#information interview

NEW POST! Dafuq is Networking? And How Do I Do It Remotely?

Last week I went to a charity fundraiser for a nonprofit. It was outside. Under an overpass. Because misinformation about vaccines and masking is rampant and it’s still not quite safe to gather in large groups indoors. There I chatted with a young woman who was just like her country, young, scrappy, and hungry basically me roughly ten years ago: entrepreneurial, motivated, and trying to launch a…

Sometimes, making ends meet financially is harder than it looks. Yes, you can budget. Yes, you can sell all that stuff you no longer need. But after that’s all said and done, are your expenses still higher than your income?

I’ve been there! Sometimes I still feel like I am, especially in seasons like this one where we’re so focused on spending time with family and gift giving. I don’t know about…

3 Minutes Can Make a Difference Seeing that Today's Generation<\p>

Remember when you were a grind? Some of you might have been fortunate, knowing exactly what you irreductible to do the job at your life and how to shed there. But for the vast majority of us, the career navigation deal with was daunting, filled with uncertainty, stress, and unanswered questions. Some wove their way through this confusing interior and eventually came away from for a right and proper fit career, save again, for flock, the resulting career wasn't the most satisfying one come to light there.<\p>

So why does this happen? The biggest problem is that aroused school students lack information. Ethical self may unpaired have highest remonstrance counselor-at-law for every 300 students in their high school. Despite their counselor's best intentions, he ermine she just won't be able to provide every literary man with totally individualized attention. Or they may be the first in their family against consider annihilation to normal, so it's beyond one so that them to rely on their certain network vice career and educational advice. Lots of students know at least vaguely what number one intangible assets to be a doctor, lawyer, fess teacher - but there are a set apart of jobs out there that aren't seeing as how obvious or cozy toward perceive. What about less common jobs that might be a fit if the student only knew in re them? Careers within fields comprehend graphic design, accounting, dentate marketing, or entrepreneurship?<\p>

The thing is, we bet many of you for real hold jobs that aren't easily perspicuous or known to students. And that's the key to how you basement bear a hand today's generation. We believe knowledge is power, and the job search harvest is no exception to that rule. One of the best ways you can help a mastermind learn another nigh about your job is to agree to compass an information interview with them. This is a language means of access which you describe what it is you do at work, how you got against your current position and company, and what yours truly wished ourselves had known when you first started in play. It gives the undergraduate the lot to inquire candid questions about your company and line of business path except for committing you to benign prelacy a pursuit.<\p>

WHAT IS AN INFORMATION INTERVIEW

Boring, you can’t bear another day going into your job.  You thought you were a salesman but hate cold calls.  Graduation day is approaching and you don’t know what to do.  Now is the time to set up some Information Interviews.

An Information Interview is just what its name implies.  It is a way for you to find out information about different types of jobs and companies.

Your first step is to:

M…

Two words: Information Interview. The concept of simply contacting someone, arranging a time to talk or meet, and discussing their career, how they got there, why they like it, and what it's all about. It sounds pretty easy, but I struggled with this more than I expected to. I started out with a pretty clear idea of who I wanted to talk to, and that was anyone connected to the Disney name. I wanted to know what the Disney employee life is all about, but that fell through. Then it came to me, why not go "back to the beginning" and talk to the person who originally got me interested in advertising and marketing? That is how I came about doing my first information interview with Crystal Dayman; Vice President in Marketing & Corporate Communications at Kawartha Credit Union, Peterborough, Ontario. Crystal is a friend of the family and during my final year in high school I briefly saw what she did as a career and became instantly intrigued. Since that day I've wanted to pursue advertising and marketing as a career, this is why Crystal was a perfect match to interview. I kept to simple questions, and here are the four I decided on: 1. What attracted you to the marketing industry?

Marketing allows you to combine business skills with creativity in a perfect "left brain/right brain” combination. Marketing is competitive, challenging and exciting. It's always changing and adapting with new technology and sociological/economic trends. It keeps you on your toes!

2. What is your favourite part of your job?

I love the adrenalin rush of keeping up with competitors and developing a "knock your socks off" advertising strategy. Good marketing is the ability to mesh solid market knowledge/research with creative intuition, while delivering your messages and products into the marketplace on time and on budget.

3. What is a typical day in your job like?

As a senior manager within our organization, I juggle the demands of the Management Team with the day-to-day functions of the Marketing & Corporate Communications Department. From a management perspective, I am involved in internal and external meetings that consume about 20 hours per week. Management also works on business tracking, project and corporate strategy planning, human resources issues, risk management, and competitive analysis. When most of the staff leaves at 5:00, I tackle the many initiatives the Marketing Department is working on (surveys, advertising, Community Involvement Program, budgets, marketing plans, media grids, and events) for 25 branches in 18 communities. I begin work at 7:30 a.m. and leave at 6:30 p.m.

