Strategy for Following Up After Networking
Most advice on networking tells you to rush home and immediately send "thank you" emails to everyone you met, usually within a day. The thought is that if you don't "stay in front of them" right away, you will be forgotten. In reality, sending these standard, polite notes is the quickest way to show you don't have anything special to offer.
When you focus on being fast instead of being meaningful, you become professionally invisible. You spend a lot of time writing perfect messages but get ignored. This leaves you feeling like you are bothering people instead of being seen as an equal. Your inbox stays quiet because you didn't give them a good reason to write back; you just added to the constant stream of digital messages they have to sort through.
To fix this, you must stop treating follow-ups like a simple to-do list item and start seeing them as building a connection. We need to simplify what you currently do and take away the stress of rushing. Instead of a quick, shallow check-in, the goal is to naturally continue the conversation. When you send a message that shares a helpful article or a specific idea about something they talked about, you prove you were actually paying attention. You are not just checking in. You are giving something useful without expecting anything back.
What Is a Networking Follow-Up?
A networking follow-up is any message you send after meeting a professional contact to keep the relationship going. Done well, it moves you from a face in a crowd to someone worth knowing. Done poorly, it confirms you have nothing real to offer.
According to a LinkedIn survey, 85% of jobs are filled through networking. But nearly half of professionals admit they fail to keep in touch with their network when things are going well. The follow-up is where most of that value gets lost. It is the moment between meeting someone and actually building something with them.
Main Things to Remember
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01
From Asking for Favors to Building Friendships Don't use follow-ups only to ask for a favor or a job right away. Change your thinking to focus on building a professional relationship for the long term, where you start by being curious and helpful.
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02
From Standard Messages to Personal Details Forget the "It was nice meeting you" script that everyone else uses. Use specific things you talked about to show you listened and to give the other person a real reason to write back.
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03
From Guessing to Having a Plan Don't rely on just remembering names or having a pile of business cards to keep in touch. Use a simple way to keep track so you stay on the minds of your new contacts all year.
Checking Your Follow-Up Skills
Check-Up #1: Getting Stuck on Being Polite
You rush to send emails like "It was great meeting you!" within 24 hours, caring more about finishing the task than what you actually write.
Standard thank-you notes are just seen as digital clutter. Important people get tons of these identical, empty emails after an event; if your email doesn't give them a specific reason to keep talking, it gets mentally marked as "junk" and ignored.
Start with Specific Context
Instead of a general greeting, start with one specific thing you both talked about. Mention a project, a unique point they made, or even a joke from the event to prove this is not an email you sent to twenty other people.
Check-Up #2: Making Them Think Too Hard
You end your follow-up by saying things like "Tell me how I can help" or "I'd love to chat sometime."
You are accidentally giving the busy person homework. Asking someone to figure out how you can be useful takes mental energy they probably don't have, so they put off replying until later—which often means never.
Give Something Easy to Take
Share something specific that relates to a problem they mentioned, like a helpful article, a tool, or a person they should meet. By giving them something useful without asking for a meeting or a favor, you build trust without making work for them.
Check-Up #3: Giving Up Too Soon
You send one good follow-up email and when you don't hear back, you think the person isn't interested and you stop trying.
Timing is often the only reason a follow-up fails. Your email probably arrived during a busy morning or some internal crisis, and while they planned to reply, it quickly got buried in their inbox. Research tracking 16.5 million cold emails found that follow-ups including a new value proposition generate 15% more replies than repeated check-ins with no new content (Martal, 2024).
Follow Up with New Information
Wait four or five days and send a quick second message with a new idea or a follow-up thought on what you said before. This pushes your name back to the top of their inbox with a relaxed tone, letting them respond without feeling bad for missing the first message.
The 48-Hour Plan to Keep Things Moving
Write Down Everything Now
The biggest mistake is trusting your memory. Do this before you even get home or as soon as you walk in.
- Speak Your Notes: Record a quick 30-second summary for everyone you met, including what they looked like, their work issue, and one personal detail.
- Notes on Cards: Write those same details directly on the back of any business cards you got.
- Make a List: Label each person: "Top A" (Must follow up fast), "B" (Good potential later), or "C" (Nice meeting, no immediate action needed).
Get In Touch While You Are Fresh
You need to reach out while they still remember you. Do not use a copied and pasted message.
- The Subject Line: Use a subject that reminds them of your meeting (e.g., "Met at [Event Name] / Talked about [Topic]").
