Subject line: lunch or coffee?
Reply: why, yes, I’d love to meet you.
Agenda: informational interview!
Imagine receiving an email with the subject line: lunch or coffee?! Would you answer it? It’s likely you would open it, and that’s an important step in getting in front of someone new.
I want to whet your appetite for getting out and meeting people important to your job search.
An informational interview can be almost as simple as asking for a lunch or coffee meeting.
If you have been putting off writing an email to get the conversation started, start with a simple subject line. For someone you know slightly, it can be “lunch or coffee?” For someone you don’t know, consider: a short conversation? Let’s schedule a call, or Referred by (name)
I recently received an email from someone I don’t know well with the subject line: lunch or coffee?! I got it. She wanted to get together with me and she wanted to connect, have a bite, and hang out. Get to know each other. I know it sounds like a small thing but I realized that she was extending a gentle hand to spend time together. She was saying it clearly and simply. And, frankly, in that moment it was easy to say yes. I think it would have been easy to ignore the message if she had been long-winded or made things complicated.
Okay, so now you’ve got a simple subject line.
Next step: think about what’s on the menu, in addition to lunch.
- Connection, information, and insights are the food of an informational interview.
- Go with a taste for meeting someone new and learning about a new position or industry.
- Put curiosity and clear questions on your menu, so you know what you want to learn.
- Leads and referrals are the icing on the cake.
Everyone eats and drinks. There’s also a better than average chance the person you’re reaching out to would enjoy being a resource and communicating his/her wisdom. Most of us do!
Now, choose one person to start with as you venture into the world of informational interviews, write your subject line, and get ready for interesting, tasty conversation.