How to Ask a Connection for Another Referral

🚀 This is how I landed interviews at LinkedIn and The New York Times with referrals from my secondary network I saw open roles at LinkedIn and The New York Times (NYT), but didn’t know anyone directly working in those teams. What most people do: 💬 Send cold DMs asking for referrals directly. But I took a different approach—I reached out to people I already knew and asked if they knew anyone in those companies or teams. 🔗 New York Times: When I saw an opening at NYT, I reached out to my ex-manager at The Washington Post. Since she had worked with people at NYT, there was a high chance she knew someone. She did. She connected me with them and sent a stellar intro message. I got a referral from her network, which led to an interview. 🔗 LinkedIn: I found a role at LinkedIn in a team I had no connections with. Instead of cold DMing, I reached out to a VP I had built a strong relationship with. He knew the hiring manager and put in a good word for me. The result? I got an interview! 💡 In 2024, I learned you can leverage your secondary network to get amazing opportunities. But remember—only ask for this kind of favor if you’ve built a strong relationship and the person can vouch for your work. Next time you see an open role and don’t know anyone at the company, ask your connections if they know someone there. Don’t just ask for a referral—ask if they can introduce you to the right person. #career #network #tips #jobsearch #earlycareer #students

The proper way to ask for referrals is the way where you do 95% of the work for the person you're asking to go to bat for you. Here's an example - with scripting - that's worked for me since the Nixon administration: Step 1 - Ask for permission: "Hey Keith! Noticed on the ol' LinkedIn that you were connected to Dan Wardle over at Noibu. Do you happen to know him well? Taking a look at his company, I'm confident we'd be able to add as much value to his team as we have been to Bullhorn over the past few years. If I wrote a separate email that includes a bit of context as to why I'd like to meet him, would you feel comfortable forwarding it along to him and seeing if he's open to an introduction? That way, if he's not interested, he can decline to take the intro, and you haven't really used any social capital on your end. All you did is forward along something from me. 🙂 What do you think?" Once Keith agrees to make himself useful, comes the next step... Step 2 - Writing a forwardable "opt-in" email: SUB: Intro to Dan at Noibu? "Hey Keith - how'd the month end up for your team? Noticed you're connected to Dan on LinkedIn - do you happen to know him well enough to feel comfortable making an introduction? I saw they added some BDRs and AEs to the team over the past few months. Given how much your GTM team has been engaged with and loved Sales Assembly over the past few years, I was hoping he'd be interested exploring how we could possibly be supportive to him and his team as well! If he's not interested in that, I'd still invite him to join our monthly Executive Revenue Leader Peer Group, so that he can jam with a room full of 30-50 of his VP and C-level peers every month.  We'd love to have him there as our guest. If you don't know him that well or just aren't comfortable, all good. Just figured I'd float this by you. Thanks!" What happens next? Keith forwards that to Dan. Now, is it possible that when he forwards that to Dan, he simply says "See below - interested?" Sure, I guess so. What's more likely? He forwards that to Dan and says: "Hey Dan, see below. Not sure if you've heard of Sales Assembly, but they've been an amazing partner to us at Bullhorn over the past few years. No obligation to take the intro, of course, but I think at the very least it would be worth connecting with Matt." Back to the original point about doing 95% of the work for your advocate, what did I ask Keith to do? Nothing. Just click forward on an email. I didn't ask him who he knows that might be interested. I did the work for him. I didn't ask him to look through his connections. I did the work for him. I didn't even ask him to endorse us. I just presumed he would anyway. And they usually do. This works when you're trying to meet prospects. This works when you're trying to get a new job. Do 95% of the work. Ask your advocates to simply slick FWD. Make it easy for people to refer you, and they'll refer you.

If you’re job searching and found someone in your network connected to your dream company, you can ask for an introduction without making it weird for them (or for you). Last week on The Pivot hosted by John Jacobs, MBA, Catherine Radachi Chumley, Dr. Nigel Paine and I discussed tips for those who were recently laid off. This is my favorite tip for my close contacts, who want an introduction to someone in my network. 👉 Send the person you know well a formal sounding email that reads "Hi [Name of Close Contact], I saw you're connected to [The Connection's Name] at [Company Name]. I’m really interested in the [Role Title] I saw on their website. Here is why I believe I am a great fit for this position [Reasons]. My resume is attached. Would you be open to sharing my resume with [The Connection's Name]." 👉 Make it easy to forward your information. With everything in one email. (your background, the position of interest, why you’re a fit, resume, etc.). It is easy to share with a click. They just need to add some nice words about you, how you know each other, etc. When it is easy to forward and share, it only takes a few seconds to help. If I know someone well enough to say nice words, I am happy to do so (and enjoy a nice helper's high for a bit). It is a win-win (and doesn't feel weird). #jobsearch #networking #careerstrategy #careertransition #jobhunt #jobsearch