You’ve just moved to Canada. You don’t know anyone here. People warned you about the cold but no one told you it’s the lack of sun that eventually whoops your ass. If you were looking for a motivational write-up, this isn’t it. If you were looking for actionable advice - hopefully, this is it.

I have a lot of thoughts and opinions to share, so I’m splitting it into parts (Let’s face it if this was all in 1 post, you would’ve bounced by now - not good for my metrics)

I call it art because it’s not a strict formula. Use this as a guiding light and tweak based on what works best for you.

Why should you listen to a stranger on the internet? What am I trying to sell you?

The short answer is, you don’t have to. I’m sharing advice based on my lived experience. Like any advice, it's your call to take it or ignore it but remember, you clicked the link and landed here.

I moved to Canada from India in 2018 to study. I’ve managed to land reasonably good jobs in that time. I didn’t know anyone here except my fellow students at school, I had to build a network from scratch. I quite enjoy meeting new people so this process isn’t a chore. I’m pretty generous with my time with students and newcomers but many questions are the same and this seems like a scalable way of making life easier for you and me.

I’m not trying to sell you anything (yet) Just giving back to a community that has helped me in the past.

Why am I writing this?

I’ve received invites and messages from a LOT of people. Some were good, most were normal, and some were downright atrocious. My goal for whoever reads this is to ensure you’re never part of group 3 and more often than not, part of group 1.

Context by the numbers:

Some numbers for you: In a year, I had 102 meetups (meetings include coffee chats, phone, and Zoom calls)

~10% of LinkedIn invites converted to meetings. So that’s a 1000+ invites sent (at a minimum)

They eventually became part of my professional network. Some of them became my friends (a nice bonus)

Part 1 - Sending an invite

You’ve found someone you want to connect with. You send an invite. A day passes. Nothing happens. It’s been a week. Nothing. Eternity of time passes yet they haven’t accepted your invitation.

When there is radio silence, try to understand why that is happening.

Always assume that, like you, other people want to get their attention. You’re the main character (obviously) but you’re not the only person that has sent an invite.

Like most people, your target person doesn’t like spending more time on LinkedIn than necessary.
Use this feature to send a quick note to personalize your invite and make yourself stand out.

This might seem controversial, but get their name right for f*cks sake! It’s right there, you’re only making your life unnecessarily difficult with that.

Template I’d use as a student:

Hi XYZ (Spell their name right)

I’m studying program at school/college, I’d love to learn more about your journey with company

Regards,

Your name

Template I’d use as a newcomer:

Hi XYZ (Spell their name right!!)

I’m a fellow your skill set eg:marketer, I’d love to learn more about your function eg:marketing journey with company

Regards,

Your name

This gives them a reason to accept. Who doesn’t like talking about themself? Now this doesn’t mean everyone is magically going to make time for you but your odds just got better.

In the next edition we’ll talk about taking the conversation forward.