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 | | ILLUSTRATION: SIMOUL ALVA FOR WSJ | | |
| | Week 5: The Goodbye Email Is Your Networking Superpower | | |
| Today, we're going somewhere slightly scary: the depths of your inbox. I know, you'd rather not come face-to-face with that long trail of reply-alls from last week's monster project, or those unreads that have been haunting you for months. No worries—you can ignore all that stuff. You're on the hunt for one thing only: the goodbye note. | | |
| When a coworker says goodbye, it's an opening. Funny or straightforward, personal or staid—every style of farewell email represents one universal moment. Your colleague is making a change. "Leaving a job is a moment of vulnerability," says Michele Woodward, a Washington, D.C.-area executive coach. No matter how fabulous their next step is, everyone feels some trepidation about moving on. Connecting in that moment "makes another person feel like everything's going to be OK." So, here's your chance. Today, we'll show you how to strengthen your network by tapping into any resignations that have dropped into your inbox in recent months. We'll make it painless—even fun!—to get there. And you'll learn some handy opening lines, even if the person you are contacting now departed a while back. — Rachel Feintzeig, former columnist, Work & Life | |
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This week's challenge teaches you about: | |
Turning other people's resignations into networking gold. | |
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| | | ⏰ Suggested time: 45 minutes | | |
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| Click over to the search tab of your email. We're going to go back three months. You're aiming to pull up as many farewell notes as you can. Try "thank you AND goodbye," especially in the subject line. Other keywords that should help: "farewell," "bittersweet," "grateful" and "keep in touch." If your inbox is less unruly than mine, and your colleagues are especially mobile, you might be able to forgo the search tab altogether and just scroll through, marking the goodbye notes as you go. We want to start with as wide a universe as possible. | |
| Step 2: | Parse, and make a list | | |
| Now that we have as close to a full sample of your departing colleagues from the past three months as we can, it's time to evaluate them. First, pluck the obvious candidates: those with whom you shared a personal connection or worked closely. Their names go on the list of all the goodbye note writers you're going to connect with. (Plop the names into a Google Doc, Excel spreadsheet, whatever format you're most comfortable working in.) Next, add people you know less well but would like to learn more about. They always seemed warm in the office; you long admired the presentations they'd give at department meetings; they headed to your dream company. They're worth reaching out to as well. If you want, you can add some identifying details to your list, Woodward says, little notes about shared hobbies or kids' ages if you have trouble recalling that information. Going forward, you'll want to constantly update the document, adding new names when you glean an applicable goodbye note. | |
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| You're going to send five notes. Let's start with colleagues who just announced their departures. The recent farewell Ideally, you reach out within three to four days of receiving a goodbye note, Woodward says. A fast reply shows you think their news is important. Here are a few ideas for what to say and how to say it: I'll be missing you No need to gush, but detail what you'll miss once they're gone, Woodward recommends. "I'll miss getting your perspective in meetings," or "I'll miss our brainstorming sessions." Specific is best Drop one or two experiences you shared that made an impact on you, Woodward says. "I still appreciate the way you handled that vendor feedback at the Chicago conference," or "Your work on that marketing project has stuck with me." Well wishes Always wish them the best of luck with their new opportunity. If you don't know where they're heading or they might be taking a career break, just wish them well during this moment of transition. Match their style If they wrote a hilarious goodbye note, or were vulnerable and warm, feel free to be more casual and personal in your response. Immediately after sending your note, follow the person on social media, Woodward adds. LinkedIn is probably the most obvious place to look, but if you had a close personal relationship, you might want to add them as a friend on Facebook or Instagram. | |
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| Pro tip: Replying to a boss's farewell When emailing a higher-up, you want to hold onto your power, Woodward says. No need to self-flagellate, beginning with a phrase like "You don't know me but…" Instead, say, "We haven't had much of an opportunity to interact, but I've always appreciated… - your____ leadership style.
- how you led the company/team/department through the pandemic.
- your mentorship efforts.
- the tone and example you set for the rest of us.
