A reminder to new grads and job seekers that people still want to help (if you let them).

I had a friend who recently graduated ask me for advice on how to network and get his foot in the door to a few companies he was interested in.

I responded pretty simply, “Why don’t you try connecting with them on Linkedin or sending a cold email?”

“Oh… I don’t know,” they responded. “What if they don’t respond? What if they can’t help me? I wouldn’t want to waste their time!”

What if…what if.

It’s been interesting to see how common a response this has been every time I give this piece of advice. There’s something fearful about the unknown, feeling rejected, and maybe even having to talk with a stranger if they do respond.

There’s a bit of faith required when sending a message to someone who has absolutely no obligations to respond and help out, other than the goodness of their hearts or for me because I want to pay it forward.

My response to their response is always the same: Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

When I was close to graduating from undergrad, I knew I had to find a way to compete to make it in this crazy new graduate job hunting world. I had a very unflattering GPA and didn’t have shiny internships like my friends who found their way into consulting, taxing, and other Fortune 100 companies.

I had two things though which would go on to make a monumental impact over the next decade in my job as a recruiter and as a person in general.

First, I had a timeless truth my dad used to tell me growing up, “It’s not always about what you know but WHO you know.” (In retrospect, I wonder if he suspected something with my IQ vs my EQ…planting seeds..hmm).

And second, I discovered the power of Linkedin.

Back in 2013, Linkedin was already gaining a lot of traction. Nearly everyone had a profile which was mind-blowing to me. People like Conan O’Brien (we’re 1st connections and yes I know he doesn’t use it!), my professor, past intern advisors, and many other millions of professionals with backgrounds that were 100,000x more prestigious than mine.

I thought, “Wow, if I had a way to connect with anyone in the world, what possibilities could that lead to?”

So, email by email, message by message I began reaching out to people who had jobs I thought was intriguing. People who were at dreamy companies with even dreamier perks. Of course, it was a little hurtful at first when the lack of responses came in but over time, I kinda just got used to it. More importantly, when people DID respond it was the most magical feeling in the world that kept pushing me forward.

Alright, cute story but what’s your point? It’s almost lunch, I’m hungry!

We are more connected than ever before. Here’s a surprise for you: People want to help people! Yes, even in 2020! People want to pay it forward because someone years ago was willing to take 15–20min out of their day to answer questions, offer encouragement, and share stories. We’ve been in your shoes. We get it.

Like any new and scary thing, it takes repetition to overcome that initial hill. More importantly, it’s not even about how well you write your email as much as it is about getting the rep in so you can build confidence. So yes, a lot of people are not going to respond. Some might even respond and say no thanks, not right now. But I guarantee you, someone will respond and your confidence will respond along with it.

Remember those what-if statements we talked about earlier? Well, guess what, they have two sides to them. So don’t be your own No and keeping asking yourself, what’s the worst that can happen?

Go build some networking, confidence-boosting muscles!