1/ The cold email

the second most powerful tool for landing a job behind “my dad is the CEO.”

I’m a big fan of the cold email for one reason in particular

it helped me land my current job at @MorningBrew

a thread

2/ Below I’ll be highlighting some of the keys to a good cold email:

How to break the ice
How to establish credibility
How to frame your ask
How to stick the landing

3/ To start, here is the full email

Let's get into it

4/ BREAK THE ICE

show that you value what they value

when I emailed @austin_rief about getting a job with the Brew, I led with a really niche David Dobrik reference

David is his dude

ice=broken

5/ ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY

this is where amateur cold emailers often make the biggest mistake. They are afraid to self promote and I feel that

so I took an alternate approach

i mentioned one of Morning Brew’s competitors, Axios

6/ by casually name-dropping Axios, I immediately showed that I must have something of value to add

or else Axios wouldn’t be talking to me

7/ other ways to build credibility

1. interact with them on a social platform (in a positive way) then mention the interaction

2. provide some insightful commentary on a piece of content they’ve created

3. reference a mutual acquaintance

8/ other ways to build credibility cont.

4. show off something you’ve built, not something you accomplished

(You built your own newsletter whereas graduating from a certain college is something you accomplished)

9/ FRAMING THE ASK

you have to reach out with a purpose

I didn’t ask for a job (which is what I really wanted)

I offered them a chance to see my vision for a new content vertical

now the power dynamics have changed

10/ I’m not requesting an interview

or for Alex and Austin to look at my application

only to consider a potentially valuable Brew product

plus its unique

11/ I doubt many people have pitched them on a new newsletter...

then actually wrote a new newsletter

(not sure if this pic will work put here's a loooooooong JPEG image of the Sports Brew I wrote)

12/ Brew managing editor @Neal_Freyman agrees

“There are a zillion writers who would love the position but not many would take the time to unsolicitedly write out an entire newsletter. That's what made your email stand out.”

13/ STICKING THE LANDING

you’ve done the dirty work

all that’s left is to go ahead and ask for what you want

always finish the email with a request

14/ instead of a less direct “Let me know what you think,” or “Thank you for your consideration”

establish a sense of urgency and give your chain of communication an actionable next step

15/ Telling @BUSlNESSBARISTA and @austin_rief that I’ll get on the next bus shows that I mean business...

and a few emails later

I actually did get on that bus

did get an interview

and the rest is history