Jesus that was exhausting, wasn’t it? But YOU MADE IT.

It’s not as easy as it sounds!

• You went to the Event/ Party/ Industry Night
• You talked to People
• You grabbed contact information

But now what? How do you bridge the gap between casual meeting and business contact? The last part can be the most tenuous, but also the most rewarding!

This secondary phase contact depends greatly on several factors

• The context in which you met
• The context in which you exchanged information
• The difference in your professional status’s
• Contextual Needs

Context in which you met:

• Did you meet at a Party? A wrap party? A swanky professional conference?
• Did you talk professionally or about only topics directly related to your work or the field in general, or, was your meeting more relaxed and talked about a variety of topics?

Context of exchanging your information:

• Did you exchange your information because that was what was happening all around you (everyone passing out lots of cards)? Or did you exchange based on mutual interest?
• Who offered to exchange first?

Professional status:

• Is this person at the same level as you? Or do they have considerably more or less experience?
• Are you in directly related fields, or peripherally related?

Contextual needs:
–  Do the two of you have positions that can mutually benefit each other.

What to do:
– Wait for 18-48 hours before writing.
-If they offered a preferred form of contact, use that  (Facebook, email, etc)

DO:
-Personalize your contact with thoughtful details (Ex:
(Ex: Hello (Name) is was so nice to meet you last (weekday/weekend) at (Event Name). I really enjoyed our conversation about (Topic) and (Insert comment on topic). It would be great to  (Bump into you again/ grab a coffee sometime to talk more about (insert topic) I‘d be happy to buy you a coffee sometime and hear more about (Industry Item)/ etc).
– If you have the ability to talk about something other than the industry, include that too!
-Spell check.

DON’T:
-Directly ask for a job, favor or professional courtesy (UNLESS they specifically told you they were looking to hire/asked you to send in your resume/offered to do favor for you in person)
-Use more than one mode of contact (email them AND text them AND add them to facebook. Do this gradually)
-Make off color humor (even if you were raunchy-humored in person, it may translate poorly through text)
-Panic if you don’t hear back. Deep breath. They may honestly be busy, they may remember you next time you bump into each other!