Highlights
Jayneil Dalal shares his advice on expanding and building your network to a point where you can get connected with great opportunities. He also shares step-by-step instructions on creating a cold email that feels like a warm invite.
This episode includes loads of great advice that will help you tap into the value of your network while you gain experience and can give back to the community along the way. Read the article below and listen to more of Jayniel's great advice in the full episode!
How to cold email, network and apply for jobs as a designer
In episode 30 of The Product Design Podcast, Seth Coelen interviews Jayneil Dalal, Staff Designer, Mentor, and Host of the design MBA Show! He took a significant leap of faith and transitioned into design after starting a career as an electrical engineer.
During Jayneil’s career in design, he has worked as a Product Designer, Lead, and Instructor and gained so much wisdom along the way. At the lowest point of his career, he realized the need to become an expert at networking to create opportunities for himself. He has developed and fine-tuned his cold email, networking, and job application techniques ever since. In this episode, Jayneil shares all of his secrets with us!
How Jayneil got into design and what led him to where he is today
Jayneil became an electrical engineer and worked with companies like Texas Instruments and Intel on the hardware side of things. When he saw that Apple and Samsung were working on creating their own chips in-house, he decided he wanted to take a different route to ensure his job security down the road.
He chose design as his new direction, went all in, and realized it was not as easy as he had hoped. When he attended local meetups, he always saw that companies were hiring but did not realize that his lack of experience at the time would hold him back from the quick transition he had hoped. He got creative, figured out how to make the most of his ability to network, and has not looked back.
How to expand and strengthen your network
During his transition and throughout the rest of his career, Jayneil has perfected his techniques in expanding his network in person, online, and using cold emailing. During this episode, Jayneil discusses all of these topics and gives step-by-step instructions on finding success with cold email outreach. Here are a few tips on where to start!
“It's not about who you know, but who knows you."
How to make a cold email feel like a warm invite
Jayneil figured out early on that no one was going to come to his door and offer him a fantastic opportunity and that he would have to put himself out there. He approaches cold emailing with the mindset that he needs to ensure that the people linked to the great opportunities know who he is! During this episode, Jayneil shares his steps to ensure that his cold outreach feels warmer for the person receiving his messages.
“Every single opportunity in life doesn't exist by itself. It's tied to a human being. So how can I connect with that human being?”
Thank you so much, Jayneil!
In this episode, it was fantastic to get into networking and cold emailing with Jayneil. After many years of fine-tuning his approach, it is clear why he has found such success in our industry. We are so grateful to Jayneil for joining us and sharing all the secrets behind his success in expanding his network!
Listen to the complete episode on The Product Design Podcast, which includes more backstory on Jayneil's career path, how he feels about being a mentor, and how mentors should approach their essential role in product design. Don't forget to follow Jayneil on LinkedIn and Twitter and look for new episodes of his design MBA podcast!
Where to find Jayneil
- Twitter: @jayneildalal
- LinkedIn: Jayneil Dalal
- Website: design MBA
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