Networking 101: Check Your E-mail
A director I respect wrote me a month ago telling me that she met a nice guy who just graduated film school and wanted to network and learn more about editing. She asked me if I wouldn’t mind meeting him and just talking about my experiences with him. That was fine with me, so I sent him an email asking him if he wanted to have lunch with me.
A week later, the director who recommended him asked me if I had heard anything from him. I told her I didn’t. She frowned and said, “Oh well. I gave him an hour of my time.” We both assumed he either chickened out or didn’t care. I could tell that she lost respect for him at that moment.
Then, yesterday, the guy e-mails me back. This is more than a whole month after I sent him my invitation to have lunch. The guy apologized for getting back to me so sluggishly and explained that he was out of the country and hadn’t checked his email the whole time. I sent him back a response asking him to call me if he wanted to meet up. That was four days ago and I haven’t heard from him since.
I’m sorry, but unless you’re in the heart of rural India or something, prompt e-mail/phone responses are essential for building relationships. Promptness ensures that you are still in the mind of the person you are trying to network with. The guy in this story has not been in my mind for a whole month and I completely forgot about him before he e-mailed me. Furthermore, if I’m to trust the guy and possibly work with him, sluggish responses to e-mails is not a good sign of a dedicated colleague.