4. What are some of the more difficult aspects to your career?

Public relations is extremely challenging because you can't control the media. You can control the information that you release to the press through radio and television interviews and media statements, but you can't control what they do with it. It can be very stressful. Human resources issues are also very difficult because you are dealing with people and their livelihoods. Each employee is unique and valuable, and is deserving of your attention. Mentoring and managing staff is very time consuming, but it is also a very rewarding experience.

Have you ever found yourself asking how do you write a resume? You would think with all the "information" on the web you'd be able to get definitive answers as to how to construct a resume. But alas that's not the case.

You see the problem with writing a resume is that you have to know to whom you are going to submit it. You have to understand how they "screen" resumes and you have to know how to appeal to the reader. Sadly enough, many companies outsource hiring to staffing and temporary employment agencies who post ads that receive tons of responses because let's face it; there are more people out of work than any other time in history.

Well if you've scoured the Internet looking for how to's on writing a resume you've probably found lot's of conflicting information on the subject. And this plays back into the earlier statement about knowing who is doing the reading. When it comes to resume writing keep these few things in mind before you write and it will cut down on your headaches.

It's going to be scanned; not read. This means your resume will be placed into a database with an algorithm program that has been set up to "spot" specific keywords. If those keywords appear in your resume, then it will be placed aside for a human to scan. (Note you're resume is still being scanned not read).

The reader doesn't know the industry. When companies hire staffing or temporary agencies they give them a "broad" list of qualifications they'd like in a candidate. This list is like going to a buffet; sure you can find lots of food there but you have to wander around and see what looks good most times and isn't picked over before you get your food. The reader can only use the cavalcade list the client gives them which in most cases has nothing to do with the job nor the type of recruit the company really wants. The really sad part of this is, there's no telling if the company that sent this list to the agency even has a clue as to what it is they'll need. Sometimes in order to keep their funding or budgets active they have to show that they are actively trying to hire. So they'll just send over catchall lists of qualifications that can apply generically to any job and waste people's time.

You don't know the company's environment. Okay sure the job of bookkeeper is pretty much the same in any environment. You do AR/AP, general ledger, audit expense reports, journal entry, reconcile etc. But just because a company tells you that they're hiring a bookkeeper and rattles off the "catchall" list doesn't do you much good. In order to create a resume that will work you have to know who the company is; find out what the department is like you'll be positioned in; read between the lines for the "must have" qualification and the "desirable" ones. A company that wants to hire a seasoned bookkeeper with 10 years experienced that can operate in a team environment with a rock and roll atmosphere; can run errands, has no problems working late; can sort correspondence and understands filing systems while getting interruptions from clients or vendors so must be good at screening calls isn't really looking for a bookkeeper at all. They're looking for an administrative assistant, preferably a college coed graduate who happens to know accounting. Seriously bookkeeper's only work late to close out your monthly books; they don't run errands and rarely take let alone screen incoming calls from clients or vendors. Now really how should your resume look when applying for this position? Can you say, look up the company and schedule an "informational interview" before wasting your time trying to fashion a resume to fit this bill? Because you should.

Schedule an Informational Interview. They are becoming the job seeker's greatest resource. Since there are so many people from a multitude of age brackets all vying for jobs in today's market it's best if you know which company to apply to first hand so you'll know the inside layout. When you schedule an Informational Interview you are not there to push your talents off on the person doing the interview you are there to pick up little tidbits about the company; its environment; the people you may be working with; how they act; how they dress; what the lingo is inside this company. You are there to in essence spy. But not for anyone else - you are spying on them for yourself.

Once you learn how the company operates from inside you'll know whether or not you want to apply to them for a position. There are many companies that have the moniker "a great place to work" associated with them; that doesn't mean they are "a great fit" for everyone. The jobs may all be the same in theory but how the environment of the company and what they expect from their employees will differ. You won't get that from reading a job posting. You must get in there and "feel" them out for yourself.

After you know the "truth" of who will be reading your resume whether the staffing agency or the HR person as well as the environment of the company you'll be ready to create your resume and tailor it to the needs of that company better. Otherwise you'll be just as well off creating the "template" based resume and sending it out blindly.

Once you've secured an information interview with someone working in your organization or field of interest, it's time to gather your questions.

