Thread by @theBuoyantMan

How many of you have cold messaged people on LinkedIn - for referrals, job offers, or information/research? Did you manage to get what you want?

My story: I have extensively used Linkedin to reach out to people, to ask them questions. I got two clients through Linkedin for freelancing projects.

When I was applying for Master's program, I messaged 4-5 people per university per program (totaling about 200+ people).

And out of the 200+ people I messaged, with no mutual connections at all, at least 60-70 replied, spoke, and helped out enthusiastically responding to any question I had. At least 20 of them were very sweet and very patient with everything.

Through cold messaging, I even managed to get a referral for a job. Back when I was researching hedge funds and HFT firms, I cold connected and messaged few quant researchers and HFT developers at Two Sigma, Jane Street, etc., in 2018 and they were kind enough to respond.

What we need to understand about cold messaging is, not everyone will respond. We need to maximize our message and our style of reaching out for opens and replies. If you message 100 people, and 10 of them respond and help you out, it beats the hell out of having no guidance.

This is how many messages I have had over the last 4 years. Both types - initiated by me as well as initiated by others. Reaching out via Linkedin, with an actionable message, and with specific questions is far more easier, especially if backed by a credible profile.

While Twitter is great for building in public, if you're a relatively private person, LinkedIn cold messaging still goes a long way. I first send a connection request with a customised message, with one actionable ask. Then if the person accepts, the conversation begins.

The connection request message would be like "Hi Chirag, I am applying for UChicago Math Finance masters, and I had some questions/concerns about the program. Thought I could get in touch with you for this. Can you please help me out with this?"

And, once the person accepts the request, I'd send a follow up message. "Hey, thanks for accepting the connection request. I know it's super random and odd, but I was searching for UC alum and found your profile relevant to talk to. Would this be a good time for a chat?"

If the person responds, I have a list of follow up questions ready to ask, and most people are super nice and ready to respond to these things. These are very small asks and don't take much time for people to respond to. Plus, these things give people a feeling of being helpful.

Kindling that feeling of generosity is why people respond usually to DMs from strangers, especially on Linkedin, since the purpose on LinkedIn is usually clear, especially with such specific asks. Once they do you a small favor they are more prone to help with bigger things too.

Like, there was this guy who helped answer some questions about Cabify and eventually he went on to refer me to the company and get me an offer (I eventually declined coz the pay was quite low for the lifestyle cost in Madrid).

You get the drift right? LinkedIn is a high value platform which when leveraged right, will lead to brilliant connections. While there won't be a personal touch, out of hundreds you'll reach out to, one or two will turn out to be friends/mentors which is a huge win.