Many of you have read Tim Ferris’ outstanding book, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.  If you haven’t - you should!  It’s one of the three most powerful books I read all of last year.  

If you’re at all familiar with his book, you’re probably wondering why in the world I’m even mentioning it in a blog geared towards job seekers.   Well, here’s why: Tim also runs a useful blog, and in a recent post he shares tips for emailing busy (read: important) people. This can be tremendously helpful in your job search, particularly with the large percentage of jobs being found through personal connections and connections of your personal connections.

Tim writes:
“Even after outsourcing my e-mail to a virtual assistant, there are still a few messages that come over the transom.

Since the success of the book, I’ve been able to see some of the worst e-mail pitches out there. Here is an example of how to do it properly, with 5 tips and good template phrases bolded:”

(see his blog post for the email example)

Now for the real value: his dissection of the email and explanation of why it’s far more likely to get a response than most of the email that clogs up the old inbox…

“Here are a few notes on this e-mail and what makes it more likely to get a response:

1. It’s short and what he’s requesting is clear. No “let’s jump on the phone for 10 minutes; it’ll be worth your time.”

2. He made an impression in our initial meeting, and he hasn’t irritated me with zero-content “keeping in touch” e-mails. He hasn’t worn out his inbox welcome.

3. He makes it clear that he’s doing his part and has explored other avenues before asking for my help. It’s amazing how many would-be mentees or beneficiaries ask busier people for answers Google could provide in 20 seconds. That puts you on the banned list. Explicitly state what you’ve done to get answers or help yourself.

4. He used the executive recruiter referral trick. Seldom will a headhunter call a gainfully employed CXO-level executive and ask them to take another position. They’ll instead ask the exec if they know anyone who might be interested in position X. The intention is clear (might you consider this job over your current employer?), but it gives the executive a comfortable decline option.

5. He makes it clear that it’s OK if I can’t help or if I’m too committed elsewhere. This — paradoxically — makes it much more likely he’ll get a response, which he did.

The above 5 tenets should be considered for any e-mail to someone who probably deletes more e-mail in a day than you read in a week. If they appear in media regularly, assume that you are competing against at least 100 similar requests.”

As a job seeker, or someone at any stage in their career, this information should be of tremendous use to you. For example, take point #3. As a job seeker, after a brief elevator pitch on your relevant background, you could mention how you’ve researched the company on Hoovers, read their annual report and the press releases they issued over the past 6 months (which are usually available on their company website and also on investor websites), and searched on LinkedIn for contacts and information.

Keep it short and simple, though, so that your well-prepared request doesn’t come across as an annoying imposition.

To your success,

David B. Wright
Author, Get A Job! Your Guide to Making Successful Career Moves
www.thegetajobbook.com

P.S. In case you’re curious, the other two most powerful books I read last year are The Think and Grow Rich Action Pack by Napoleon Hill (which I read regularly and repeatedly - I particularly like the Action Pack that includes the entire book plus an action manual), and The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont