Connect with one old colleague or boss

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Let’s face it, you’re online right now, refreshing apps and looking for news. If you’re scrolling anyway, maybe try fixing something in your life—in 15 minutes or less.

Here’s our first of five suggestions… You want to start a conversation with an old colleague or manager, but you haven’t talked in years. How do you parachute into a long-lost acquaintance’s inbox? It’s a delicate mission. To figure out the best approach, we talked to leadership coaches with experience helping midlevel employees and executives manage priorities and stress, and be more authentic.

Start by determining your “why," says Aimee Cohen, who’s based in Denver and runs ON Point Next Level Leadership. Ask yourself what you’re seeking. A new job in your field? Advice and leads on how to pivot to a different industry? Or a desire to develop new skills, find a mentor or generate more client referrals? The person you reach out to—and how—will depend on your answers.

Don’t dance around the fact that it’s been a hot minute since you spoke. You want an opening line that isn’t phony, says Michele Woodward, a Washington, D.C.-area executive coach. You can try an email subject line like “Blast from the past," or start your note with “You popped into my head this morning, which only means it’s time to catch up." Woodward tries to share something more personal like, “Was just in that Chinese place where we used to get lunch and it made me think of you," or “Saw that your college is ranked in the top 10 this week—are you going to any games?" Acknowledge that you don’t fully know what your onetime colleague has been up to.