What I learned about Coffee Interviews as a Newcomer to Canada !

I simply cannot describe in words how nerve wrecking a 'coffee interview' (or informational interview or coffee chat) can get, especially if you haven't experienced it before.

In case you are meeting someone for a coffee interview, I'm sure your head is bursting with anxiety and heart pounding before this meeting. Especially because most people who are seeking coffee interviews are looking out for a job. However, as they are, coffee interviews are not about getting or talking about getting the job. You well know you are not supposed to ask for a job directly (unless prompted). But that tiny wicked brain is constantly squeaking to ask for it. It's a very difficult fight.

Before you start reading though this long article, I want to let you know that this is my experience with Coffee Interviews.

Let's get in: There are so many questions that come to you before the interview: What is a coffee interview? What is the premise of the conversation that I am allowed to have? What must I not speak about? How should I be dressed? Just to list a few..

I'll start with a couple of my experiences. When I landed in Toronto there were a couple of companies I really wanted to target. I searched for the most relevant people, sent invites over mails, LinkedIn, personal connect, etc and fortunately, I managed to receive a few reverts agreeing to meet for a chat.

Coffee Interview 1: With a senior experienced professional who has been working at the organization for a very long time. At a well known Canadian bank. After rescheduling a couple of times, they allocated one hour on a Thursday morning. After quick greetings, we started walking towards Starbucks and they asked a question which took me off my guard. "So how are you liking so far at <insert his organization name>?" I had no clue what to answer and I just said "I must apologize, I am unsure what you mean". In none of my previous conversations had I even remotely mentioned that I was a colleague or new to the organization. The first thing that hit my mind was, 'Oh damn, I'm screwed'

Coffee Interview 2: With a Partner at a Big 4 firm. Meeting a partner is a big thing and since I was new to the city, I visited the meeting place a couple of days before the meeting. On the day, the Partner's secretary reached via an email to check if I would be fine to visit a different venue. That last thing I wanted but Of course yes! I reached the place 5 minutes early, but only supposedly. 2 minutes past the meeting time, I get a call from the secretary to check if I had reached. Only then I realize that I was at the wrong block. Oh god there is this coffee shop at every corner, block and building in downtown. (Argh first world problems!) Many might concur with me on how exciting running is when it is drizzling and -5 C. All while you are wearing a Suit.

Coffee Interview 3: With an associate at a Big 4 firm. 5-7 minutes before the meeting I text them with an update that I am at the location. 5 minutes later I get a message "I'm here. I don't see anyone outside the Starbucks. I'm standing in the line now". I somehow knew this is not going to be good since (i) the place was bustling with people, there was no way that they "don't see anyone" (ii) I was standing just 5 feet away from the person. (iii) While ordering, I said "Please allow me to pay, the person turned the other way as if they did not hear anything and opened their Starbucks app and paid. The following 30 minutes were as uninteresting as they could get. The person heard whatever I had to say and answered blandly. Also majority of the answers were "I have no experience in that area. I'm not sure I can help you much."

I wanted to highlight the ones which didn't go as expected for a reason. Such unexpected things happen with everyone and I'll share the outcomes of these interviews at the end of this article. I had 3 more coffee interviews. They went really well. It was amazing that Ihad the chance to meet those individuals. I learnt a lot in those meetings and used some of the advice to my advantage.

The next sections speak about how to go about preparing for these good coffee interviews. Starting with some quick tips:

1. Prepare Well, Research Well
2. Dress Well (Yes Formals) and arrive before time
3. Set the right expectations
4. Be yourself and stay calm
5. Do not be desperate! Do not be desperate!
6. Don't be afraid to ask
7. However, ask engaging questions
8. Respect the interviewee's schedule. Don't over welcome yourself (very important)
9. Strengthen the connection - stay in touch and follow up

All of the above are a little too obvious however I list them because they are a must. None of them must be given a skip at any point of time. The bigger question is what questions to ask. I'll summarize them in 2 sections:

(1) The Starters:

Conversation Starters: The most awkward section of the meeting. You shake hands firmly and then you look to start the conversation. It took me a while to grasp this because it is not practiced in the culture I come from. For e.g. it is fine to talk about weather in Canada or ask about the day. It takes a while, but practice makes it better. This link has some great suggestions for starter conversations:

30 Brilliant Networking Conversation Starters

Elevator Speech: It is a cliche, however the first thing to do is work on your Elevator Speech. I know no one bumps into people in elevators these days. The core motive of the elevator speech is to learn to communicate "Who You Are in 30-60 seconds or less". It's like having a great prelude to the routine. Preparing an elevator speech takes a lot of hard work, especially because all of us feel that "everything" we have done is important and it is impossible to summarize it all in 30 seconds. My suggestions is to bring up only those things that are (i) relevant and important (ii) capture the listener's attention and (iii) would make for an interesting conversation. So that means you need to have a couple of Elevator Speeches well rehearsed which you can use depending on your audience.

(2) The Main Conversation:

What to ask? What should be my questions ? All I recommend is, try to keep the conversation focused. It is critical to keep the questions short and well directed. Also, always carry your pen and notepad along. Carrying your resume is also a good idea however keep it in your bag. Share only if asked or if there is a agreement that they will help you review it. Otherwise resume in your bag.

Some links to help you frame your questions.

• Questions to Ask at the Informational Interview
• Questions To Ask During An Informational Interview

Be a smart listener: Smart listening is excruciatingly important. Make the conversation interesting with the help of active listening. For e.g. If you are meeting someone for an investment banking position and the person mentions that "Our company is making genuine efforts towards Diversity and Inclusion. It's amazing to see the results." It might seem like a regular conversation to a good listener and they might even add some comment, however if you are a smart listener, you will go back to your desk and search for the Diversity team at the company and get a conversation started with them. Since they are the most active right now. Or for e.g. you are interviewing a finance person and they fleetingly mention "Our company is transitioning into a new xyz procurement software. It is a little busy these days." A good listener would empathize on the "busy" part and say "Oh I can only imagine how it gets during transitions" but a smart listener would also know what to do next if they have skills related to procurement.

Ending the article with what happened during my supposedly bad coffee interviews.

1. Coffee Interview 1: On knowing that it was a mistaken identity, they made a quick joke about very similar LinkedIn profiles and still shared their dedicated time. It was my first coffee interview ever and I fumbled a lot with my questions. I could feel I was sloppy and lost. However, the person was an absolute gentleman and answered to the best they could. After the interview too, they reached out to couple of their connects to see if any help could be extended.
2. Coffee Interview 2: I ended up reaching 10 mins late for the 30 minute interview. However, the partner shared the allocated 25 minutes and shared their experience and tips on how to target better for what I was looking for. They also connected me to the recruiter of their firm, before anything could go ahead and materialize I ended up getting a job at Difenda (woohoo!)
3. Coffee Interview 3: Nothing much came out of the meeting. Not to bad mouth or anything. I am guessing the person might not be having their best day. But then they referred me to a very genuine and a helpful person via LinkedIn.

So even the bad experiences turned out not that bad. We feel that we are having a bad day, but it always ends being good if you are open and willing to learn and improvise depending on the situation. One thing I have learnt after to coming to Canada is that people are really nice and will extend their help to the best they can.

I want to end it with one of my favorite quotes I read in Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz:

While bad luck, it's true comes out of the blue, good luck it seems, comes to those who plan for it.

Link to some of my earlier articles:

• What I learned about finding a job as a Newcomer to Canada !
• Research the job market before coming to Canada on PR
• Build an amazing LinkedIn profile and Beyond !

Thank you for reading. Have a Great Coffee Chat !

#newcomertocanada