As many of you already know, I regularly advise students (as so many of us do) on career planning and job searches.  This advice extends to communications in connection with career planning and job searches.  And I have blogged about all this.  I have posted in the past, for example, on networking letters (my post is here) and cover letters, for example (my most recent post is here). 

Yesterday, I got an email message from a student with a great question related to all this.  Here is the question: "What would you recommend as the subject line of an email to a contact you have been referred to by someone else?"  Nice.  Here's what I ended up writing back, in pertinent part.

 . . . Email titles are tricky.

The first thing I would do is ask if the person making the connection can e-introduce you with an email message and copy you in.  I have done that many times.  My script usually goes something like this:

[X], e-meet [Y].  As I explained to you earlier today, [Y] is the [title & affiliation].

[Y], [X] is a [year] at UT Law who is considering [career goal].  [X] is especially interested in working with [specific practice interest].  S/he has M/W/F time free in her/his academic schedule this fall, and she/he would love to find a targeted internship involving all or part of that time.  I thought you might be able to help me identify opportunities for [X}.  So, I offered to introduce you to each other by email in the hopes that you could help [X] find something suitable.

[Y], I know that you are always busy.  If this request is unduly burdensome, I fully understand.  Just let us know.  But if you have a little bit of time to make some suggestions to me and [X] on this, I hope that you will do so.

Best to all,

Joan Heminway

If that doesn't work, we're back to you sending the email on your own.  You may want to ask the person who gave you the connection if it's OK to copy him or her on the message you send, btw.  I think that adds credibility and can have other advantages, too.

As with many things, the answer to your question about recommended email subject lines is "it depends."  More specifically, it depends on the precise content, the context, and your style.  Sometimes, and this is consistent with my style, I will entitle an email like this–one to a stranger with whom I have some affinity–by referring to this affinity relationship in some way.  So, if the person is, e.g., an alum of UT Law, I might entitle the message: "Greetings from the UT College of Law."  If the only affinity is the mutual friendship, a similar approach might lead to a title like:  "E-introduction with Regards from Joan Heminway."

Do those kinds of suggestions resonate with you?  Let me know.  We can consider this the start of a conversation . . . .

I am not wholly satisfied with this response.  The first suggested subject line may be too generic (even though I have used it in the past) and the second sounds a bit formal for most students.  Maybe the second one is better cast this way: "E-introduction (and Warm Regards from Joan Heminway)."  At any rate, your ideas are most welcomed.  As I noted in my response to the student, I think this is an ongoing conversation . . . .