Once you have permission to follow-up with someone (see yesterday’s article), it then becomes important to make some sort of small contribution to the candidate’s life in subsequent conversations.
When you contemplate how to make one of these contributions, think of things that are small and thoughtful rather than large and flashy. Here are three ideas that I’ve seen used effectively:
1. Recognize an accomplishment. Our world is more transparent than ever before. With various websites, online social networks, blogs, and other venues, there is a lot of information available about people. It is not uncommon for people to publish both their personal and professional accomplishments in some kind of online environment. It’s also easy to search and find such information.
For example, your candidate might be part of a large company that recently won a large contract from the government. A quick email letting the candidate know that you noticed the accomplishment is a natural way to make a connection. If the person had direct involvement in the deal, of course it would be appropriate to congratulate that involvement specifically – If not, the general congrats is still worth the effort. Good news is good news, and people like to talk about it. 
2. Recognize an accomplishment of someone close to the candidate. All of us have relationships and we care about what happens to the people in those relationships. It’s quite natural to strike up a conversation with a person and talk about their spouse, their kids, their activities, etc. During an initial conversation, take some mental notes on these relationships and activities, and then keep your ears open for things that naturally take place around you.
When you find some tidbit of information, let the person know that you noticed their accomplishment. This can be a simple email that says something like, “Bill, I noticed that your son’s football team made it to the district tournament. You must be really proud. We’ll be pulling for the team—I hope they make it to state!”
3. Recognize a mutual contact. Psychologist Stanley Milgram is commonly credited for conceptualizing the six degrees of separation theory. Milgram (and now many others since then) has shown us that we’re surprisingly connected to those around us through a web of relationships. When this web is discovered, people naturally find it interesting.
When you find out that there is a common contact between you and the candidate you’re trying to recruit, make a point to acknowledge it. This too, can be a short email that says something like, “Bill I ran into Paul Graham last night at Costco. He mentioned that he did some work with you a couple of years back and had some nice things to say. Hopefully, you two will connect again soon.”
As you make these contributions, remember the objective—keep the balance of value in the relationship tipped towards your candidate by making multiple deposits. If the person always gets something good from you (such as kind words and attention), or hears something positive (such as remembrance of an accomplishment or relationship), or just feels some encouragement, then good things are more likely to result on the recruiting front.
