The Post-Networking Sample Letter

By the Monster Career Coach

Networking is an excellent way of expanding your circle of contacts. The people you meet during your networking activities may know of work opportunities or have career insights that help move you forward.

New contacts who take the time to meet with you or speak to you by phone tend to be busy, especially if they are currently employed. So it makes sense to thank each new networking contact that you make for giving you information, advice or referrals.

Preparing the Message

The simplest way to acknowledge someone for networking with you is to send them a brief, appreciative e-mail. Tell them that you really learned a lot from them. If they have given you additional contact names or suggested that you undertake tasks to move your career ahead, let them know how and when you intend to follow-up on their suggestions. This way the networking contact is made to feel that their time spent with you was genuinely worthwhile.

Then draft an e-mail using the following template as a guide, if you find it helpful:

To: (insert the e-mail address of the person you networked with here)
Subject: Thank You For Your Assistance
Dear (insert the name of your networking contact here),

It was a genuine pleasure to meet with you last Thursday to talk about the sporting goods industry. Your insights were extremely valuable and I appreciate the time you spent talking with me.

You mentioned that I should consider contacting with Ibrahim Mustafa at Varsity Sports. I would like to let you know that I have had a chance to get in touch with Ibrahim, and he and I will be meeting next week. I will let you know how our session turns out.

Meanwhile, kindly keep me in mind if any opportunities arise or if there are any other contacts you believe would be beneficial for me to meet with. I am very interested in securing employment as a sporting goods salesperson.

Thanks for all that you have done for me, Renee. Best of luck for now.
Sincerely,
(your name here)

Staying In Touch

Once you have made a new contact like the one above, add them to your list of other networking people who’ve assisted you. If possible you will want to stay in touch from time to time with the more important people on your list. You can return the favour they have paid you by trying to provide them with the following:

• Names of people you come across who your contact might find it interesting to network with themselves

• News, articles or other relevant information your contact may find useful

For the most important contacts on your list, consider sending the “thank you” note as an actual card, rather than using e-mail. Your contact may end up displaying your thoughtful card where they work, which means you get to be remembered for longer.