How to ask for a coffee chat on LinkedIn

#When should you ask for a coffee chat?

Right after they accept your connection request. Asking in the request itself puts pressure on a stranger before they've decided whether to know you, and LinkedIn notes are short anyway. Once they accept, a short message with a clear ask feels natural.

If you're not connected yet, start with a note that mentions what you share. See how to find alumni on LinkedIn for who to pick and how to open.

#How do you politely ask for a coffee chat?

Keep it to three sentences, and make each one do a job.

1. 1
   Why them

   One line on what about their path you want to learn. "Your move from analyst to product manager" is specific. "Your impressive career" isn't.

2. 2
   A small, timed ask

   Fifteen minutes, sometime in the next few weeks. Let them pick the slot.

3. 3
   An easy out

   "Totally understand if now isn't a good time." A no should cost them nothing, which makes a yes more likely.

#Coffee chat message examples

These are examples, not real messages.

#To an alum

Hi Priya, thanks for connecting. I'm a junior studying economics, and your move from analyst to product manager is the path I'm hoping to take. Could I ask you a few questions over 15 minutes some time this month? Totally understand if now isn't a good time.

#To someone at a company you're applying to

Hi Marcus, thanks for accepting. I'm applying for the data analyst internship at Brightpath and would love to hear what the team is like day to day. Would you have 15 minutes in the next couple of weeks?

#After they wrote something you liked

Hi Ana, your post on cleaning messy survey data helped me on a class project, thank you. I'm exploring analytics roles and would really value 15 minutes of your time, whenever suits you.

#What should you do before, during and after the chat?

• Before: read their last two roles and two recent posts. Write three questions only they can answer, such as how they moved into their current team.
• During: start on time, watch the clock and offer to stop at 15 minutes. Ask who else they'd suggest you talk to.
• Within a day: thank them and name one specific thing you'll act on.
• Weeks later: tell them what happened. You applied, you took their advice, you got an interview. This is when people start offering to refer you.

#Can you ask for a referral in a coffee chat?

Not in the first one. A first chat is for learning and for them to get to know you. If it goes well and there's a role you want, mention it in your update message and ask whether they'd feel comfortable referring you. For how to word that, see how to get a referral on LinkedIn as a student.

#Doing this for ten people at once

Coffee chats work best when they're steady: two or three a week, every week. In awwreach, the Alumni bridge playbook connects with alumni using a note that mentions your school, then sends a short hello once they accept and tags anyone who replies positively as a coffee chat, so you know who to book.

#Fifteen minutes is the whole trick

A specific reason, a small ask and an easy out turn a cold message into a calendar invite. Prepare well, keep your promise on time, and follow up weeks later with what happened. That last message is where networking turns into opportunities.