How to set-up informational interviews?

As a last step in looking for specific information about companies, students will often set up informational interviews looking only for information – not a job. The best sources of information of this kind tend to be friends, family, and alumni from your school. Many people refer to this practice as networking. That is, what with employees at corporations. You should be sure at the outset, however, to specify that you are you are really doing is increasing the number of contacts within specific industries. This can often lead to referrals, references, and once in a while, even a job. So the best strategy is to access you for such events before time. It gives confidence and strength for mission and objective that you want to accomplish. So here is the guideline to follow a strong process to conduct such activities.

Be sure to follow guidelines when setting up informational interviews:

1. Prepare questions in advance.

Although you are looking in part for a kind of education, be sure that you have clarified in your own mind what specific questions fit in with your career goals. Try to develop questions that will truly assess what people do on the job. You may, in fact, want to research the company before your visit to build up a reservoir of questions.

2. Set up the interviews; record information.

Look upon this activity as a research project rather than a job interview. Do not walk into a company without first calling or writing for an appointment. Just as you would for a research project, maintain information on each interview for your later reference.

3. Handle the interview effectively.

Be courteous. Realize that the person is doing you a favor. Bring a copy of your resume, ask questions, and get the names of other people to contact in the field. Try to limit the person’s time to ten or fifteen minutes. Finally, be sure to thank the person at the end of the meeting and later in writing.

Once you have completed a self-assessment by setting your objectives, narrowing down the field, and looking for a specific information, you will find it much easier to sell the product you are putting on the marketplace – yourself. The reason most people have difficulty selling themselves in both resumes and interviews is that they haven’t assessed their own abilities, set realistic objectives, or researched the various industries and companies.