What is a networking email?
A networking email is an email message you send to someone you would like to build a professional relationship with. People network for many reasons. They may be looking for sales leads, referral sources, new positions or potential candidates for jobs at their companies. Employers can also send networking emails to potential candidates for recruitment purposes.
What are the parts of a good networking email?
Before getting into some specific networking email examples, it’s a good idea to review the key parts of an effective email. Here they’re listed in order from the first to the last things the recipient reads.
Subject line
The subject line is the part of the email the recipient will see in their inbox. Whether they choose to open and read the email will depend almost entirely on how engaging the subject line is.
When crafting a subject line, say something that will attract attention, such as “Would love to see how I can help you” or “I’m blown away by your Indeed Resume .” Because mobile devices often display only a limited number of characters, keep the subject line short and to the point.
Greeting
The greeting is how you begin your email and should be personalized with the recipient’s name. “Hi [Name]” and “Dear [Name]” are the most common greetings. Choose one that fits your personality, and keep your corporate culture in mind. For example, if you work for a financial institution with a more formal workplace, “Dear” may be more appropriate.
Opening
The opening is one or two sentences that introduces yourself. Start with your name, who you work for and your job title. Then, say how you got their email address and why you’re writing to them. You’ll see examples of this in the networking email template section below.
Offer of assistance
In the next short paragraph, offer something to the recipient. When you’re networking with potential candidates for open positions, this section would be where you’d mention wanting to help them accomplish their career goals or explore new career opportunities.
Call to action
Wrap up the body of the email with a call to action, a specific step that the recipient can take to move the relationship forward. The call to action could be something like replying to the message to set a date for a meeting or calling you to have a discussion.
Conclusion
The conclusion is how you wrap things up and should include something like “Thanks,” “Sincerely” or “Looking forward to hearing from you” and then your name. As with greetings, conclusions should reflect your personality and your corporate culture.
Related: 5 Recruiting Email Templates for Your Next Hire
Networking email examples
Now that you know the basic parts of a networking email, you’re ready to explore some examples for various situations. Remember that each of these networking email examples can be tweaked and modified as you see fit.
Indeed Resume networking email template
Subject: Impressed by Your Indeed Resume — Let’s Chat
Dear [Recipient Name],
I’m [Your Name] from [Your Company]. After reviewing your resume on Indeed, I wanted to reach out to see how I might be able to help you with your job search.
Your background in [skill or work experience] makes you a great fit for many open positions at our company. Even if you’re not actively looking to make a move now, I’d love the opportunity to tell you more about us and find out more about your career goals.
Would you be open to meeting for coffee or a virtual chat next week? If so, reply with what day and time works for you, and we’ll go from there.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
After a job fair networking email template
Subject: Continuing Our Chat from the [Event Name] Job Fair
Hi [Recipient Name],
This is [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I really enjoyed meeting you today at the [Event Name] and am eager to hear more about your plans after graduation.
We are always looking for new graduates to join our growing team, and based on our conversation, you seem like you’d be a a great fit for [role]. I’d love to continue discussing your goals with you to learn more about how I can help.
How about we connect by phone next week? Let me know what time and day are best for you.
Looking forward to chatting more,
[Your Name]
Referral networking email template
Subject: [Referral Source’s Name] Thinks We Should Chat
Hello [Recipient Name],
I’m [Your Name] from [Your Company]. [Referral Source’s Name] told me that you’re looking to make a change and that you’d be a great addition to our team, so I wanted to reach out.
We’re currently expanding our team and adding a number of new positions in [team or department]. I’d like to learn more about your goals and interests to see how we can best put your skills and experience to use.
Reply with a convenient day and time next week so we can sit down and discuss opportunities. I’m open to a virtual chat as well!
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Tips for effective networking email messages
To make your networking email messages as effective as possible, follow these tips.
1. Contact the recipient promptly
When getting in touch with a referral or someone you previously met, contact them as soon as you can. You don’t even need to wait until the day after an event to send out a message. Contacting candidates promptly helps to ensure you’re still fresh in their minds, convey your sincere interest in building a relationship and, hopefully, beat out competitors who may also be trying to recruit them.
2. Know your recipient
To make a networking email personal, you need to know as much about the recipient as possible. Check out their social media profiles. Ask referral sources for a bit of background about the individual. When you meet people at events, discreetly jot down a few notes you can refer to when crafting your email.
3. Keep things brief
A great networking email can be read in one or two minutes. Keep yourmessage to three or four short paragraphs with no more than two to three sentences per paragraph, so the text is easy to read on-the-go.
4. Proofread before you send
Typos and grammatical errors can undermine your message. Read everything from the subject line to the conclusion twice before you hit send.
Related: Business Email Etiquette for Hiring Managers & Recruiters
Networking email FAQs
What is a warm vs. a cold networking email?
Warm and cold networking emails both reach out to contacts with offers to build relationships, but what leads up to each type differs. With a warm networking email, the recipient has met you already or shown interest in making a connection. An email sent to someone you met at a job fair, a referral from an employee or an individual you met at an event would be warm. A cold networking email goes to someone who has yet to meet you or show interest in your company. Contacting a person with an impressive social media profile is an example of sending a cold networking email.
How should I follow up after sending a networking email?
If you don’t receive a response after sending a networking email, there’s a chance the person read the message and wasn’t interested in replying. However, it’s also possible that the email ended up in their spam folder and was never seen. Since you can’t know which is the case, you may want to send one polite follow-up email. Use the same greeting you used previously and then include a short message that says something like “This is [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I’m sure your inbox fills quickly, so I’m resending this just in case.” Then, use a series of dashes to create a line break and paste your original message without the greeting.
