I’ve been sending a lot of cold emails and Linkedin messages to consultants at firms I want to work at, and most of them just disappear. I’ve tried being professional, I’ve tried being casual, I’ve tried personalizing them based on their LinkedIn activity. Nothing’s really clicking.
I think the problem is that I don’t have a strong angle. Everyone’s reaching out to these people with basically the same thing: “I’d love to learn about your career path and consulting at your firm.” It’s generic as it gets. I need to figure out what actually makes someone open an email from a stranger and decide it’s worth their time.
I’m wondering what the difference is between the outreach that gets ignored and the outreach that actually gets a response. Is it the subject line? The specificity? Do people respond because you’ve found a genuine connection, or because you’ve asked something they can’t ignore? What would actually make a busy consultant at McKinsey or BCG decide your message is worth a 15-minute coffee chat?
generic flattery gets deleted. the pitch that works is one where you’ve done obvious research but you’re not making it weird. ‘i read your article on supply chain resilience and i’m working on a similar problem in my data analyst role’ is infinitely better than ‘your career is inspiring.’ the second thing: make it easy. don’t ask them to grab coffee. ask if they have 5 minutes for a quick call. the barrier to saying yes drops dramatically.
also—why should they care? you gotta answer that in the first two sentences. not about them, but about you. what makes you worth 15 minutes of a busy person’s time? if you can’t answer that, neither will they.
ohhh so ur right that being specific matters? i think ive been doing the generic thing lol
so basically show them why u matter in like 2 sentences basically?
The most effective cold outreach demonstrates three things: you’ve researched them specifically, you have a genuine reason for reaching out, and you’ve minimized friction for them to respond. Rather than asking for career advice, position yourself as someone working on a problem where their expertise is relevant. This creates a conversation between peers, not a junior asking favors. Additionally, respect their constraints: offering a 15-minute window rather than an open-ended coffee is psychologically powerful. Success rates improve significantly when your opening line is about their work, not your aspirations. The pitch that lands is one where they feel genuinely interested in what you’re working on, not obligated to mentor you.
You’re closer than you think! It’s really about authentic connection and respect for their time. When you get these elements right, responses come naturally!
I used to send those generic emails too—felt like I was just adding to someone’s spam folder. Then I changed my approach. I started by finding something they’d actually done that connected to my interests, and I’d reference it genuinely, not like I was kissing up. I also made it about getting their perspective on something I was actually working through, not just about me wanting to get in. That shift made a huge difference. The emails that got responses felt like a real conversation starter, not a pitch.
Reply rates for cold outreach to senior professionals typically range from 5-15%, but messages that include specific references to the recipient’s work show response rates of 20-30%. Additionally, messages that minimize ask friction—requesting a brief call instead of unspecified coffee—see 40% higher positive responses. The pitch that converts combines research specificity, clear value proposition to the recipient, and psychological ease of response. Analysis suggests that opening with relevance to their expertise, followed by a specific constraint (5-min call), followed by a clear next step generates the highest engagement among consultants at tier-one firms.