Use Info Interviews to Get Hired Faster

Use Info Interviews to Get Hired Faster TweetIts a little-understood but abundantly proven fact: if youre looking for a job, an intelligently executed campaign of informational interviews typically works faster than applying to jobs online. It has been estimated that one in 12 informational interviews results in a job, making info interviewing the most powerful form of job search networking. The reason is simple: interviews with company insiders allow you to develop relationships and insights into your target employers before a job opening ever occurs. When a job later becomes available, youre no longer an anonymous resume in a stack of 200; youre already a top candidate. Sometimes the job is never even posted, so you may have little or no competition. In last weeks post I mentioned three different types of informational interviews and focused on the Career Exploration Informational. This post focuses on the Company Insider Conversation (an event that can lead to a Hiring Manager Meeting, which Ill discuss in next weeks post). In the fourth and final post in the series, Ill share some crucial tips for success that apply to all types of informationals. The Company Insider Conversation Look for opportunities to talk with almost anyone who works in a company youre interested in working in. Ideally, youll have a target companies list of 40-50 companies youre focusing on. This is called targeted networking. In this type of conversation youll be asking questions about the company and very tactfully questions that can help you navigate a path to getting hired there. Why did I say very tactfully? Because its easy to scare off a contact perhaps even before youve landed a meeting with them by saying anything that makes them feel pressured to find you a job. (In fact, even calling it an informational interview can be a turnoff. Try calling it something like a conversation about your experiences at XYZ Co. and how you got started there. It sounds easier and more relaxed.) Think of it as if it were a first date. You may be hot to trot, or you may be eager to get married and have children. But youre getting way ahead of yourself and turning the other person off if thats all you can think about. Usually you have to get acquainted first! Focus on putting your company insider at ease, taking a sincere interest in the person and what he or she has to say. Enjoy having a comfortable, interesting professional discussion. There are all sorts of positive results that might in good time flow from this relationship, including referral to a hiring manager. But first, build relationship. One of the best how-to resources Ive found on doing this type of informational interview is The 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton, which tells you how to create your target companies list, how to get people within those companies to talk to you, how to conduct the meeting, and how to follow up afterwards. Here are some questions Dalton suggests asking during the meeting: What trends are most impacting your business right now? What surprises you most about your job? What can I do right now to best prepare for a career in this field/a job in this company? What resources should I be sure to look into next? Notice that the last question is very vague. Thats intentional. Of course it will be great if the answer is, Well, you should talk to X, shes the one who hires people like you. But unless you have a very good rapport with the person youre talking to, asking Who else should I talk to? could be seen as an imposition. Use your social intuition to judge whether the time is right for that question. Another excellent resource is The 20-Minute Networking Meeting by Ballinger and Perez, which focuses almost entirely on what goes on in the meeting itselfnot so much about how to get to that point. To my mind it does a better job of guiding you in having a productive meeting. Read my post about this excellent book. So how do I get company insiders to meet with me? Dalton recommends sending an email similar to this example from his book: SUBJECT: Duke MBA student seeking your advice Dear Mr. Jones, My name is Brooke Franklin, and I am a first-year Duke MBA student who found your information in the Duke alumni database. May I have 20 minutes to ask you about your experience with IBM? I am trying to learn more about marketing careers at technology companies in North Carolina, and your insights would be very helpful. I recognize this may be a busy time for you, so if we are unable to connect by mail Ill try to reach you next week to see whether that is more convenient. Thank you for your time. Brooke Dalton calls this a five-point email because it follows these five guidelines: 1. 100 words or less 2. No mention of jobs (in subject or body) 3. Connection goes first (mention the person who referred you or something you have in common) 4. Generalize your interest (e.g., technology companies in North Carolina) 5. Maintain control of the follow-up After the meeting: the crucial importance of keeping in touch In your job search networking you may have heard people say Ill keep you in mind if I hear of any openings. The intention is nice, but the fact is they they generally will not keep you in mind unless you follow up. Lets say you took the time and effort to sit down and talk with someone. You gave them information and advice. And then you never heard back. You dont know whether they took your advice. You dont know whether it helped. You lose interest in helping them again. And you may even feel slighted or frustrated. Having invested some time in another persons success, youre rooting for them and want to know how it turns out. So if someone has given you information, ideas, suggestions or leads, follow up. Take action on what they told you, or at least research their ideas further. Report back to them with a brief email a couple of weeks later letting them know what you did and how their advice was useful to you. If you ran into a roadblock, mention how youre working on overcoming it. To help pave the way for your followup message, tell them during the meeting that youll update them next Thursday or within a couple weeks. Obligate yourself to follow up. That way, when your update arrives you will be perceived not as bugging the person, but as delivering on a promise. Of course, it also helps to send your update on time, keep it brief and avoid asking for additional favors. Your next steps Ive been referring to the company insider in the singular, but theres also a numbers game involved here if you want to get hired soon. The more company insiders you talk to, the more likely it is that one of these info interviews will be that one in 12 I referred to at the start of this article, the one that leads to a job. So, what will you do this week to arrange meetings with people in, or knowledgeable about, your target companies? As your company insider relationships mature though additional updates and sharing of information, some of them may result in introductions to hiring managers. Congratulations! In the next post Ill offer tips for success with that most powerful form of