Vocations · Career Resources

Networking is a short message
and a small ask.

Networking does not mean collecting contacts or asking strangers for jobs. It means short conversations with people who know something you want to learn, and keeping in touch afterward. Keep a record for each person: how you are connected, what you are asking, the message and the reply. The guide flags long messages, cold referral asks and follow-ups that are due.

Add a contactWhat you get

People to reach

The worked example is made up: a career changer’s message to an alum that led to a call, a 124-word cold ask for a referral and a former manager who has not replied in ten days. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Career ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per person contacted: who, where they work, how you are connected, what you are asking, the first message, the date sent, the reply and four habits. Works out days since the message and its length in words; counts yeses and follow-ups due; flags cold referral asks, messages over 120 words, no reply after a week and missing thank-yous.
Who it is for
Students, recent graduates, career changers and anyone new to networking.
Format
Browser guide with a saved record per contact. Prints one contact with the message, every contact in a table or a blank contact sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Career Resources space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Start with people you are already connected to.
  2. Ask for advice, not a job.
  3. Keep the first message under 100 words.
  4. Thank them within a day.
  5. Follow up once, then tell them how it went.

Add a contact

A message that gets answered

A first message that gets answeredPartExampleHow you found themFound you through our alumni group.Who you are, brieflyMoving from retail into data.One small ask20 minutes in the next few weeks?An easy outThank you either way.A first message that gets answeredHow you found themExample: Found you through our alumni group.Who you are, brieflyExample: Moving from retail into data.One small askExample: 20 minutes in the next few weeks?An easy outExample: Thank you either way.
Four sentences is enough. A short message with one small ask is easier to say yes to than a long one with a big ask.

Weak ties

Research on job searching has long found that people often hear about jobs through acquaintances rather than close friends: former coworkers, classmates, friends of friends. They know different people and hear about different openings, which is why the alum and the old manager are worth writing to.

Advice first

A referral puts the other person’s name behind yours, so people give them to those whose work they know. A 20-minute conversation is the step before: it is easy to say yes to, and it is how a stranger becomes someone who knows your work.

Sources

  1. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6).
  2. Rajkumar, K., Saint-Jacques, G., Bojinov, I., Brynjolfsson, E. and Aral, S. (2022). A causal test of the strength of weak ties. Science, 377(6612).
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Networking and informational interviews (careeronestop.org).
  4. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Networking guidance for students (naceweb.org).

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.