Step #3: Reach out to your former professors, professional contacts or former bosses and ask for 15 minutes of Career Advice

Everyone likes to give advice and the more successful you are, the more likely you think your advice is something special Also, most successful people know that at some point, back a few years ago, they were needing a helping hand and likely received advice/leads and are therefore ready to “give back” or “pay their dues.” Inevitably, even those with the largest egos like to hand out “advice.” Sometimes this advice should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes it is invaluable and should be followed. Here’s the deal though: these people have contacts, careers, know people, and have good advice on how to get where they are today (they did it, right?).

The trick is to not just reach out and blatantly ask for a job or a lead, but instead to finesse them a bit and ask for “15 minutes of their time to provide a bit of career advice.” If you have a good conversation with them, either via phone, in person, or even over email, and they like you, it is quite possible they will say “You know what? Send me your resume, I remember Janet at X saying she was looking for someone” or “ I’ll pass your resume on to my board. Maybe they have some ideas.” Remember, the point is to reach as many people as possible and to let them know you are available, professional and capable. This is one more tactic.
Write an email something like this:

Dear Mr./Ms./Prof X,
It’s Jessica Blond, I took a course with you in grad school on X (or I found you via the X alumni group or I worked under you as an Intern in 2008) and I was wondering if you would mind giving me 15 minutes of your time for some basic career advice. I’ve just finished (grad school/3 years in x industry/etc) and am looking for some new direction and thought I would reach out to you since you have a successful career in X area. As someone who is successful in X, I thought you might have some insight or suggestions for someone in my position. Would you be available for a quick chat sometime next week?
You might mention one line about what you are looking for. I know you are a partner at X, and since I have an interest in Law School and am trying to identify the best next step (paralegal, law school, work) I thought you might have some insight.
Thank you very much.
Best Wishes,
Jessica Blond (email/phone)

Remember- you called the meeting so make sure you are prepared for the conversation and have a few questions ready. Do a bit of research, if you have looked at their bio, ask them about how they choose this profession, how did they manage to move from X position to Y? What do they think about opportunities in this field? Is it growing? Any overall career advice for someone starting out? Make sure the conversation goes well, that the person is enjoying remembering his/her past or feels they are adding value. It is your meeting, so thank them first for agreeing to take time out of their busy schedule to help someone entering the field. If at the end the conversation is clearly over, thank them again and if they don’t suggest it, maybe ask if they wouldn’t mind if you sent them your resume my email just in case they have any suggestions. This way, they have it and might either provide comments or might pass it on to someone later. Get your resume into their inbox, either way!

Moral of the story: Use your contacts and cater to asking for CAREER ADVICE, not “do you have any job contacts?”