CAREER CONVERSATIONS
(AKA INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS)
HOW TO GET STARTED
WHAT ARE THEY?
A professional approach to finding out personal, inside information about work and careers, while having the opportunity to make a good impression on an expert in the field you might be interested in.
Combining your informational interviewing expertise and your LinkedIn search skills will geometrically increase your options in finding meaningful work.?
HOW DO I START?
Decide what you want to learn.
It can be very specific, or general, but start with a particular career objective in mind. You can have more than one career objective at a time, and can be investigating them simultaneously, but for purposes of any one informational interview you must focus, so you get actionable information from well-developed questions and answers.
Even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do, start, create a hypothetical career, and learn how to gather this type of invaluable information.? A couple of examples could be:
“I am interested in law, but not sure if I want to be in the policy, lobbying, or compliance arena. What are the differences, and the career entry points?”
“I love traveling, but wonder who would pay me more than a basic wage to be able to live and work overseas for the next ten years?”
“I think I’ll join a nonprofit organization, but if I really want to make a difference, shouldn’t I get a PhD. right away because that’s what it takes to be a leader in the World Bank?”
Who might have that information?
Go to LinkedIn, use the Search box and you can find current and past employees in these target roles. If you are not familiar with the latest Search functionality, you can learn more at: How to Search on LinkedIn
You can also ask your parents, friends, career advisors and professors who might know people in this field.
How do I approach them??
A very straightforward inquiry is the best way - a phone call, or even better, an email:
“I am a sophomore at the University focused on political science and very interested in learning more about how you decided to enter this field, what keeps you engaged, and what you believe are the biggest challenges coming in the urban political scene. I reviewed your career path on LinkedIn, and would highly value 20 minutes of your time, at your convenience, to learn more about areas you believe are most impactful, and how best to start building a career in urban politics. I’ll be delighted to call you (or better, buy you a cup of coffee/lunch) any time when I am out of class in the next several weeks. Thank you for your consideration. Most appreciatively,”
Importantly, include a link to your LinkedIn profile in your email signature.? People are much more likely to click on your LinkedIn profile then open up your resume – it is more personable, and tangible.? So don’t include your resume.
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THEY SAY YES, NOW WHAT?
Make a list of questions that aren’t easily answered on a website or job description. Develop more questions (20) than you will need. Writing them down and bringing them to the meeting is absolutely fine – it makes you look more professional. Also, consider follow-up questions to ask, anticipating what answers you may get.**
-????? What type of experience or coursework is necessary to be competitive for an entry level position?
-????? What distinguishes good performers from great ones?
-????? What blogs do you read to keep up with the industry?
-????? What would you do if you were a current student like me and had the opportunity to take specific courses? Why?
-????? What areas of this field would you avoid? Why?
-????? What organizations, divisions offer the most opportunities for learning and professional advancement?
-????? What satisfaction do you get from being successful?
-????? What functions do most of the senior leadership tend to come from?”
领英推荐
** An essential objective is to demonstrate, by the manner and content of the questions you ask, that you have done your homework on the topic, and are very interested in learning more. For example – “Brand managers seem highly sophisticated and educated, but I don’t understand why 90% of all new products fail – what is your perspective on this?” OR, “The last three people I spoke with who had been in the Foreign Service told me that learning a third language is critical to advance through the system, but none of them had done it – would you agree? Why?” In less than 10 seconds you have demonstrated that you have done primary research, are inquisitive, are persistent, and value your interviewee’s opinion.
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19 minutes into your conversation, you have set your phone alarm, and it goes off. Thank the person for their perspectives, noting that you had asked for 20 minutes and greatly value their time and consideration.? Mention a few things you learned in the conversation. In many cases they will say – “Happy to help, I have a little more time because it seems you are really interested in this subject, so let’s keep going.”
Whenever you finish, you wrap-up by saying – “Thank you, I greatly appreciate the chance to speak with you, I’ve learned x, y and z and, now that you know more about me – who would you recommend I speak to next?”
At this point, if you impressed them with your research, communication skills, and interest in this particular subject, you will get introduction/s to additional professionals. If you don’t receive any additional references, you want to review how you came across during the informational interview, and ask yourself – did you project a very positive image that merited a recommendation from this new friend of yours? If not, what could you have done better?
THANK YOU NOTES AND FOLLOW-UP
Send a thank you note, making sure you reference a particular topic you discussed, demonstrating this isn’t a template. If you hadn’t received any additional introductions, you may want to bring this up again.
Keep a spreadsheet with the contact information and a few notes for each of your informational interviews. If you continue to progress in this industry or function you will definitely want to drop them a note 3-4 months later, or when you are in an internship that is in the area you had been discussing, keeping in touch with this person.
At this time, you can also reach out and ask them to connect with you on LinkedIn.? Always, personalize your request.? And never try to link in with someone you don’t know.
NEXT STEPS
Review how much you learned in the process. Does this new information change your next steps? Continue informational interviewing with others. Do it again. Build your network. Consider how to reciprocate to those you engaged with.? Continue building your knowledge.
If you need additional questions to ask, you can google “informational interviewing” and should find hundreds listed.? Here are a few other sources you may want to read:
?A FINAL NOTE
The question I most often get during this conversation is – How can I find out an individual’s email if I don’t know them or are not LinkedIn with them already?? Here are a few options:
-????? Call the organization and tell operator you are trying to send this individual an email
-????? A number of free email lookup engines are available – such as hunter.io, connect.clearbit.com (supports chrome only).? A complete array of options is available at 13 Ways to Find Someone’s Email Address
-????? Join a group on LinkedIn they have listed.? Once a member, you can email them directly
-????? Check social media – google them, check Facebook, Instagram, etc.
-????? Go to Monster/CareerBuilder/Indeed/Vagas and see if you find their resume
-????? Ask a 2nd degree connection for their address, or an introduction
-????? Look up their organization’s website and google their name and/or their department
-????? Look at others in their organization and reverse engineer their email domain protocols
If you have any other valuable ideas please send them to me so we can share with all.
Thank you, and good luck!
Jim Beirne
August 2024
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