How to follow up after a mentorship/networking event?

On October 10, 2020, we organised our first ever Flash mentorship session that brought together students and alumni across different years, countries and fields. Split into three sessions of 20-minutes each, the online session made best use of Zoom breakout rooms to emulate a speed-networking session in the span of 1.5 hours. With 28 people signing up and a 81% 5-star rating, the event received an overwhelmingly positive response.

A first-time experience for many

The natural queries that followed an adrenaline-pumped event like this are, “What do I do next? How do I follow-up with the people I met?”. So, we decided to put together the following points to help our students make use of, not just this event, but any high-paced networking event they might attend in the future.

• Speak to your peers: Make sure you look in your own backyard before you go exploring outside. Some of you have almost the same interest as another student in the JSPF community. You would either have already met them or got to know them through the session. Reach out to them and share knowledge. This will help you not only to build a rapport with your fellow students but also to refine your questions to the mentors whom you might have met together.
• Start off with a simple ‘Thank you’: If you are reaching out to the mentors of the session, send a message on LinkedIn / WhatsApp, thanking them for their time and conversation. It is better to include some specific details about your conversation as a nudge to remind them of who you are. Eg. “I enjoyed talking to you about the blockchain implementation at Goldman Sachs” etc.
  Remember, the earlier you do this after the event, the better the response rate usually is.
• State your requirement: Do you have some more specific questions you’d like to have answered? Do you want them to be your mentor? Do you want to continue your conversation over email? Do you prefer having a call? Propose your requirement courteously instead of non-time-bound statements like “I’d love to be in touch with you”.
• Give them at least a week to respond: Nothing is more off-putting in a professional relationship than to be barraged with hollow messages. Frame your initial message with thought and hold on to your patience.
• Be okay with amendments/rejections: Your mentor might not be able to provide you with everything you want. They often have their own constraints and limited resources. So, be okay with any changes proposed and try to find a middle ground. This will help you work with more creativity, effectiveness and empathy.

These are our recommendations — some tailored for the JSPF experience, but most applicable for any similar event. What are your top tips to keep in touch with folks you briefly meet in a professional setting? Let us know in the comments!