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The LinkedIn message...
posted on 4 Jul 2020
Disclaimer : I did not land the job. I had a fruitful discussion for 30+ minutes on a call and after a week, I was conveyed that they won’t proceed further.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across a LinkedIn post by Ankur Warikoo where he lessoned a person on what the right way to approach someone for a job was. I was immediately reminded of the only time when I had approached someone on LinkedIn asking for a job. Nearly 3 years ago, when I was looking for a PM opportunity, I decided to drop a LinkedIn message to the co-founder and Chief Product Office of the company I was wanting to get into and managed to get a 30+ minutes of telephonic conversation with him.
Since then the message template has been used by a couple of my friends and it has worked for them too. Here is the templatized version of the message that I had sent -
Hope you are doing well.
While slightly out of relevance, I first came to know about {Company Name} when I came across a video that had you talking at an event hosted by Startup Grind. {Company Name} seemed intriguing to me back then. And it seems equally intriguing to me now as I delve into your company for seeking a Product Management role.
I've spent over 3.5 years at Zinrelo(formerly ShopSocially) and had a great opportunity to work closely with and learn from amazing leaders like Samir Palnitkar (Serial Entrepreneur, Co-founder of Mojo Networks) and Jai Rawat (Serial Entrepreneur , TiE Charter Member). I am amazed by the LMS platform that you and your team have built and I would love to be a part of it in any way. I thoroughly believe, at the heart of {Company Name}’s business, is the stellar product and its user experience. Hence, at your company, I see a chance to learn the nuances of product management and user experience and further my growth as a Product Manager.
My primary focus is Product Management, with 2 years of experience as a Product Manager for Zinrelo's SaaS platform. However, owing to my 4 years of experience as a Full Stack Developer and 1 year of experience as an Engineering Lead, I have a fair understanding of the engineering side of a product too. I'd love to tell you more about my skill set and how it could be a value addition to your company.
Congrats on creating a great product and the company's success. Again, I'd love to find a time to chat more about {Company Name} and what I can bring to the table. I look forward to speaking with you.
Best regards,
Akshay
Here is a breakdown of why I feel this message is compelling and seems like a decent way to approach someone for a job -
- Establishing Context : At the very onset, the message tries to establish a context by including something personal. I had been following this company for quite some time and had heard the co-founder talk at a local conference. I decided to use it as an instrument of recall for the reader and establish the context.
- Establishing motivation : Further, the message clearly states out what I know and admire about the product and thus helps me establish my motivation for joining their team. Also, shows the reader that I’ve done some homework and that I’m excited about getting an opportunity.
- Establishing credibility and pitching your candidature : The message then tries to establish credibility about my background and then lays out my strengths and what I can bring to the table in brief.
- Finally, I think a lot of job seekers resort to - Do you have any openings in your company? Or Can you please give me an opportunity to work with your company?” with a resume attached - kind of messages to approach co-founders/hiring managers for a job. The above message helps one stand out by being elaborate and trying to establish a connection with the reader.
If you don’t want yourself to be just one of the plethora of job seekers spamming people for a job opportunity, you have to put in some effort in getting to know about the company and the person you are approaching . It also helps to have a clear picture of why you think you’d be a good fit and how the opportunity is going to help further your career.
The next time you approach someone for a job, do give this template a try. Tweak it, twist it, suit it to your story and if it works, you can buy me a book :)
Until next time…
A
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