Nothing wrong with following-up. It helps us remember your name.

I'd do it two
more times max and then just move on to someone else
- Say this, "I understand that you are very busy and that these times may not
work for you. Please let me know and I will work around your schedule. I
appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak to me." Fact:
We love hearing how busy we are.
- Mention your background in your email.
- Be flexible, give large chunks of times that you're available
Dear Mr/Mrs X,
Hi, my name is ___________. I am currently a student at Berkeley City College. I
have a passion for the investment banking industry; more specifically the mergers
and acquisitions field, which I find absolutely fascinating. I am currently writing a
(paper and/or article and/or whatever fucking bullshit) and I was hoping I could
get your opinion on the (insert question regarding recent, hot M&A deal). I am
certain that you have a demanding schedule, but I would truly appreciate it if you
could weigh in.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best,
Dear Mr./Mrs. XXXXXXX (even if they graduated last year - always show respect)
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is XXXXXXX, a junior finance major
at XXXXX and have developed an interest in XXXXXXXX. I was wondering if you
had some time to speak on the phone within the next few weeks to discuss your
experiences in XXXXXXX and any suggestions you may have as I approach this
year's recruiting season. I have attached my resume for context and look forward
to speaking with you soon
Create an excel sheet / access table / word document and start writing down
every bank, consulting firm, investment firm you know of or wouldn't mind
working for. I wrote down most BB and MM banks since IBD was target. After your
list is complete, I went through my list and would type "School Name + Firm Name
+ LinkedIn" into google. Coming from a semi-target I would only get a handful or
so people, which was manageable. I would then change my college to my high
school in the search (or hometown, etc). I would open each person's page and
figure out if they were relevant to my job search and if we had any "small world"
type connections to talk about if we ever spoke. I kept track of everyone and
eventually had a list of 200 hundred people at 50 or so banks.
It's all about your competence, enthusiasm and desire to learn.
. I am sending an email to professionals to genuinely learn more about their
background and experiences at their bank. I may gain a new, unique perspective
from speaking with them and if I am lucky, I may have set the foundation for
making a new friend in the field who may help me later.

1) The key to a good sales person over the phone is someone who A) can
appeal to the person on the other end of the line in under 10 seconds
and B) asks the important questions that reveal 'the pain'.
'The Pain' is the reason you're calling these individuals. They have a pain and the
whole point of the sales process is to reveal this pain so you can 'fix' them with
your product. Good sales people have people 'bleeding all over the floor' within
minutes. Why? Because they ask pointed questions which lead them to the
source.
2) Being able to separate a 'feature' from a 'benefit' is key
People don't care about all the features your product offers. What they care about
is the benefits. 'Saves you money' 'Reduces your costs' 'Saves you time'. These
are all benefits. They can learn about all the features when they take the meeting.

1. Use e-mail templates.

Yes, a personalized e-mail is nice, but if you're cold e-mailing, it's about quantity
not quality. Most people will answer based on predisposition and timing NOT on
what your e-mail says.
2. Keep e-mails short.
You should absolutely never have more than 8 sentences. Preferably, your e-mails
should be five sentences or fewer. Just get to the point.
3. Keep your subject lines on topic.
If you're asking for an informational interview "informational interview Request" is
a perfectly legitimate e-mail subject. No need to be cute.
4. Default to calling the person.
Honestly, it's effort for the person you're interviewing to remember they need to
take a break from their work and talk to you. By calling the other person, you
increase the chances of the call actually happening. Obviously, occasionally,
they'll want to call you for various reasons (e.g. they're not sure exactly when
they'll be free) but usually you should call them.
5. Send specific times.
I know it seems like you're being flexible when you say "I'm free throughout the
evening" but it means that the other person has to make a more difficult decision.
If you ask "are you free at 7:00 pm" they can just check yes or no. If you say
you're free throughout the evening they have to decide what the best meeting
time is, how busy are they really etc.. It sounds dumb, but anything you can do to
make it easier for them.
6. Be the flexible one.
It's a huge turn-off for me when I feel like the other person is expecting me to
move my schedule around to make time for them. Doesn't happen very often but I
don't like it when it does.
7. Send a thank you e-mail.
I'll admit that I'm often guilty of not doing this, but it takes 10 seconds, and they'll
appreciate it. I rarely respond to thank-you's but I always remember them.
8. Follow up frequently.
Once every month or two is appropriate if you're recruiting within the next few
months. Whenever you have an update is fine otherwise. Remember that
following up shows interest. Also remember that you're not the only person
networking with a person so following up is helpful to differentiate yourself.
9. Don't wait to start.
In almost (note: I said almost) the best practice for networking is networking.
Don't wait for the perfect moment. Times always ticking and someone else is
making moves.
10. Show genuine interest.
My favorite conversations from both sides of the table have been when I've really
related to someone's story. Whether it's because we both did debate, worked for
the same tiny firm, or whatever. For example, this one guy loved the moves I was
making networking because he did the same and ultimately ended up being one
of my key mentors. Speaking of which...
11. Find mentors not contacts.
A long list of contacts is great. It will get you interviews. But once you land the

