Yes, I want to help you get hired!

How to effectively (and considerately) leverage your network in your job/internship search

In my 6+ years working in early-stage tech, I have had the privilege of working alongside some really wonderful people at various startups and VC firms in NYC and Boston.

And as a recent university graduate (shout out to NYU Class of ’14!), it is not uncommon to receive emails from university students looking to break into tech and to connect with those aforementioned people. Props to them — I oftentimes wish I had been more ballsy in my ‘asks’ throughout college.

However, I often find that these requests are vague and undefined — leaving me to do a lot of the legwork for said student. The worst offense is an ask that reads something like this:

Hey Kim — do you mind if we grab a coffee so I can pick your brain? I’m vaguely into ‘tech’ and ‘startups’ (read: I occasionally tweet TechCrunch articles), but haven’t done any research into various companies, industries, stages, roles, or sectors I’m particularly interested in pursuing.

It would be really great if you could introduce me to some people ‘in the scene.’ Here’s a three-page résumé with little-to-no useful information like hey, I was the captain of my swim team in high school! Oh ps. I don’t have a Twitter, LinkedIn, website, or any other useful online resource to give employers a quick feel for me.

I genuinely want to help, but with limited free time, requests like the above become time-consuming (and a bit frustrating, to be honest) for me to wade through.

So help us help you! If you are entering anyone’s inbox with an ask around helping you start your career, here are some tips (and examples in italics on how to best execute that).

(PS. All snarkiness aside, I myself have 100% failed to do all of the following at some point in my professional life. I wish someone told me earlier how to avoid these mistakes! We’ve all been there ☺)

Provide context for the ask.

Please don’t blindside whomever you’re reaching out to — people in this position are frequently meeting strangers everyday and it is easy to slip on a name or a face. Give some background on how you met and the gist of your interaction.

Hey Ali — we met briefly after your talk at Cornell’s entrepreneurship club, I really appreciate your useful insight into how to start a company as a student! You so graciously offered to connect me to some startup folks in NYC.

Get specific.

While it’s great that you are ‘into’ early-stage tech startups, that is still an incredibly large net to throw. Drive down into exactly what you’re looking for, in terms of:

• sector: finance, e-commerce, gaming, etc.
• size/stage: seed stage, less than 50 people, etc.
• role: business development, UX/UI, back-end development, etc.
• location: NYC, SF, Boston, London, etc.
• experience: mentorship-driven, first-of-your-kind in the department, etc.
• compensation: paid, college credit, unpaid, stipend, etc.
• time commitment: full-time summer internship, part-time, 30 hours/week, etc.

Want to go the extra mile? Rank these factors in term of importance to you.

Hey Emma — I’m looking to join a finance or adtech startup in NYC, preferably a team smaller than 5. I would like to be the first non-technical hire, as I really want to learn by doing, instead of following a blueprint. That sort of autonomy is the most important to me. I can accept college credit, and can commit no more than 20 hours a week.

Keep it short and simple.

There’s really no need to burden this person with the intricacies of your specific situation. While there may be extra details to consider (you’re a student athlete who trains in the morning, you’re an international student with visa restrictions, etc.), do not include that in your initial email ask.

Those details will create mental blocks, and will lessen their chances of making an intro if they feel like there is the slightest chance you won’t be pursuing an opportunity 150%. They won’t want to waste their social capital on someone who may or may not come through.

Leave out those intricacies and run with all of your introductions to the very end. Should an internship offer arise at the end of these conversations (dope!!), chances are that the employer likes you enough to work around those schedule concerns.

Hey Lexi — Appreciate the offer for the introductions to your colleagues at Hired! Just an FYI, I run track in the winter (so there may be some scheduling issues), but I’ll work that out with them down the road.

Do your research — into backgrounds AND networks.

Before you burden someone with an ask, do all the research to make that request as easy as possible. You want to essentially lower all of the barriers for that person to help you. While it’s great that you know their previous employers, go a step further and point out the 2–3 people you’d like to be introduced to. By getting a better feel for the person, you can better tailor your ask to their background, skillset, or network.

Hey Mike — saw that you’ve been working at various SaaS companies for the past 5 years. I’d love to pursue an internship in enterprise sales, and saw that you’re connected to Mark of Hubspot on LinkedIn and went to the same university as Duncan of Qstream — do you feel comfortable introducing me to them?

Build your online street cred.

Tech startups are starting to care less about CVs and more about your online presence. There’s much less of an emphasis on opening an attached résumé, and more on the three quick clicks to learn about what you’re reading, what you’re blogging about, and what projects you’ve been working on.

The best way to display that quickly and effectively is through various online hubs. At the very minimum, you should have a Twitter handle, a LinkedIn profile, and some sort of website (perhaps a quick about.me, a Tumblr, or flavors.me). There are plenty of resources on how to optimize social media for your job search.

Additionally, send along any links specific to the role. If you’re applying for a design internship, shoot over some Dribbble screenshots. If you’re gunning for a front-end development position, include your GitHub handle. Showing that you are well-versed in the platforms/tools of the trade is impressive.

This may all seem intimidating at first (particularly if you’re not a very public sort of person), but it is worth it to start building these profiles early. Your interests, work, and opinions will give potential employers a more well-rounded view of you beyond your résumé. Find 1–2 online mediums that are a fit and start investing your time there — it will pay off in dividends.

Hey Sophia — the best way to learn more about me is through my Twitter, LinkedIn, and website. I also blog about community, technology, and startups here. You can also check out one of my side projects here.

Don’t make logistics the barrier.

Do not allow a warm conversation to fall to the wayside because of logistical difficulties. The quickest thing that can kill someone’s enthusiasm to help you is email back-and-forth that weighs down their inbox. If you are asking to meet in-person over coffee, send three times/dates that you are available. If you are asking for an introduction to someone else, send a fresh, ‘forward-able’ email with your information (separate from the original email chain) that they can easily forward to a contact.

Once a meeting time is confirmed, always send a calendar invite (no longer than 30 minutes, unless specified) with the location venue filled out and your mobile number in the description. It is the little details that show how thoughtful and thorough you are.

Try to pay it forward.

Be aware that, at the end of the day, this is a substantial ask. You are asking someone to take a solid 15–30 minutes out of their day to read through, think about, and introduce to their trusted friends and professional contacts a stranger that they’ve probably chatted with for no more than 10 minutes.

Assuage a bit of that skepticism by trying to provide some value to show your appreciation . Give feedback on their latest blog post, share a job listing from their company, or offer to make an introduction in return — something to make that person think, “Hey, this isn’t just an opportunistic, one-way grab. This is a proper two-way relationship.”

Hey Peter — thanks for all of your help on this, it’s much appreciated. Saw that your firm is organizing a hackathon next month, so I shared it with my university’s computer science department listserv. Hope that helps drive some more attendance!

Let me just reinforce that it is AWESOME that you’re already being so proactive about reaching out to your network and trying to land a sweet startup gig. It’s that sort of grind that will eventually pay off in spades.

Accelerate those relationships and avoid some professional etiquette downfalls by being self-aware and employing a mindful strategy. That starts with the initial email ‘ask.’

This post was inspired by Felicia Sullivan’s recent post about professional etiquette. Read it over for excellent general, non-internship-related advice.

Help us help you in finding you your dream internship! If you’re a student in Dublin/London looking for a startup gig, the Frontline Ventures portfolio is always hiring: learn more and get in touch.