In a way, this moment is erasing the hierarchy that normally exists in organizations: They sent you a note, and you can greet them as a peer, albeit while still being respectful and gracious. | | |
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| The long farewell Reaching out immediately is best. But that catalog of goodbye notes from further back can work, too. In fact, a few months' pause can make for a great moment to reach out, when the person isn't inundated with a flood of other notes. Try starting with, "I made a note to ask you what the first 90 days was like," Woodward suggests, or, "I made a note to ask you how work is going." "That makes them feel like they're still special," she says. If you did send a congratulatory note right away, this is a good way to follow up several months later. | |
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| Pro tip: "Always act when there's news" A departure, promotion or any other career announcement is a natural excuse to reach out, Woodward says. | | |
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| Pick a person or two you'd like to forge a deeper connection with, and go beyond email. Find an opening: Will you be traveling to their city soon, or even just taking meetings in the same neighborhood as their office around lunch time? Is there a big industry conference coming up they might be attending? You can suggest grabbing coffee, breakfast, lunch or drinks. Be flexible on timing and defer to their schedule, since you're the one making the request, says Aimee Cohen, who runs Minneapolis executive coaching and leadership development firm ON Point Next Level Leadership. Is there a way you can do them a favor in the process of getting together? You're helping to organize a panel, or doing a presentation at an industry event—would they like you to recommend they get some airtime there, too? "That's helping them elevate their career, which is always appreciated," Woodward says. Of course, if it's just an ask on their time—e.g. no one really wants to speak at this tiny conference—don't go there right now. And don't ask the CEO you've never met out to lunch. Stick to peers or colleagues one level above you in the org chart, such as your boss or the manager of another team, Woodward recommends. | |
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| Pro tip: Look down the ladder Don't discount bright up-and-comers whose titles might not be as senior as yours. "You never know where people are going to end up," Woodward says. Try to bring them into the fold. If you're speaking at an event, invite them to join as your guest, passing along tickets. Flag key industry happy hours, telling them which events they can skip and which are worth stopping by. Offer to introduce them to your network. | | |
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| Master the cadence of keeping in touch with different kinds of contacts in your network. Here's how often Cohen recommends touching base: - Close contacts (your team colleague turned friend who left for a different company): Monthly
- Mid-level contacts (the boss you worked with for a year before they got transferred to another department): Quarterly
- Extended contacts (the guy from accounting you used to joke with by the water cooler): Twice yearly
- Acquaintances (a vendor you worked with once, years ago): Annually, sending them a note around the holidays, for example
Set a goal of reaching out to three contacts every week. They can be someone already in your network who's due for their check-in, as per the above calendar, or someone new you're adding to the rotation. And they don't all have to be emails. Join an internal committee at work or an external board to increase your reach, Cohen says. | |
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| 🔄 Role Reversal: Are you the one leaving? Mark the goodbye note responses you receive with a label or by corralling them into a folder, and make sure to take them with you. (As simple as forwarding to a personal email account.) Respond to your colleagues within a few days, thanking them for the well wishes, then set reminders to follow up with those you want to stay in touch with. | | |
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| ✨ BONUS POINTS: Rinse and repeat Keep scanning for goodbye notes. You can even set up an email filter to route notes with keywords (like "farewell" or "thank you and goodbye") into a specific label or folder. Add applicable departing contacts to your list. Set a reminder to email them within four days of seeing their goodbye note. | |
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| ☑️ Search through your past three months of emails for goodbye notes. ☑️ Pick who you want to stay in touch with, and compile them on a list. ☑️ Craft a reply. If the goodbye note just arrived, respond within four days. Include specific anecdotes of times you worked together, what you'll miss about them and well wishes on what's next for them. For folks who departed months ago, reach out and say you made a note to check in with them after 90 days at their new gig. ☑️ Repeat with four more goodbye notes. Go back further in your inbox if you need to. ☑️ Set up in-person catch-ups with one or two contacts, ideally folks who are at your level or one rung up. ☑️ Stay in touch with connections further down the org chart. Bring up-and-comers into your fold with invitations. ☑️ Set reminders to stay in touch with close contacts on a regular cadence. ☑️ Keep adding to your list as new goodbye emails come through. | |
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| 🥳 Celebrate your wins! Congratulations—you just bolstered a crucial part of your network. Having strong internal connections is important, but maintaining close bonds with people who leave your organization is a powerful way to expand your professional network. After all, who knows when you'll be the one writing that triumphant goodbye note, on to your next dream opportunity. Let us know at careers@wsj.com how fruitful your good-bye responses were and what especially worked for you. | |
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