Maybe it’s been a few months since you’ve graduated and you’re getting anxious to land a job. Or maybe you’re further on in your career and looking to move into a new industry. In either case, there’s one major hitch: You’ve heard how helpful it can be to reach out to people outside of your network. But the idea of cold-emailing old contacts and people you don’t know at all seems awkward, uncomfortable, and–let’s be honest–pretty much hopeless.

It doesn’t have to be. In truth, contacting strangers for networking opportunities and, ultimately, job leads can actually pay off–just as long as you know what (and what not) to say. And since your goal is just to clinch an opportunity for an offline conversation, the emails you need to write are probably more straightforward–and effective–than you may think.

Your very first email should be the most thorough, but that doesn’t mean it should be long. Here’s a template you can adapt:

1. Keep it short—four paragraphs tops—and specific. The purpose of this email is to explain how you found them, why they caught your interest, and what you’d like to discuss with them, without overloading them with too much information.[/en]

1 .盡量簡短，最多四段，并且還得要具體。這封郵件的目的是為了解釋你是如何找到他們的，為什么他們能引起你的興趣，以及你想和他們談?wù)撌裁?，而不是給他們提供過多信息。

But to be clear, your reason for reaching out should be more than, “Can you help me land my dream job?” or, “Will you hire me?” Avoid any wording that sounds like you’re asking for a job interview.

2. Do your research and share what caught your attention. It could be something that inspires you, intrigues you, or motivates you about their career journey. By being explicit about what caught your eye, you’ll have greater chances of building mutually beneficial and genuine relationships with the right people–rather than firing off dozens of scattershot messages to the wrong ones.

3. Always close with a question. In the last paragraph, be sure to always make the ask. Ask to meet in person if you live in the same city, or suggest a phone call if that would be more convenient.

When asking for a meeting or phone call, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person to say yes without having to do too much thinking. Remember, this person is probably busy. The last thing you want is for them not to respond because you made them think twice about how easy it’ll be to fit you into their schedule. That’s why closing the email with the question, “Would it be possible for us to meet?” works, because they can easily reply, “Yes!”

Don’t worry about the specific time and location of the meeting just yet; you just want them to agree to talk with you first. Fingers crossed, once they do, you can then share times that work best for you.

If you reach that stage, congrats! The key here is not to overthink it. Once someone has offered?to meet up or chat, keep your second email limited strictly to pinning downlogistics. Resist the temptation to dig into any of the topics you’re planning to discuss face-to-face (that?will be?your chance to impress them, not right now). Try this:

Done! Leave it at that.

However, if you don’t receive a response in one to two weeks, don’t take it personally, and?don’t be afraid to follow up. Chances are the person may have gotten busy, or your email could’ve been?buried in their inbox. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed up with someone and received an immediate response. Here’s what to say:

Be sure to also include the previous email beneath?your follow-up email to make it easy for them to refer back to it in case they missed it the first time.

The scary part is drafting an email and pressing “send.” But when you know exactly what to say–and what to avoid–reaching out to people you don’t know becomes a whole lot easier.