The Secret to Career Success in 2023: 5 Emails You Can’t Afford to Miss

As we kick off a new year, it’s important to focus on setting yourself up for career success in 2023. One simple task that can help achieve this is networking with key professionals who can boost your career prospects and lead to valuable opportunities for growth. With the job market experiencing flux and industry experts predicting further job loss in the coming year, it’s more important than ever to strengthen and diversify your professional network.

Networking with 5 key professionals can boost your career prospects this year and help you achieve success in 2023. By leveraging existing relationships or building brand-new ones, you can gain invaluable knowledge, advice and support that will lead to invaluable opportunities for career growth.

Plus, by expanding and diversifying your network beyond peers at your own company or within your industry sector, you’ll open yourself up to more potential pathways for advancement. All of these factors contribute to setting yourself up for success in 2023 and beyond!

Reaching out to professional contacts can be intimidating and a bit overwhelming, especially if the contact is someone you haven’t spoken to in years. However, building meaningful relationships with these individuals can help you better achieve your goals and find success by 2023. Here are five people to reach out to and scripts for how to do it politely and effectively.

A member of your inner circle

If you want to make the most of your career in 2023 and ensure success, then there are certain people you should consider emailing. Firstly, think about friends and former co-workers who know you well and have been supportive of your career objectives in the past. These people are likely to be enthusiastic networkers with solid knowledge on industry developments – so they are excellent contacts to reach out to.

Taking five minutes out of your day to identify these key individuals can really help boost your chances of success in the new year. Make sure to include an invitation for lunch, drinks or a call when you send them an email; this demonstrates that you value their time and it will also provide an opportunity for them to offer useful advice or assistance that could help further your career.

Lastly, don’t overthink the email too much – be confident in reaching out as they will likely be pleased to hear from you and willing to lend their support. Remember: having valuable contacts who can vouch for you is invaluable, so take advantage of this great opportunity to start building meaningful relationships with influential people.

Someone Influential

Next, pick a strategic contact you know could be helpful to your career— someone with whom you would benefit from having a more solid rapport. Don’t waste valuable words on compliments or lengthy explanations in the opening of your message; instead, make your ask, quickly and politely. Avoid the cliché phrase “Can I pick your brain?” Instead, try one of these approaches:

“I’d really appreciate your insight because you’ve been there and understand the nuances of what I’m trying to accomplish.”

“I heard you speak/enjoyed what you wrote/liked what you said at the meeting, especially___. I think it could help me move forward in my career and would love to hear more about it.”

“I follow your work closely and am particularly interested in what you did with____ because it resonates with something I’m currently doing. Do you have any advice or tips that might help me?”

Point out any shared experiences and be as specific as possible. As this is a professional emailing situation, take extra care to ensure everything is accurate and error-free before you click send!

The Higher-up

This is a higher-level professional with the ability to open the right doors and lead you to someone who can help boost your career. Consider reaching out to a fast-rising executive in your network, the former boss of your boss, or that entrepreneur who commented on your LinkedIn post.

If you don’t know them personally, tap into your mutual acquaintances to make an introduction. Offer to craft an email directly to them if possible, or at least provide a brief outline of your background and goals for guidance. When crafting the email, keep it concise and get straight to the point about who you are and what you want. This will not only make it easier for people to accept your request but also increase their likelihood of responding thoughtfully and in a timely manner.

Someone you haven’t spoken to in a while

Cue the awkwardness! You haven’t talked to this person in years and suddenly you’re popping up in their inbox, hoping they’ll remember you and, ideally, forget how much time has passed since you’ve been in touch. Don’t dance around the fact that it’s been a while, just embrace it. You can open your notes with something like “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve connected with you – blast from the past!” or “I know that it’s only been three years but it feels like 100 since we’ve last connected.”

Be sure to make clear why you are reaching out now and what value you can offer them. Avoid making any direct asks right away; rather, emphasize what knowledge and skills still remain relevant today that you have picked up in the time since your last contact.

The departing co-worker

When a colleague departs, it’s an opportunity to make a connection. Even if they are leaving for a great new job or exciting opportunity, this moment of transition can be a vulnerable one. Reaching out soon after their departure is the best way to start building a relationship with them. However, if some time has already passed since saying goodbye, you can still reach out with thoughtful questions and discussion topics.

Start with phrases such as: “I had wanted to ask you what the first few months at your new job was like” or “I made note of asking you how work is going these days”. Asking questions related to current events may also be beneficial; you could enquire about how things are being handled with regards to returning back into the office at their place of work.

The primary goal is to reignite communication and create a bridge between where your relationship left off and keep it moving forward in a positive direction.

No matter how much time has passed since someone left their job or how far away they may be now geographically, keeping in contact with them will benefit your future career growth significantly in 2023 and beyond.

You can absolutely make your career goals for 2023 a reality by following the tips and tricks in this blog post. And it all starts with your email inbox—sending just five specific emails can help you catapult your career to new heights next year. So what are you waiting for? Get writing (or typing, rather)!

Not sure where to start when it comes to setting goals? Check out our next article on How to Set and Achieve realistic goals in 2023, and download our Free Daily Planning Worksheet to start integrating your goals into your day-to-day.