4 mistakes smart people avoid in a networking email

4 mistakes smart people avoid in a networking emaille4 mistakes smart people avoid in a networking emailWriting a networking email cana vulnerable, awkward process where theres an inherent power imbalance youre emailing someone, oftena stranger with no personal investment in you, aboutsomething you want that they have.We know its important to get over our fears, because successful networking can result in valuable information and connections.Unfortunately, rejection - or worse, silence - is too often the result of a badly written networking email. Too many of us are hearing crickets to our emails due to easily fixable mistakes we make in our networking requests.The good news is the mistakes we make really are very easily fixable.As someone who has written bad, ramblingnetworking emails that still make me blush,Im going to teach you to succeed where I have failed by avoiding these four clear pitfalls.1. Asking plektron someones brainWhile Id like to pick your brain is a popular casu al opening, its one of the worst things you can say. Vaguely asking to pick someones brain puts the burden on the recipient to be your Oracle of Delphi about why youre contacting them. It also means youre treating them as someone youre going to take things from - their actual brainpower - without offering anything in return.Besides being unhelpful to both sender and recipient, the metaphor of asking to pick someones brain can sound vaguely menacing.Heres how to do it better Know what you want and be specific about why youre contacting this person. Do you want an informational interview, an email contact, career advice, or to become friends with this person? Say so. Your recipient will breathe a sigh of relief at being able to help - which most people would like to do - without being treated as a lab rat for your own career plans.2. Stressing the fact that youre a strangerHumans are alike on some level, were a little wary of strangers. People who are successful with large social networks are even mora likely to depend on referrals or acquaintances to meet more people their dance cards are already full.Thats why theres no benefit, and no charm, in pointing out that they dont know you from Adam. Even if this person has no reason to remember your existence, dont discount yourself by saying, you may not remember me butYes, you may be strangers, but why remind the recipient that youre basically strangers with no reason to talk to each other. As The Musenotes, theres no requirement that you lead with the fact that its been a while. If your note is thoughtful and brief, thats generally all you need.Instead, find something you may have in common to talk about, even if thats just how much you admire the recipients work. People love talking about themselves. Its okay to open a networking email with sincere praise.If youd like to find more things to talk about in these emails, you can do as my most organized friend did in his unemployment. This friend of mine kept an Excel spreadsheet of networking interactions he made during his job hunt, complete with time stamps and a memorable anecdote the interaction produced. That way, when he followed up with a networking email weeks or months later, he could remind the recipient how, say, they both grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois and make the email more personal.Its a smart way to turn a potentially formal email into a more familiar, human interaction Hey there, we met at belastung years conference and talked about us both growing up near Chicago Any common bond will go a long way.3. Baring your soul and your lifes story in an emailThe opposite of formality is oversharing, trying to force intimacy by adding unnecessary facts about our entire lives.It may be tempting tomake this stranger your friend by filling them in on your multi-paragraph lifes story, but if you do that before you know someone - read before they have any reason to care about you - then this attempt at personalizing networking emails will likely backfire.The antidote Be concise. The recipient should be able to quickly scan your email to figure out why youre contacting them.Three short paragraphs at most are a good introduction until the person replies or decides to invest some time in you.People are sifting through endless emails, and if you want yours to be remembered, it needs to be direct. Corporate email users received about 84 emails a day on average in 2015. Save swapping in-depth career stories for if you actually meet up in person.4. A boring, unclearsubject lineThe subject line is the first thing a recipient will read, so you need to be good at grabbing their attention with it.Definitely do not leave the subject line blank - nothing good ever came from a blank subject line - but also dont make it a vague, short bleat like mentoring?Mailchimps researchers found that emails with description won out over trendy lines likesizzling summer bargains that dont have a specific hook or clearly define what the email is promoting.Good networking emails like salesperson seeking career advice or reporter with contact request clearly state what the emails going to be about.Pro tip you should use your subject line as your guide on what to include in the email. If its not related to your specific request, leave it out.And if you dont get a response right away, be patient and persistent. People are understandably very busy and a networking email is likely not at the top of their priorities. That being said, its appropriate to follow up if you havent heard anything in a week or two.And the one thing you should do always, always say thank you, afterward if the person helps you- or even if they dont, but make the time to give you some thoughts. It may sound obvious to thank someone, but a surprising number of people forget - and lose a relationship that would have made them more successful. Being nice goes a long way.

