Career Cube Blog

I’m sure that many of you just made that inward “ick” sound when reading those two words. It conjures up feelings of having to uncomfortably call people on the phone or ask them in person essentially if you can pick their brains useful information to help your career, and probably not help them in return.

Yeah–”ick”.

But, that’s just how you feel. That’s not necessarily, 100% how the person on the other end of the phone is going to feel when you call them and ask them for their expertise. I’m guessing that they’d feel kind of flattered. Here’s you, nervous, unsure, curious and anxious, calling them-and perceiving them as confident, knowledgeable and helpful. See where the natural opportunity for flattery comes in?

However, you still need to handle it like a pro. Used effectively, these interviews can be the quickest way to jump-start your career. But you need to do ‘em right.

Informational interviews are a chance for you to sit down with someone (either in-person or over the phone) and learn about their job, their industry or their career and specifically how it relates to your experiences. You want to get information from them that will enable you to take the next step.

First-the Ask. The one thing that does go through your perspective informational interviewee’s mind (notice how in this case YOU’RE the interviewER? Cool huh?) is that you’ll take up too much time. So when you ask them for an appointment-give them a time frame. Be realistic, but don’t expect to have their attention all night. A “brief” interview is defined as 15 to 30 minutes. The most you want to commit them to is 45 minutes to an hour-and you’d better spring for a meal or coffee. The ask should go something like this:

“Hi, I’m Barbie Mayham, and I was referred to you by Tom Jones who said you would be a great resource of information for helping me get into the Marketing field. Do you have a few minutes to chat?”

“I just graduated from college with a degree in marketing, but I’m not sure what field I’m specifically interested in, though at this point I think I’d like to eventually be the person creating the ads. I did a little of that in college and am interested in learning more about what it would be like to create ads for an advertising campaign. If it’s possible, I’d like to setup a time for us to talk-about 30 to 45 minutes if you can fit it in your schedule. I’d be happy to meet at that new diner down the street and buy you breakfast or lunch for so generously taking the time to meet with me. Do you have any time available next week?”

Work with their schedule and be as flexible as possible. If they sound like they can’t commit to that long, then punt and ask if you can have a brief-15 to 20 minute phone conversation instead. In some cases, that still may not fit into their schedule-and that’s OK. It does not mean that you’re a bad person, or that nobody likes you, or that the fates are against you. Thank them for their time, and move onto another prospect.

Second, if they say yes, then your next step is to come up with a list of questions to ask. Brainstorm with a friend to make sure you cover everything you need to know. The last thing you want to do is leave the meeting and think of some additional questions on the way home that you REALLY need the answer to. It’s fine to bring the questions to the interview. You should get their permission to transcribe their answers as best you can during the meeting, or better yet, to bring a mini tape recorder.

Stick to the time frame that you agreed upon in your phone call. If it is approaching, or is a little over the agreed-upon time, stop the interview, and let them know that if they need to go, it’s fine with you, you do not want to keep them longer than planned. In most cases unless they have a pressing appointment, they will keep talking to you.

Your questions should relate to ways that your experience and interests would fit into their career or industry. How they got into the industry, and what they feel it takes to become successful. You can of course ask other questions, but those are good ones to start off with or weave throughout the interview.

You may not like their answers. This can happen. The thing to remember is that it’s just one person’s opinion based on their experiences. Sometimes you’ll be able to ask someone else to get a different viewpoint, in other cases you won’t. Go with what your instincts tell you about the advice they give you.

Third, thank them profusely at the end for their help, and ask them if there’s anyway that you can help them in their business. If you didn’t meet face-to-face, then it’s nice to send a follow-up gift of an online gift certificate to Amazon.com, or a tin of cookies to show your appreciation for their time. As the saying goes-it will be like a cat finding a mouse in a bowlful of milk-completely unexpected, but much appreciated.

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