So you’ve carefully recorded your network and sent you message out to the world and suddenly you find an introduction to someone at your dream employer in your inbox? What now?
There is an art and science to following up and giving great informational interviews and that is what I’ll cover today. Typically there are multiple objectives for this part of the process:
- To expand your network and meet another potential advocate in your job search by meeting ideally in person or at least on the telelphone
- To share your amazing background and experience with this person
- To stimulate the idea that maybe your special blend of passion and skills might fit into their organisation
- To identify any specific opportunities that might be open right now in this organisation
- To learn more about the field and /or organisation you are interested in working for
- To look for the next steps – whether that is to follow up on an opportunity, get more introductions, or have a follow up conversation
Step 1: The Follow up email
After getting an introduction, your objective is to set up an informational interview. Typically these are initiated by email contact. The email should be short and concise. It might look a little bit like this:
Dear Sophie,
It is a pleasure to meet you through Christine’s introduction. As Christine mentioned I have a background in consulting with a focus on communication projects for hi-tech companies. I’m looking to find my next challenge and am gathering more information on the exciting opportunities that exist for driving growth in the hi-tech world. Christine told me a little about your experience and I’d love to hear more about your role at xxxxx and also your thoughts on the future of the hi-tech sector.
I know you must be busy, however would you open to meeting for a quick coffee for no more than 45 minutes? To get the ball rolling I will be in town next Friday and could meet you at your offices at 9am. If that is not convenient, please let me know what times work best for you as I can be flexible. Thanks in advance for your kindness and time.
With my best regards,
XXX
Once this email has been sent, you may have to wait a while for a response, however it is absolutely appropriate to follow up by email or phone if you haven’t heard anything within a week.
Step 2 – Outstanding Informational Interviews
What makes a great informational interview? Is it when you do a full on pitch of your amazing skills and only remember to breathe after 30 minutes? Does the idea of selling yourself fill you with dread? Here are some basic guidelines which will make the process simpler and take the pressure off you to “perform”:
The day before the interview, send an email to confirm the meeting. Set out an agenda to outline what you’d like to cover – 2/3 bullet points are more than enough.
- Dress smartly and appropriately for the interview
- Leave extra time to get to the interview calmly and punctually
- Always buy the coffee if appropriate
- Remember that the interview is focussed on the interviewee sharing their knowledge and experience of their role and the industry they work in. You should be asking questions and listening rather than talking. A good rule of thumb is that overall 30% of the time should be you talking and 70% the interviewee speaking.
- Prepare some high quality open questions in advance. What do you really want to know? A good structure is to start with some very specific questions about the person and slowly expand the range of questioning. Ask about their experience in the field, then their current role and what that entails, then ask about their group, then their company and finally the marketplace in general. By doing it this way, you’ll remember to ask questions and listen rather than talking.
- Once you get to discussing the marketplace and wider environment, this is a topic that you can have a valid opinion about. It is a chance to transition from asking and listening to a more conversational dynamic and where you can share your opinions. This is the tipping point in the conversation.
- Often when this transition takes place, you’ll find your interviewee will ask you to tell them a bit about yourself. Make sure that you have a concise answer well prepared – who you are, your background and experience, your core skills and what you’re looking to do. Ideally try to have some stories about some of your core strengths and skills ready in case you’re asked to share them.
- Keep an eye on the time during the interview – respect the interviewee’s time and make sure you don’t keep them beyond the agreed time limit without asking their permission.
- Finish the interview by talking about follow up steps. Again this is a chance to reiterate what you are trying to do (eg find our more about the field or company). A good follow up is to ask if there are other people you could meet from the person’s network to continue your learning. Suggesting sending your resume and then touching base in a few weeks is a good fall back if you get stuck.
- Remember to say thank you, send a follow up email and ideally a hand written note afterward.
- Remember to thank your introducer by email and tell them that the meeting took place.
These guidelines will give you a great chance of giving a storming informational interview and really capturing someone’s attention. It is interesting to note that this model is not about doing a full on advertising pitch, but actually listening to your interviewee and letting them do most of the talking. First this will reduce the pressure on you during the conversation and second, most people’s favourite subject is talking about themselves.
Now you have a full plan to go out and start finding those 70% of jobs that never make it to the job boards. You’ll need to be patient and more importantly it’ll go better if you try to enjoy yourself. So good luck and happy hunting!
By JD