Learn From Hollywood Success Stories - The Muse

Learn From Hollywood Success Stories - The MuseLearn From Hollywood Success Stories Hollywood is notoriously difficult to break into- and its even more difficult to claw your way to the top. When I started working in the business, I saw that success wasnt just about talent and hard work (though there is plenty of that). The more I studied, the more I realized that the people at the very top of the game approached it with a different strategy than everyone else. Here are five strategies top Hollywood power players used to build a name for themselves that will work no matter what industry youre in. 1. Take (the Right) RisksMake small bets with big risks.John Landgraf, president of FX NetworkLandgraf found early success as a network executive at NBC (think Friends, ER, The West Wing), but its during his tenure at FX that hes established his legacy. If you make one show that works, you might have gotten lucky, but we now have half a dozen shows that are working, he said in an einstellung sgesprch with the New York Times. And weve done it by making small bets with big risks. Landgraf offered creatives something rare- full creative control- in exchange for working with miniscule budgets. The result? Small bets that became big hits like Louie, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Archer. Which in turn led to shows like Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and The Americans. You have opportunities to make small bets with big risks every day. One example? Take on an experimental project on your days off to solve a company problem. Sure, if it doesnt work, youve dedicated a few hours to your job rather than Netflix, but it didnt cost you anything- and if it does work, it could change your professional trajectory. 2. Dont Be All BusinessEvery day we have to have a couple laughs And no assholes allowed. Gail Berman, founder of The Jackal GroupMany things distinguish Berman as not-your-typical Hollywood power player She was the first and only woman to hold the highest positions at a film studio (Paramount) and television network (Fox). Many credit her with Fox Broadcasting ascending from fourth to first place with shows like American Idol, 24, and Arrested Development. But its Bermans leadership style that fruchtwein separates her from other top industry executives. It was common to see her walking down the hall with no shoes on with a megaphone calling out to everyone, Come on, whats going on out here? We should be celebrating this says Jennifer Salke, now NBCs president. She was just great about rallying the troops and getting people motivated and excited to work for her. As a leader, your attitude is contagious You have the capacity to inspire the people around you with your enthusiasm or optimism. So, if your company culture has been a little lackluster, decide to lead by example- celebrating your employees successes and bringing positivity and teamwork back to the workplace.3. Leaders Arent Born, Theyre MadeLeadership is learned.Shonda Rhimes, creator of Greys Anatomy and ScandalWhen Rhimes began writing Greys Anatomy, she was asked to work with a veteran show runner. Rhimes saw herself as shy and found working with others stressful. But after penning four hit series, (including Private Practice, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder), fending off the networks notes (she stopped taking them), and weathering numerous cast kerfuffles, Rhimes found her groove as a leader. Rhimes explains it as a trait she learned how to be a anfhrer and a leader versus somebody who was like, Holy crap, I get to write a show every week.Part of being powerful is believing in yourself and your abilities. Even if youre naturally shy and you dont envision yourself guiding your company through a five-minute conversation (let alone bringing in millions of television viewers through four different television shows), remember that even truly impressive people feel nervous. Even if you dont feel like a leader, leadership is a skill, and skills can be learned and improved. 4. Do the Right ThingMind your reputation. Gary Lucchesi, president of Lakeshore EntertainmentLucchesi was the son of a bread truck driver and the first in his family to go to college. After hearing Hollywood mogul David Geffen speak at a class at UCLA, Lucchesi asked how he could get into the entertainment industry.Geffen told him, Go to William Morris Agency, start in the mailroom, and work your way up. And thats precisely what Lucchesi did. The most important thing Stan Kamen- Lucchesis mentor- passed on was to mind your reputation, Lucchesi says in The Mail Room Hollywood History From the Bottom Up. I remember him arguing with someone on the phone and saying, Ill put my reputation up against yours any day. Ive used it a couple times myself. If you actually have a good reputation, its a real winner.You are in control of your reputation in your career (and life). Technical skills matter, of course, but so does being known as loyal, thoughtful, reliable, and honest. W hen you say youre going to send that email, or arrive on time, make sure you do. Moreover, dont participate (or just look the other way) when something you know is wrong is going on in your office. Even if you werent formally involved, working for a company that ends up embroiled in scandal isnt something you want on your resume. 5. Never Stay StillIm not good at being static. I have to be climbing a mountain. Michael Ovitz, former head of CAAThe rise of Creative Artists Agency is legendary (they rented chairs they worked on card tables partners wives took turns being the receptionist), as is the rise of Michael Ovitz, its de facto head. Ovitz became the undisputed most powerful man in Hollywood in the 90s, using the agencys star power to build leverage in other businesses. He orchestrated Matsushitas purchase of MCA and Sonys acquisition of Columbia. He got into business with Coca-Cola, having CAA work as its advertising agency, according to an interview with The New York Times. In other words, he wasnt satisfied with the status quo. Ovitz worked hard. He was prepared. He was aggressive. Diligent. Organized. Detailed. He saw a big picture and was a bigger thinker than I had ever thought an agent would be, said David Doc OConnor, managing partner at CAA. How can you think big in your own career? Once a week, book out an hour of your time and shut off the phone, email, and Twitter. Instead, imagine the big picture Where is your company going? Where is your industry going? What steps can you start taking now to position yourself for success in the future? What mountains might you like to climb? Its not easy to become a major player in Hollywood, but it is possible. And whatever industry youre hoping to make a name for yourself in, you can use the advice above to move up the ladder.Photo courtesy of Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.

