Eight messages you can send today, filled in with your own background. Written to sound like a person rather than a template, because everyone can tell.
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Most veterans hate networking because it sounds like asking strangers for favours. It is worth saying plainly: that is not what this is, and the messages that work are not the ones that ask for anything.
What actually happens is that most jobs are filled before they are advertised, or from a pile where somebody already vouched for one name. Applying online puts you in the queue. Knowing one person inside takes you out of it.
The other thing worth knowing: you already have a network, and it is better than most people's. Everyone who left your unit before you is now inside a civilian company, understands your background without translation, and remembers what it was like. That is a warmer list than almost any civilian has.
Enter your code and details once and every message below fills in. Nothing leaves your browser.
Anything still in brackets needs your words. Change the rest until it sounds like you — a message that reads as copied is worse than no message.
Hi __NAME__ — I saw you work in __TEAM__ at __COMPANY__. I spent __YEARS__ years in the __BRANCH__ as a __ROLE__ and I am moving into __TARGET__ work. I am not asking you to refer me. I would just like to know what the team is actually like and what you look for. Fifteen minutes, whenever suits you. Either way, thanks for reading.
The line that makes this work is "I am not asking you to refer me". It removes the thing they were bracing for, and the ask that follows is small enough to say yes to.
Hi __NAME__ — I am moving out of the __BRANCH__ after __YEARS__ years and into __TARGET__. You have been doing it for a while and I have not. Could I ask you three questions over fifteen minutes? What surprised you most, what you wish you had known, and what you would learn first if you were starting now. Happy to work around whatever time suits.
Three specific questions beats "pick your brain", which is vague and sounds like it will take an hour. Naming the length is what gets a reply.
Hi __NAME__ — fellow __BRANCH__ here, __YEARS__ years as a __ROLE__. I saw you made the jump into __TARGET__ and I am working on the same thing. Would you be up for a short call? Mostly I want to know what the transition was actually like and what you would do differently.
This one has the highest reply rate of anything on this page. Veterans answer other veterans, and you do not have to explain your background.
Hey __NAME__ — it has been a while. I am getting out in __WHEN__ and starting to look at __TARGET__ roles. I saw you ended up at __COMPANY__. How is it? And is that the kind of place worth pointing myself at? Good to see you doing well either way.
People who left your unit before you are the single best source of warm introductions. They understand your background without translation and they remember owing the network.
Hi __NAME__ — I applied for the __JOB__ role on __DATE__ and wanted to put a name to the application. Short version: __YEARS__ years in the __BRANCH__ as a __ROLE__, which in civilian terms is __TARGET__. __PROOF__ Happy to answer anything, and I understand if the timing is not right.
Applications go into a queue. A short, specific note to a human is how you get pulled out of it. Keep the proof line to one concrete thing with a number in it.
Hi __NAME__ — following up on the note below in case it got buried. Still interested, still happy to work around your schedule. If it is not a good time, no problem at all.
One follow-up, two weeks later, and then stop. Silence is almost never about you; people are busy. Two follow-ups is persistence, three is a problem.
Thanks for the call, __NAME__ — genuinely useful. The part about __THING__ was not something I had considered and I am going to act on it. I will let you know how it goes. And if there is ever anything I can do for you, ask.
Naming the specific thing you took away proves you listened, which is what makes someone willing to help you again. Send it the same day.
Hi __NAME__ — I noticed you know __PERSON__ at __COMPANY__. I am looking at __TARGET__ roles there. Would you be comfortable introducing us? Completely fine if not, and no need to explain. If it helps, here is a line you could use: "__PITCH__"
Giving them the wording removes the work. "Completely fine if not" removes the awkwardness. Between them they roughly double the odds.
In the order they are likely to reply:
Five a week is plenty and beats fifty in one afternoon. Expect roughly one reply in four, which sounds harsh until you realize five a week is a conversation a fortnight and a real network in three months.
Twenty minutes on a Monday. Send five, follow up on any from two weeks ago that went quiet, close the laptop. That is the whole habit.
The one rule. Never ask for a job in a first message. Ask for fifteen minutes, or for one piece of advice. People say yes to small asks from strangers and no to large ones, and someone who has spent fifteen minutes with you is far more likely to send your name on unprompted.
Follow up once, about two weeks later, and then let it go. It is almost never about you — people miss messages, get busy, or mean to answer and forget. One follow-up catches most of those. A second one costs you the relationship you were trying to build.
Your profile is what they look at before they reply. If it still says "Transitioning Veteran" the message will not save it — the LinkedIn Profile Builder takes about twenty minutes and works from the same code you entered above.
Then Interview Prep for when a conversation turns into something, and the Application Tracker to keep hold of who you have spoken to.