Imagine you just had a great networking convo.
A few months later, you want to reach out to get a referral for a job opening— but feel awkward suddenly reaching back out for a favor.
So you do nothing. Eventually, the relationship (inevitably) disappears 😢.
We’ve all been there. How do you prevent this (as much as possible), and continue to nurture your relationships in a ‘natural’ way?
The most important work starts DURING the networking conversation itself.
Be a sponge. Listen carefully and absorb everything they’re telling you. Literally take notes afterwards like it’s an important meeting (see bottom of page — I personally use Wispr Flow to verbally ‘brain dump’ all my notes after each convo).
Especially pay attention to 3 categories of information that’ll allow you to seamless reach back out after. More importantly, these follow-ups will continue to build rapport and make them like/respect you more.
1. Their key upcoming milestones — e.g., a big celebration, speaking at a big conference, a child’s university application, etc. When you reach back out to comment on this, they’ll be impressed you remembered and appreciate your thoughts.
➡️ Here’s how I used this method to follow-up (real example from my 2026):
A few weeks after the networking convo, right before their big competition: “Hi Ryan, just wanted to say best of luck on your Iron Man tomorrow! I know you’ve been training hard for this — rooting for you from back home!”
2. Areas you can add value — e.g., if you have knowledge to add, or have a cool recommendation that could be helpful. Or really anything that adds value for their lives. Of course, you’ll need to pay close attention to know exactly what they deem valuable based on their current situation, any problems/obstacles they’re facing, etc.
➡️ Here’s how I used this method to follow-up (real examples from my 2026):
“Hey Celine! Loved our super energising conversation on meditation. By the way, here’s the mantra-based meditation documentary I mentioned during our chat. Very well done, and goes into the science of why it works too. Let me know what you think!”
“Hey Jasmin — here’s the physical therapy clinic I went to last year when I injured my shoulder. You should ask for Alvin Tan — he’s the best shoulder specialist in my opinion. I know injuries suck; hope they’re able to fix you as quickly as they did for me 🙂”
3. Specific advice they gave you. Make progress on this and show them you took their advice to heart. People tend to lose respect if they spend time and effort to give you advice and you do absolutely nothing with it.
➡️ Here’s an example from one of my mentees in 2026:
“Hi Vincent! Just wanted to say thank you so much for the detailed tips on my resume last week. I’ve made the changes and attached it to this Email. Also, I found out this morning I’ll be interviewing with Deloitte (!!) and will make sure to review the interview resources you provided as well. Thank you again for all the guidance!”
If you do the above, you’ll feel less awkward reaching out in the future asking for a favor. The last message in chat history will be memorable and evoke a good emotion. Of course, this makes it much more likely they’ll actually help you too.
📣 After my networking convos (and other important meetings), I’ve been using Wispr Flow as a ‘brain dump’ — takes ~45 seconds of speaking my jumbled thoughts, and the platform turns it into structured notes I can easily refer back to later. Check it out below— they’ve got a free version that works for most use cases.
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The AI notetaker that gets the hard words right
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Then your meetings show up inside Claude or ChatGPT through the built-in connector. No copy paste. Try Notetaker free on Mac and Windows.
Best,
Vincent (follow our Instagram for bite-sized career insights & updates 🙂)