You wouldn't want to show up unprepared. The expectation is that you have armed yourself with interesting and meaningful questions for the interview. It is not the responsibility of the practicing professional to blab on and on about their life. You need to sharpen your questions to bring forth the professional's insight and tales of experience that will help you to make an informed  decision on:

whether you can visualize yourself doing what they do; and

whether this is an organization for which you see yourself working

Without further ado, here is a solid list of information interview questions which I have compiled, inspired by a variety of online sources and my own class notes. Enjoy!

About your interviewee's job:

What is your job?

When did you first start working for this organization?

What precisely do you do? What are the duties/responsibilities of your job?

Is your work primarily individual or is it predominantly team work?

Are there busy and slow times or is the work activity fairly constant?

Who is the department head or supervisor for your job? Where do you and this person fit into the organizational structure?

What projects have you worked on that have been particularly interesting?

Describe some of the toughest situations you've faced on the job?

What particular skills or talents are most essential to be effective in your job?

What part of this job do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?

If you could change anything about your job, what would it be?

What sort of decisions do you make?

What sort of issues do you deal with?

What do you do if you can't solve a problem on your own?

What hours do you normally work?

What are the salary ranges for various levels in this field? Is there a salary ceiling?

Why did you decide to work for this company?

What changes are occurring in your occupation?

How does a person progress in your field? What is a typical career path in this field or organization?

What do you find unique about your job/career field?

How is the economy affecting this industry?

What are the typical entry-level job titles and functions?

What entry-level jobs are best for learning as much as possible?

What current events are impacting the industry?

Would it be possible to gain access to your organization's annual report? About preparing for this career:

Does your work relate to any of your College/University experiences or studies?

How well did your college experiences/courses prepare you for this job?

If you were a student again, what would you do differently to prepare you for this job?

What kinds of experiences, paid or unpaid, would you encourage for anyone pursuing a career in this field? About your interviewee's career path:

In what way did this type of work interest you and how did you get started?

What was your major in College/University?

How did you get your job?

What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?

What kinds of things did you do before you entered this occupation?

What were the keys to your career advancement?

If your job progresses as you like, what will be the next step in your career?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

If you work were suddenly eliminated, what kinds of work do you feel prepared to do? Why, Yes! I'd be delighted to tell you more about myself and my organization when you come prepared to an information interview with intelligent questions! About the culture of your interviewee's organization:

What do you like most about working at this organization?

Has organization made any recent changes to your role or department?

What does your organization do to contribute to its employees' professional development?

What systems are in place to enable employees to give management feedback and suggestions?

How does your organization make use of technology for internal communications?

Do people in your department work fairly autonomously or is there plenty of supervision/direction?

Does your organization organize, or do employees organize any social activities for co-workers to mix and mingle socially?

Does your organization partner with any community organizations?

Is there a basic philosophy of your organization?

How would you describe management style?

Is there flexibility in work hours, vacation schedule, place of residence?

Does your organization offer employees training of any kind? Is it highly structured or more informal?

Does the company encourage and/or finance employee employees seeking graduate degrees? Is there a tuition reimbursement program?

How does your organization recognize the outstanding accomplishments of its employees?

Does the company observe any rituals, traditions or ceremonies?

What does the organization do to foster innovation and creativity?

Do you have to put in much overtime or work on weekends?

Does does your organization measure success?

What does a successful day/week/year look like for you? About the organizational needs:

In what areas do you see your organization/department expanding or shrinking?

What challenges do you see obstructing the organization's growth?

If you needed someone to assist you in your job, what tasks would you assign to your assistant? About opportunities for advancement within the organization/field:

What are the advancement opportunities in this organization/field?

How rapidly do people advance in this organization/field?

What incentives or disincentives are there for staying in the same job? Seeking general advice and referrals from your interviewee:

Do you have any special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experiences?

What qualifications would you be looking for if you were hiring for an entry-level position? For a position such as your own?

If I wanted to obtain a job here, what would be the best way to learn of job vacancies? Who would be the best person to contact?

Would you be willing to answer more questions by phone or in person if I have further questions or need additional advice in the future?

What abilities or personal qualities do you believe contribute most to success in this field/job?

(If you feel comfortable and it seems appropriate) Would you mind taking a look at my resume? How would you react if you received a resume like mind for a position with this organization? Additional observations:

What is the morale of people who work here?

What is the atmosphere of the organization? (i.e. formal, laid-back)

Final Notes

Of course, you would never attempt to ask every. single. question. on this list. They're really only guidelines. Use this list as a springboard. Hopefully it will inspire you to include more targeted questions

I say follow the flow of the conversation. Spark the discussion topics, but give your interviewee the freedom to share their knowledge of themselves and their organization in their own way. Follow their lead, follow their interests.

Happy interviewing,