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Cold Outreach Guidelines

When it comes to your job search, meeting people to have discussions about companies and experiences is much more effective than sending your resume out into the abyss. Creating opportunities to meet those people is where cold outreach comes in. The technology industry is a relatively small community, and networking is key to becoming a part of that community.

When you reach out to someone in the industry, what is your purpose? Hint: it's not to ask for a job.

Suggested purposes:

  • Research conversations -- find out more about this person, what they do, what their company does, what they've done in their career prior to their current job, etc.
  • The process that a company uses for hiring junior developers and advice they might have (note: this is different from asking for a job!)
  • Request to tour their office and shadow them for an hour or two (this is best posited as a follow-up request after you've already made contact with them)

Most common purpose: Research Conversations -- what is the purpose of these conversations? How can you approach this? Here are some possible questions to ask

Now that you have an idea of why you'd reach out to someone, think about who you can reach out to.

How to Leverage Your Network

How can you leverage the network you already have?

  • Mentors: who does your mentor know who would be helpful to you?
  • Use your job tracking system: what companies are you researching? Who can you contact from those companies?
  • LinkedIn: who works at companies that you're interested in?

Put the COLD in Cold Outreach

When creating a completely new relationship, here are some tips:

  • Don't reach out to any Turing/gSchool/HA alumni
  • Try to avoid companies where alums are working
  • Reaching out to someone you've met but not worked with is OK
  • Where are alumni already working? Here is a quick list (but not exhaustive) of companies that you should skip:

8th Light, Active Network, AdHawk, Advantage Integrated, Agilion, Allstate, American Thrombosis and Hemotosis Network, Aurigae, Blue Apron, Bonobos, Brandfolder, CA Technologies, Captain U, CareZone, Cirro, Coders Workshop, Cognizant Quick Left, CustomInk, DHR.net, Democracy Works, Digital Ocean, DispatchHealth, Ello, Equal Opportunity Schools, FanDuel Inc, Gitlab, Glassbreakers, GoSpotCheck, Gramercy Tech, Granicus, Guild Education, Harry Fox Agency (aka SESAC/Rumblefish), Huron, Impekable, Influx Data, Inquicker, Inspirato, Instacart, Invoca, Kite, Muve Health, NextRequest, Optum, Oracle, Politech, Procore, Real Geeks, Rumblefish, Shopify, Splice, Stitch Fix, TEKSystems, Tack Mobile, Tendril, Trelora, United Health Group, Vermont Public Radio, Vulk Coop, Wazee Digital, WellMatch/Aetna, Welltok Inc, Western Union, Wombat Security, eGauge Systems, iCentris, iTrellis

Do Some Research

What do you know about the person you're contacting?

Find out where their interests lie. Read their Medium blog posts, sign up for their newsletters, and check out their websites. Some other resources:

You need to understand your contact's goals as much as you want them to know yours.

Finding Contact Info

Here are some tools that you can utilize to find contact info for people you'd like to reach out to:

Crafting your Email

Develop a template to use. This will help you stay on script and get to the point.

  1. Use the subject line:

    • Short and real - lose the sales pitch
    • Relevant and personal
    • Consider how the snippet extends the subject line

    "Life at [amazing company]" OR "Would like to connect" OR "Quick Question"

  2. Greeting (simple, not overly formal). Make sure to spell their name right:

    Hello [Name],

  3. Body:

    Who am I? How did I find you? What do I want?

    I'm a software developer in Denver about to graduate from the [Name of program] at Turing School of Software & Design. I found your contact info after researching [specific thing] in [location you want to work]. I'm interested in learning more about the work going on at [Company Name] and [a broader topic of interest you both have in common] in general.

    What interesting experience do I have that might make me worth meeting?

    Before Turing, I [did this thing that relates to the work you do OR I have this passion that relates to something you're interested in from my research].

    Call to action

    Could we grab coffee or schedule a phone call this week? How does this Wednesday at 4pm sound?

  4. Closing (keep it simple):

    Thanks,

    [Your Name & contact info. Include your personal site if applicable]

Because you've researched your contact, you'll know if there are certain things you may have in common, such as:

  • Fellow Bootcamp grad -- mention that you'd like to learn more about their transition from bootcamp to the tech industry
  • Consider timing based on your research -- have they recently launched a new product? You could tie your message to events or activities that are top of mind to the recipient
  • Connections -- even if you don’t know someone in common you may have some other connection, like a school or other organization

For more on the effectiveness of outreach and follow up, check out 1606-BE alum Jesse Spevack's blog post on his job search experience

What NOT to do

  • Use an overly formal tone
  • Write a lengthy email (less is more, longer emails won't be read)
  • Spell their name or company name wrong (double check this)
  • Writing a generic email (make sure to tailor it accordingly)

How to Practice This

Spend 10 minutes drafting an email to the person you've been researching. Be sure to include:

  • Subject line
  • Connection
  • Call to action with a specific date and time -- Suggest a few dates and times for the this week and the following; ask for 30 minutes to an hour. Offer a video hang-out as an option.

Pair & Share: In your peer group, spend 10 minutes giving and receiving positive feedback and suggestions for improvement. Read your email aloud and your group should give:

  • 1 specific piece of appreciative feedback
  • 1 constructive recommendation for improvement

Reminder of guidelines for feedback conversations. Be specific, actionable, and kind! Here are examples:

  • “I really like the way you circled back to the company mission!”
  • “Your subject line does a great job of capturing the reader's attention!”
  • “The personal connection about snowboarding was really clear!”
  • "I wasn't quite sure what your connection was. Try out a few different phrases to get more specific."
  • "I didn't hear a call to action. Provide a date and time to meet to make it easy for someone to respond."

“Good job buddy!” is NOT constructive feedback

Follow Up

What if they don't respond? If you don't receive a response, don't assume that means the conversation is dead. During busy weeks, emails can get lost. Send a follow-up email to say that you're still interested in meeting and suggest a new date/time. If you don't receive a response after that, move on to another contact.

If you receive a response saying they're too busy to meet that week or something similar, ask for a better time, and set up a meeting accordingly. Persistence pays off, and you're making it clear that meeting them is important to you.

YOU should respond to emails as quickly as possible so that you can keep the conversation momentum going.

What if they do respond? Use the meeting to build a relationship.

Do:

  • Ask questions -- ask about experience, projects, what their company does, where they’d work next, what they’d change about their current role/team, advice for getting started in the industry as a new developer
  • Make eye contact
  • Have your story ready to share
  • Bring pen + paper, leave computer closed
  • Be on-time (preferably early) when you meet
  • Offer to buy coffee -- they may buy the coffee themselves, but the offer is a nice touch
  • Afterwards, send a thank you message the same day; Very few people do this, but it means a lot even if it’s really simple

Don't:

  • Ask for a job
  • Talk about yourself too much