informational interviews
When Was Your First . . . Informational Interview?
Career coaches like me will tell you that informational interviews are great tools for people in transition in mid-career, maybe in your 30’s or 40’s? And just getting started after college, in your 20’s? I realized recently that my first informational interview was when I was FIVE! Yeah, five years old.
My oldest cousin was ten years my senior. Richard was 15 when I was five. The first house we lived in was about two miles from my cousin Richard’s house. Richard would ride his bike over to our house to hang out with my younger brother and me. And whenever he arrived, we had the questions, LOTS of questions.
‘What’s it like to ride a bike in the street?’ (All we could muster were tricycles on the sidewalk.) ‘It’s fun.’ ‘How do you make it across those big streets?’ ‘Just follow the lights.’
‘What’s it like to go to school?’ ‘It’s okay. I like hanging out with my friends.’
‘Who’s your favorite baseball player?’ ‘I don’t have one. I like Elvis Presley.’
He answered our questions with natural sincerity and a quiet sense of humor. And thinking back on it now, he really enjoyed our questions.
Not every informational interview you do will be that fun, or could it be?!
Do you remember being five years old, how many questions YOU had? That is precisely the mindset, the posture, the demeanor you need to do a really good informational interview.
When you burn with curiosity, when you have a passion for something that someone already does, you become a very interesting person for that someone to meet, you offer them a flattering and engaging conversation. And when you connect with someone and they share valuable information, you’re on your way!
Like I was on my way to riding a bike in the street, going to school, and falling in love with Rock ‘n Roll, only with me, it turned out to be the Beatles.
How to Find a Job in City A while Living in City B: Part II – Connections
Making Connections – Easier the Second Time?
Seven years later I again decided to make a cross-country move to a place where I, again, didn’t know people. I was unsure about the job market with a plunging economy, and I worried that no amount of experience would help me find a job. I did have tools at my fingertips that weren’t there before. I had social networking sites like Facebook and Linked-In. This time around, I was not only able to share my plans for moving with the people around me, I could easily connect with friends and family much closer to the place I wanted to live.
With a simple post of, “Looking for job ideas in education in DC,” I had messages and emails coming from friends and friends of friends all over the country. Suddenly everyone I knew, either knew someone, was related to someone, or had dated someone who lived there. I took any phone number, email address, Instant Messenger screen name anyone passed along; I was introduced to friends of friends in Facebook messages, connections were suggested through Linked-In—the ability to connect was incredible.
But, then I also acted. Not only did I take the information, I contacted the people. No, not everyone was in my field or knew anything about exactly what I wanted to do. But, people were again very helpful, answering questions about location, reputation, commute times. Many offered to point me toward someone in the area who knew the answers they didn’t know. And like my previous experience, any chance to share my story was an opportunity to refine my goals and my ability to communicate them to other people.
If you have questions or comments, let me know on our Interview Doctor blog site; I’ll be happy to answer your questions. Check out Part III of this story in the coming days.