Facebook Profiling Moves from Art to Science

Facebook Profiling Moves from Art to Science Facebook Profiling Moves from Art to Science Has Facebook unwittingly become a tool that can provide us with a valid psychometric assessment of a candidate?Not quite yet, but research conducted earlier this year by Professor Don Kluemper of Northern Illinois Universitys College of geschftlicher umgang (discussed in detail earlier on Recruiter.com), shows that in their trial at least that Facebook was a more reliable predictor of job performance than a psychometric test. So, still a bombshell, nonetheless.Their findings showed thatimpressions gleaned from a five to 10 minute perusal of Facebook pages were actually a stronger predictor of a candidates likelihood to excel in a job than the personality surveys that many companies require job candidates to complete.The Study in More DetailSo, how exactly did the study work? Each of the subjects of the study completed a personality questionnaire to assess five key traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness, extroversion, emotional stability and openness, and the subjects also granted three raters access to their Facebook profiles. Researchers than reviewed a subset of the subjects, who were employed six months later, and asked their supervisors to complete a performance evaluation. They then compared behauptung performance scores to the personality scores and found that the Facebook derived scores provided a more accurate predictor of job performance than the score which came from the personality self evaluation.This is elend yet the green light for Facebook profilingAlthough the results are compelling, I would urge some caution because while this study does possess academic rigor, it is isolated and has not yet been independently replicated as far as I am aware although I will happily stand corrected it anyone knows different.In addition, the study does not address or contend with any of the legal issues of using Facebook as a formal personality assessment tool.It is therefore not yet the green light for Facebook personality profiling in recruitment. Professor Kluemper has warned that it will need to be proved valid before it can be used as a legally defensible recruitment tool and that this research is just a first step in that direction.Should People Optimize Their Facebook Profile For Personality?Even though this study doesnt condone the use of Facebook for personality profiling, the reality is that many recruiters do use Facebook profiles. In fact, one survey by Reppler showed that 90% of recruiters were using Facebook profiles to screen candidates, while another by OPP reported a lower figure of 56%. Either way, since the Facebook profile is being unwittingly used as personality profiling tool, candidates should be aware of the top five things that their Facebook profile reveals about them these are as mentioned above conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, extroversion and openness to experience.As to whether candidates shou ld optimize their profile to suit these traits No, I dont recommend making an artificial representation of yourself to suit what you think recruiters are looking for, because this is in itself not good practice, as you may be accepted for a role that you are not suited for and could be unhappy as a result.By the same token, you dont want your profile to be misleading as it could make you appear unsuited for jobs that you actually are suited to, so Id suggest that you round out your Facebook profile (so it is not too polarized), so it shows the full range of what you do and who you are hopefully making it a truer representation of who you are.