Every template below has bracketed placeholders. The templates exist to remove the blank-page problem, not to be sent as-is -- an email that's obviously a template gets a much lower response rate than one that's clearly written for that specific person. Spend the extra two minutes filling in something real and specific in every bracket before you hit send.

Subject: Question about [specific topic] at [Company]

Hi [Name],

I'm a [your role] and I've been following [specific thing -- their work, a post they wrote, a project they led]. I'm exploring [specific goal -- a role, an industry, a decision], and your experience with [specific thing] seemed directly relevant.

Would you be open to a quick 15-minute call? I know your time is limited, so I'll keep it focused -- happy to work around your schedule.

Thanks either way, [Your name]

Subject: Been a while!

Hi [Name],

It's been a while since [how you know them -- "we worked together at Acme" or "we met at [event]"] -- I saw you moved into [their current role/company] and wanted to say congrats.

I'm currently [brief one-line update on what you're doing]. Would love to catch up sometime if you're open to it -- no agenda, just good to reconnect.

[Your name]

**Referral request** (only send to people who already know your work): Subject: Quick favor -- referral for [Role] at [Company]

Hi [Name],

I saw [Company] has an opening for [Role], and I think it could be a strong fit given [one-sentence reason]. I know referrals mean a lot -- would you be comfortable referring me, or connecting me with whoever's hiring for the role? Happy to send my resume and a short blurb to make it easy.

Thanks so much either way, [Your name]

**Follow-up** (for any message that hasn't gotten a response after about a week): Hi [Name], just wanted to bump this in case it got buried -- totally understand if the timing isn't right. [One new, brief piece of context if you have any.] Thanks, [Your name]