, so often, who you are on the outside IS your commonality. I 100% have a better success rate reaching out to African American women because that’s what is represented within the first few seconds of my profile. So if that’s working, keep it up.

However, while race and gender are usually the most obvious commonalities, they are the only things on which you can connect.?

Here’s a list of other connecting factors that you can play up in your initial outreach:?

• Reach out to fellow alumni of your university?or of other programs.
• Make location-specific connections. Hype it up with people from your hometown. Or even if they live in a city you’ve visited or lived in at one point. I once connected with someone who went to college in the same midwestern city my parents grew up in.
• Common professional interests like specific coding skills or technology, or share an interest in DEI initiatives or?
• Common personal interests/traits:?People post about all kinds of personal aspects of their lives, even here on LinkedIn. Check out their profile and you might learn that you are both parents, or you both have and/or love dogs. Boom, there’s your connection!

3. Give a Specific Call to Action

This is where a lot of people fall short in their outreach messages. You’ve built up the courage to message a stranger and you end with something weak like, “I’d love to connect.”?

Of course, you want to connect. That’s what you’re doing now by sending this message. But what do you want them to DO? Do you want them to answer a question? Do you want them to look at your resume? Whatever it is, your ask should elicit a response or action. Here are a few of my favorite CTA’s if reaching out about a potential job:?

• Do you want to answer the question, “What’s the one piece of advice you?would share with an entry-level Designer?"
• "I'd love to hear your perspective on working in Ed Tech. Are you free this Friday for a 15-minute chat? If so, what time fits into your schedule?"
• "The one thing I'd love your help with is, getting a better understanding of how to improve my chances of interviewing at Company XYZ. Can you think of one specific thing that helped you when you were applying?"
• "I've attached my resume, which is a great value add for the Sr. Program Manager role. If you're open to it, I'd love to have you as a referral."

4. Get An Introduction

If your common thread happens to be knowing some of the same people, then ask for a connection. People tend to not want to look bad in front of others in their network. The likelihood of them ghosting you AND the person they know goes down significantly.?

5. Follow Up

So you sent the message and then . . . crickets. To quote the great, Aaliyah, "dust yourself off and try again." The person you messaged is probably pretty busy, so try again. You literally have nothing to lose. Send a follow-up message that references your original. Please don't be aggressive here. The other person is a human, just as you are. I always like to assume the best in people so they truly might not have seen your message or might have been distracted.

If your first message didn't make it about them or have a specific call to action, try that this time. If it did, then just give the person a friendly nudge.

Look, I know putting yourself out there is scary. Sometimes, you’ll have to tweak the way you do it. But please, do try. I’ve seen such amazing things come from LinkedIn connections.?

If you’re the person on the other end of receiving a cold outreach request, please have empathy and remember that there is a human on the other side of the inbox. If you can spare the time, please give it. And remember, LinkedIn is an international space.?

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Brenda Bridges is an Atlanta-based career coach for busy parents and the Founder of?Career Mama coaching. As a former recruiter for Amazon and projects at Apple, Microsoft, American Express, and more, she loves helping job seekers attract the companies they're excited about and land the jobs they want.