Chris Villanueva 00:52
Alright, the first thing I will tell you in this message is just do it. Just get right to it. Get the action, jump into the deep end of the pool and feel yourself, get uncomfortable in the beginning. And this is my call to action for you today to start messaging and reaching out to folks who can make a difference. Don’t just apply to online to where the stakes are very low. You’re just going to get a rejection or you’re going to get an acceptance. I want you to go deeper than that and start reaching out to actual people who can introduce a whole new level of creativity into your job search here. What I’ve noticed in doing this in my own life is, yeah, you’ll feel awkward that first few messages or so, you’ll probably question yourself like, is this stupid? But after that, you’ll learn so much from reaching out to folks who are either within your network or folks who you were looking to network with, people who might be outside of that personal network.

Chris Villanueva 01:56 
You’re going to hit send, and as the fear begins to fade, even if you don’t get a reply, you’ve taken action and your job search will become better here. So my just doit message today is don’t wait till that message is perfect. Don’t talk yourself out of it. Don’t wait for the perfect message. Even though I’m going to tell you exactly at the end of this episode what to say. Just start hitting send and letting it be imperfect network. Now, okay, the second tip I will tell you here is you’re going to want to start warm as much as possible. This is where you’re going to get the most efficiency, the most bang for your buck. So go warm if you can. And some people I know listening to this episode are blessed with really solid network of family, friends, coworkers, past coworkers, classmates just talked to a CEO of a company who got a really great job because of his network.

Chris Villanueva 02:50 
But I will tell you as much as possible start with those second degree connections folks who are alumni or people you have commonality with because this warmer outreaches are going to have a better response rate and people are going to be able to move you along quicker towards introductions that will get you that job through going warm. So according to Job vi, 40% of hires come from employee referrals, even though they make up only 7% of applicants that is disproportional in a good way and speaks to warm outreach, LinkedIn reports that you are four times more likely to get a response from somebody within your network compared to a cold connection. And I think about all of the folks who I have watered those plants over the years in my metaphorical networking garden. The folks who I’ve kept in touch with, almost all of them have been willing to help me out in some way when I’ve come to them for help versus just being a rando.

Chris Villanueva 03:49 
I’ll tell you what to do if you’re just a rando because that’s possible, but truly I encourage you. You know somebody, you know people in your phone contacts, people in your email, LinkedIn, you know somebody who’s going to be the ticket to that next step in your career. So go find them. Alright, so let’s talk about what to say. Cold, warm, warm makes it a little bit easier, but I’ll talk about a template. First of all, you want to keep it short. I’m thinking of the people who are busy and they’re going to misinterpret your message anyway. Keeping it short will allow them to process it more quickly and don’t straight up ask for a job. This is a mistake because people are going to be overwhelmed by the task of finding you a job. Ask for insight, be authentic there because insight could eventually lead to you landing that job anyway.

Chris Villanueva 04:41 
So start with insight. Don’t go too heavy in the beginning and be clear about why you’re reaching out. Give some context here. This is a pet peeve of probably most people on LinkedIn, I would say by this time, but I was one of the first people to call it out. The people who will send you a connection request and say, Hey, just looking to expand my network and I thought you’d be a great fit. And then you add them and then they sell you some e-learning course on LinkedIn. Don’t be that guy. The thing about that is those people are immediately turning around and asking for a sale or asking for something. If you’re a job seeker, asking for a job is kind of like asking for the sale. What I do recommend is putting in some time in the networking. Again, if you’re warm, you’ve already done some of that work, but making sure to be upfront about your intention looking for a job yet at the same time, don’t just ask for the job at first.

Chris Villanueva 05:41
And I know that’s tricky, so what I want you to say is this, hi so-and-so. I hope you don’t mind me reaching out directly. I’ve been exploring opportunities at say whatever company that they’re working for that you’re interested in. We’ll say HubSpot in this example, in your recent post about whatever topic resonated with me, I’m looking to apply for a position as a software engineer or I’m looking to move into XY field and I want to learn more about the culture and the experience on the team. If you’re open to a quick 10 minute chat sometime this week, I’d really appreciate the chance to hear your perspective, especially as I work to tailor my application. This message is way more likely to get something than just asking if they have a job opportunity. So be tactful, be clear, be upfront, and you might get some nos or rejections.

Chris Villanueva 06:34
But if you keep doing this, this is going to help increase your chances of leading to a job. I’ll give you a few more tips on warming it up, and this is from personal experience and before you send a LinkedIn request to somebody who you may not know or they may not know you try to engage with them within the comment section. So don’t just say Great post or I love that, but try to respond to something that they said with some insight that you bring to the table. If you can get an engagement out of them, which I would say you probably will after doing this a few times after you get some engagement, then send them a LinkedIn connection request and then possibly explore the conversation further with that reach out that I just gave you. This is going to make sure that they accept your request and they’re not going to see you as a rando because they’re engaging with you.

Chris Villanueva 07:26
The other reason this is beneficial is because you’ll weed out the people who are not active and engaged on LinkedIn in the first place. They’re commenting actively, so they’re probably going to respond or at least see your LinkedIn connection request. So again, be clear about why you’re reaching out. In this example I said I’m planning to apply for a software engineering job there and wanted to learn more about the culture and don’t ask for the job in the beginning. I should say this could eventually lead to you getting the job because maybe they know somebody who can help them. Maybe they’d be willing to recommend you to somebody who could further the application or give you even better insight. A question that you should not feel shy to ask in the very end of the conversation, especially if it went well is thank you so, so much for this.

Chris Villanueva 08:14
Is there anyone that you might know that might be able to who I should speak with? Do you know anybody who I should speak with? And that’s something that I have seen lead to jobs before in the past. So again, if this sounds like a lot of work, it probably is because if you’re going out there and just sending your application just blindly and just praying and hoping that it’s going to lead to a job application or you think that one cold reach out or email is going to lead directly to the job, then you’re mistaken here. This is a little bit of work here, but it’s going to be worth it for you because it eventually will lead to that position here and you’re going to be more efficient with your time as well. It’s going to save you the heartache of tons of ghosting and rejections and you’ll get insight to say the least.

Chris Villanueva 09:00
So let me know what you thought about this episode. I’d love it if you can post it on LinkedIn and tag me. Plus, were there things also that have helped you and your own career and your job search journey? I would love to hear about that. So thank you so much for tuning in. My name is Chris Villanueva, and a freebie is you go to our website and submit your resume for a free resume critique. I’d love it if you can do that and one of our professionals will look over it for free and give you some quick actionable tips. No bs. Thank you so much. Have an amazing rest of your week. Bye-bye.

Chris Villanueva 09:32 
Career Warrior Podcast. And before you go, remember if you’re not seeing the results you want in your job search, our highly trained team of professional resume writers here at, Let’s Eat, Grandma can help head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ to get a free resume critique and $70 off any one of our resume writing packages. We talk all the time on the show about the importance of being targeted in your job search and with our unique writing process and focus on individual attention, you’ll get a resume cover letter and LinkedIn profile that are highly customized and tailored to your goals to help you get hired faster. Again, head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ Thanks, and I’ll see you next time.