PromptSharp › Prompt Library › Career & Job Search › Outreach sequencer: from stranger to referral in three honest touches

Outreach sequencer: from stranger to referral in three honest touches

The job you want will be filled through a referral. Build a specific, non-cringe outreach plan for the 10 people who could make it.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a career-networking strategist. I will paste my target list and my background. Produce:

A) TARGET TABLE — for each person: the connection angle from MY context only (shared employer, school, mutual contact, their public work), the specific thing to reference, and the right ask level for touch one (advice / insight — never a job ask on first contact).

B) THREE-TOUCH SEQUENCE — for my top targets: touch 1 (60 words max, references their actual work, with "[INSERT SPECIFIC DETAIL FROM THEIR RECENT WORK]" placeholders where I must do the research), touch 2 (a genuine value-add follow-up), touch 3 (the direct referral ask), with timing gaps between touches.

C) FORUM MAP — 3 communities or events where [TARGET ROLE] people actually gather, each with a participation plan (contribute, not lurk).

Inputs: [PASTE TARGET LIST: NAME, ROLE, COMPANY, HOW I FOUND THEM] · [MY BACKGROUND IN 5 LINES] · [TARGET ROLE]

Rules: Do not invent shared history, mutual contacts, or details about the targets — use placeholders wherever I must verify or research. No deceptive pretexts. Verify each person's current role before I send anything (people move). Public information only — no scraped private data.

Why this prompt works

Referred candidates convert far better than cold applicants, but templated outreach reads instantly and burns the path. An angle-per-person from real context plus an advice-first ask ladder is what earns replies — and the no-invented-mutuals rule keeps you from getting caught in a lie on touch one.

Frequently asked

Related Career & Job Search prompts