Warning! First Impression is very important

Here are some of the errors you might be making when reaching out to strangers. Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia’s reveals why they won’t hire you before they even meet you.

You’re too casual. It is nearly always better to blunder on the side of formality, specifically when asking someone for something. It’s wiser to be more polite and lead off with “Dear So and So,” or “Hello WhatHisName” than “Hey, Elizabeth!”

You’re presumptuous. Career “experts” all over the place are at all times telling you close with a meeting proposal, but then again you have to do it correctly. Say something like “I would like to buy you a coffee or lunch sometime soon if you can spare the time. Please let me know if this is possible.” Don’t make it sound like complaints. Do not do this also, reach out to complete strangers on LinkedIn and ask for endorsements.

                                                                                                    

You’re sloppy. If you can’t take five minutes to proofread your message, or even pay the energy to give care to spellcheck, you display a obvious lack of respect for the person you’re contacting. There’s a wavy red line that plays below your spelling errors. All you have to do is take notice in it. Always review!

You’re random/haven’t done your research. Know what the person you’re contacting actually does because you cannot ask a zookeeper for a job in a bank. Do some basic research or do not expect a teacher of Bahasa Indonesia in Jakarta would talk to you in Chinese.

You’re asking for something and offering nothing. The job market is not the place to beg.

It’s OK to ask for something. If you want help, or advice, you ought to ask for it – respectfully, from the correct person. But you need to make a motion of mutuality, like the offer to purchase lunch.

What you can do is for example write an article, design something, organize something, for free, and hope it leads to something in return later.

According to some research, doing someone a favor, no matter how small, resulting in a feeling of gratitude inexplicably bigger than the size of the original favor. So, it is at all times a good idea to be kindhearted.

It doesn’t have to be a material thing or lunch and coffee, you need to offer something like your wonderful skills, your incredible insight, your energy and tireless work ethic.

Be well-mannered, target the right people, don’t be demanding, consider about not only what they can do for you but what you can do for someone else,– proofread, review – then hit send.