informational interview. Use Info Interviews to Get Hired Faster TweetIts a little-understood but abundantly proven fact: if youre looking for a job, an intelligently executed campaign of informational interviews typically works faster than applying to jobs online. It has been estimated that one in 12 informational interviews results in a job, making info interviewing the most powerful form of job search networking. The reason is simple: interviews with company insiders allow you to develop relationships and insights into your target employers before a job opening ever occurs. When a job later becomes available, youre no longer an anonymous resume in a stack of 200; youre already a top candidate. Sometimes the job is never even posted, so you may have little or no competition. In last weeks post I mentioned three different types of informational interviews and focused on the Career Exploration Informational. This post focuses on the Company Insider Conversation (an event that can lead to a Hiring Manager Meeting, which Ill discuss in next weeks post). In the fourth and final post in the series, Ill share some crucial tips for success that apply to all types of informationals. The Company Insider Conversation Look for opportunities to talk with almost anyone who works in a company youre interested in working in. Ideally, youll have a target companies list of 40-50 companies youre focusing on. This is called targeted networking. In this type of conversation youll be asking questions about the company and very tactfully questions that can help you navigate a path to getting hired there. Why did I say very tactfully? Because its easy to scare off a contact perhaps even before youve landed a meeting with them by saying anything that makes them feel pressured to find you a job. (In fact, even calling it an informational interview can be a turnoff. Try calling it something like a conversation about your experiences at XYZ Co. and how you got started there. It sounds easier and more relaxed.) Think of it as if it were a first date. You may be hot to trot, or you may be eager to get married and have children. But youre getting way ahead of yourself and turning the other person off if thats all you can think about. Usually you have to get acquainted first! Focus on putting your company insider at ease, taking a sincere interest in the person and what he or she has to say. Enjoy having a comfortable, interesting professional discussion. There are all sorts of positive results that might in good time flow from this relationship, including referral to a hiring manager. But first, build relationship. One of the best how-to resources Ive found on doing this type of informational interview is The 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton, which tells you how to create your target companies list, how to get people within those companies to talk to you, how to conduct the meeting, and how to follow up afterwards. Here are some questions Dalton suggests asking during the meeting: What trends are most impacting your business right now? What surprises you most about your job? What can I do right now to best prepare for a career in this field/a job in this company? What resources should I be sure to look into next? Notice that the last question is very vague. Thats intentional. Of course it will be great if the answer is, Well, you should talk to X, shes the one who hires people like you. But unless you have a very good rapport with the person youre talking to, asking Who else should I talk to? could be seen as an imposition. Use your social intuition to judge whether the time is right for that question. Another excellent resource is The 20-Minute Networking Meeting by Ballinger and Perez, which focuses almost entirely on what goes on in the meeting itselfnot so much about how to get to that point. To my mind it does a better job of guiding you in having a productive meeting. Read my post about this excellent book. So how do I get company insiders to meet with me? Dalton recommends sending an email similar to this example from his book: SUBJECT: Duke MBA student seeking your advice Dear Mr. Jones, My name is Brooke Franklin, and I am a first-year Duke MBA student who found your information in the Duke alumni database. May I have 20 minutes to ask you about your experience with IBM? I am trying to learn more about marketing careers at technology companies in North Carolina, and your insights would be very helpful. I recognize this may be a busy time for you, so if we are unable to connect by mail Ill try to reach you next week to see whether that is more convenient. Thank you for your time. Brooke Dalton calls this a five-point email because it follows these five guidelines: 1. 100 words or less 2. No mention of jobs (in subject or body) 3. Connection goes first (mention the person who referred you or something you have in common) 4. Generalize your interest (e.g., technology companies in North Carolina) 5. Maintain control of the follow-up After the meeting: the crucial importance of keeping in touch In your job search networking you may have heard people say Ill keep you in mind if I hear of any openings. The intention is nice, but the fact is they they generally will not keep you in mind unless you follow up. Lets say you took the time and effort to sit down and talk with someone. You gave them information and advice. And then you never heard back. You dont know whether they took your advice. You dont know whether it helped. You lose interest in helping them again. And you may even feel slighted or frustrated. Having invested some time in another persons success, youre rooting for them and want to know how it turns out. So if someone has given you information, ideas, suggestions or leads, follow up. Take action on what they told you, or at least research their ideas further. Report back to them with a brief email a couple of weeks later letting them know what you did and how their advice was useful to you. If you ran into a roadblock, mention how youre working on overcoming it. To help pave the way for your followup message, tell them during the meeting that youll update them next Thursday or within a couple weeks. Obligate yourself to follow up. That way, when your update arrives you will be perceived not as bugging the person, but as delivering on a promise. Of course, it also helps to send your update on time, keep it brief and avoid asking for additional favors. Your next steps Ive been referring to the company insider in the singular, but theres also a numbers game involved here if you want to get hired soon. The more company insiders you talk to, the more likely it is that one of these info interviews will be that one in 12 I referred to at the start of this article, the one that leads to a job. So, what will you do this week to arrange meetings with people in, or knowledgeable about, your target companies? As your company insider relationships mature though additional updates and sharing of information, some of them may result in introductions to hiring managers. Congratulations! In the next post Ill offer tips for success with that most powerful form of informational interview.