interviews you will need mentors to help you prepare and do mock interviews if
you're not from a target school (usually). I had three guys take me through
multiple mock interviews each and I was much more prepared for it.
12. You'll need more than one cold contact at each firm.
You're not the only person networking so talking to multiple people helps in two
ways. First it increases the chance that someone will refer you by simple math.
Second if I hear that you've talked to four other analysts in the class I'm much
more likely to take you seriously.
13. Always ask for more contacts.
It took me a while to get used to this but a simple "is there anyone else I should
talk to?" can help expand your network greatly. This is probably the most
important tip on here: I rarely see it and it helped my greatly.
Set your intention - Don't go because you "have to." Obligation means you'll
put in the minimum effort: watch the presentation, grab a few business cards, and
then write some meaningless follow up thank yous. Commit to being social and
outgoing or don't go at all. The point is to go make such an impression that the
hiring process becomes easier based on the connections you've made.
Pick the right event for you- Rising seniors and MBA students: You are about to
be bombarded with dozens of "official" company events, most of which will
culminate in the distribution of pamphlets dedicated to company branding. In my
experience, those events never resulted in meaningful or helpful connections.
On the other hand, mock interviews, resume reviews, and company-sponsored
happy hours all gave me a bit more space to meet people who wound up helping
me. Are those events going to be the best for you? Maybe. Maybe not. The point is
to keep track of the type of events that work for you. Does anything good come
out of official events, coffee talks, bar outings, charity events, job fairs? If so,
double down. Do more. If not, make them a lower priority.
Go early - If there is any sort of company presentation, it's a madhouse after. The
best you can hope for is to be one of 6 people standing in a circle waiting to say a
few words to the MD, who won't remember any of you. Go early and take
advantage of the fact that you're going to exercise social courage before everyone
else has worked up to it. You can get one on one with people who can help.
Get in a social mood by talking to everyone on your way to the event We've all walked into one of these rooms and immediately felt like an outsider.
Should you speak to someone...or just run to the bar? Should you walk up to that
VP...or just look busy on your phone?
Do yourself a favor: get yourself in a talkative mood by forcing yourself to say at
least a few words to whoever you encounter on your way to the event. This means
your doorman, the taxi driver, whoever you share the elevator with, anyone with a
pulse. Sociability is a muscle. Warm it up. This way you're less likely to hesitate
the moment you see someone who works at the company you're gunning for.
Be playful with people at the bottleneck - Whether it is a line on the way in
or a name tag station, crack jokes. Your goal is to start feeling more comfortable
around strangers and get out of the Please/Thank You/How Are You/I'm Fine
Conversation box.
INSIDE

As soon as you walk in, speak to someone (but don't get stuck) - This is
where most people lock up. Their mind races, they feel uncomfortable, and they
have no idea what to do with their hands (hence, the race to check email or grab
a drink). You need to get out of your head and into conversation. So immediately
upon entering take 30 seconds to say hello to anyone, whether they work at the
company, are recruiting, or are event staff. A simple, "Hey I've not met you yet.
I'm [your name]," is all it takes.
Be different by NOT leading with job stuff - Let's get this straight: your goal
is to make an impression that winds up giving you preferential treatment in the
resume shuffle and interview process. I can tell you from experience on both sides
of the table, that the way to make an impression is NOT by doing the same thing
as everyone else. That means, not leading with "So tell me about the a day in the
life at X Company." You'll watch their eyes roll back into their head as they shift
into autopilot.
Break the pattern. Connect with people first about anything other than work. Then
they'll be more likely to help you. A handful of starter topics:
The fact that they are likely alumni of your school
The fact that they probably have a red eye out and are going to be tired at work
The fact that they are probably very excited to respond to, "So tell me about a day
in the life..." a thousand times over the next hour (it's a joke...get it?)
Aim to meet people involved in the recruiting process - Now that you've
had one conversation and are feeling loose, it's time to look for the type of person
that can help you. At the official company events, this person tends to be in their
low 30's. They are an MD or an Associate or some mid-level employee with
managerial responsibilities. They will take at least one interview and have a
disproportionate say in who gets though. At smaller events like coffee
chats, resume reviews, andmock interviews, it is often whoever is hosting.
When you shift to work conversation - talk about things you actually care about When you come in with pre-prepared questions you cribbed off the internet, it
shows. People know from your voice tone, eye contact, and body language that
you don't really care about the "most challenging project they had." Answering
those ingratiating questions is just annoying.
Ask questions you actually care about. Whatever it is, the enthusiasm in your
voice will shine through. You can still prepare these types of questions in advance
- just really think through the types of things you genuinely want to know.
Sign off asking for explicit help - Before you walk away, make a genuine
request. Go big. Everyone else is emailing one extra question. Be different.
"Hey I know there are a ton of other people here you need to mingle with, but I
know you guys have a multi-step interview process and I really want to knock it
out of the park if it comes to that. Do you have 5-10 minutes to catch up on the
phone and talk about how you prepared and how I can best prepare?"