- The Specific Message: Write a short, 3-part message: 1. Where you met. 2. Mention something specific you discussed. 3. Say you look forward to staying in touch (don't ask for a meeting yet).
- Connect on LinkedIn: Send the request with the same personal note.
Give Value to Make Yourself Stand Out
This step is what separates you from everyone else who just sent a quick "nice to meet you." The principle behind it is simple: give before you ask. If you want to understand the psychology of why this works, read our guide on the give-first rule in professional networking.
- Share a Resource: Find an article, podcast, or tool related to a problem they mentioned in the first message.
- The "No-Pressure" Share: Send a short follow-up: "Saw this and it reminded me of our talk about [Topic]. Thought you might like it—no need to reply!"
- The Soft Ask (For "Top A" People): Suggest a specific, short next step, like a 15-minute call focused on just one topic.
Make Networking a Habit, Not a Chore
Networking lasts longer than a single event. Put these contacts into a simple system. Many professionals only reach out when they need something, which is why fewer than half keep in touch when their career is going well (LinkedIn, 2017). For a deeper look at maintaining warm relationships, see our guide on how to keep your network warm when you're not job searching.
- Create a Simple Tracker: Use a spreadsheet with columns for Name, Company, Date of Last Contact, and "What to Do Next" (e.g., check in next month).
- Monthly Check-in Time: Set aside 30 minutes on the first Friday of every month to look at your "What to Do Next" list.
- Re-Connect: Reach out to anyone you haven't talked to in two months with another "Value Deposit" to keep the relationship alive.
How Cruit Helps You Network Better
For Keeping Track
Networking SectionPlan your outreach by finding common topics and thinking up specific things to say based on your past talks.
For Being Helpful
Career Help SectionFind specific ideas or helpful materials to share by having an AI mentor look at your background and goals.
For Clear Follow-Up
Job Application TrackerSee clearly where you stand with people you've met by tracking your interactions in a visual way.
Common Questions
If I wait longer than 24 hours to email, won't they forget me?
This is a common worry, but a great message sent three days later is much better than a generic "nice meeting you" sent three hours later.
People remember how you made them feel and the good ideas you shared, not how fast you clicked "send." By taking your time, you show that you actually thought about the conversation instead of just finishing a task.
What if I don't have a specific article or resource to send them?
Sharing value doesn't always mean sending a link. You can offer a thoughtful comment about a problem they mentioned, suggest a good book, or connect them with someone else you know. The main thing is to prove you were paying attention.
If you truly have nothing specific to share, just bringing up a detail they mentioned about their personal interests or work goals is enough to show you care about the connection.
Is it better to send a quick "thanks" than to send nothing at all?
Actually, sending a shallow, standard note can sometimes hurt more than help. It suggests you are just going through the motions and don't have much interesting to say.
If you don't have a meaningful way to keep the conversation going, it's better to wait until you do. One strong message is always better than a dozen empty ones that get deleted.
How many follow-up messages should I send before moving on?
Two messages is the right ceiling for most networking contacts. Send the first within 24-48 hours. If you don't hear back, wait four to five days and send one more with a new piece of value, not a "just checking in" repeat.
After two unanswered messages, stop and let the relationship sit. People's situations change. Reaching out six months later with something genuinely useful will land better than three messages in one week.
Should I connect on LinkedIn before or after sending an email?
Do both at the same time, and keep the LinkedIn note personal. Send the email first if you have their address. Send the LinkedIn request with the same personal reference you used in the email.
The benefit of LinkedIn is visibility over time. Every post you share, every comment you leave, stays in their feed. A relationship that starts with a good email can deepen without any extra effort once you are connected.
What should I say if I don't remember exactly what we talked about?
Be honest without being awkward. Reference something you do remember, even if it's only their job title or the broader topic of the event. You can say "We spoke briefly about [general topic] at [event name]" and still make it personal.
This is exactly why capturing notes immediately after an event (see Part 1 of the 48-hour plan above) is worth the few minutes it takes. You can't send a specific follow-up if you don't have specific notes.
Focus on what truly matters.
Following up shouldn't feel like you are sending your words into a void. Stop rushing to be first and focus on being helpful instead. The connections you worked hard to make don't have to become dead ends. Every meeting is a real chance to build something. People remember you for being useful, not for being the first notification in their inbox.
Look at the messages you have sent recently and see if you played it too safe. Start checking your follow-ups now to find which contacts you can make stronger with a better approach. You have the talent to be more than just a name in an inbox; now go out and show it.
Start Checking