WEBVTT - What to ask in informational interviews

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:15.600
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:20.560
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about what to ask in informational interviews.

0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.120
<v Speaker 1>It is great to meet with people and learn more

0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:28.479
<v Speaker 1>about their fields or companies, but certain questions can be

0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:33.600
<v Speaker 1>more helpful with this time than others. Today's tip, like

0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:37.240
<v Speaker 1>another this week, comes from Ashley Stall's book You Turn,

0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:42.120
<v Speaker 1>Get Unstuck, Discover your Direction, and Design your dream career.

0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:46.279
<v Speaker 1>Ashley is a career coach who helps people figure out

0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.520
<v Speaker 1>what they want to be doing in life. When people

0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:53.560
<v Speaker 1>are trying to move companies or fields, career guides often

0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:58.600
<v Speaker 1>suggest setting up informational interviews. People agree to meet with

0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:01.280
<v Speaker 1>folks to talk about what they've learned or what people

0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.959
<v Speaker 1>should know. It is not an interview for a job.

0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.280
<v Speaker 1>It's just a way to get helpful information. It is

0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:12.280
<v Speaker 1>a wise idea to take advantage of these if people

0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.600
<v Speaker 1>are willing to do them, but if you don't think

0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:21.240
<v Speaker 1>it through, the conversations can be awkward and sometimes people

0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:24.240
<v Speaker 1>wind up doing a lot of these interviews and just

0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.440
<v Speaker 1>need some guidance somewhere to get started in any conversation.

0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:33.800
<v Speaker 1>So Ashley suggests two questions. First, do you have any

0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:37.560
<v Speaker 1>suggestions for how I can stand out as a candidate?

0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.120
<v Speaker 1>And second, do you have any suggestions on companies I

0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.440
<v Speaker 1>should look into that are perhaps not on my radar.

0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.760
<v Speaker 1>These questions are both helpful for a few reasons. Neither

0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:55.920
<v Speaker 1>are particularly demanding, which is good. Aggressive informational interviews tend

0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.720
<v Speaker 1>to make people shy off from doing them. But as

0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:02.720
<v Speaker 1>for the particular is the first question how to stand

0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:06.000
<v Speaker 1>out as a candidate is helpful for the obvious reason

0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.800
<v Speaker 1>that it tends to inspire people to offer to pass

0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:12.480
<v Speaker 1>around your resume if they like you. That is a

0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.080
<v Speaker 1>very good way to stand out as a candidate. But

0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.800
<v Speaker 1>even if it doesn't inspire that, it will inspire the

0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.280
<v Speaker 1>person to talk about little things that they think matter

0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.760
<v Speaker 1>in their field. Most likely, anyone applying for jobs is

0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.840
<v Speaker 1>reasonably skilled and credentialed. It is often little things that

0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:35.400
<v Speaker 1>help in terms of getting in. The second question about

0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:39.280
<v Speaker 1>lesser known companies tends to inspire people to connect you

0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.639
<v Speaker 1>to their friends at other companies. It gets the person

0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.480
<v Speaker 1>thinking about the whole landscape of their field and opportunities

0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.960
<v Speaker 1>that might not be so immediately obvious. This is a

0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:55.280
<v Speaker 1>good thing, because again, everyone knows about the big name stuff.

0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.320
<v Speaker 1>This question gets a person to say, oh, yeah, I

0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.080
<v Speaker 1>got an email this morning about this small tech company

0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.640
<v Speaker 1>that's really scaling up their marketing division. These questions both

0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:09.920
<v Speaker 1>aren't asking directly for favors. Long time listeners know that

0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:12.880
<v Speaker 1>I'm a fan of Dorry Clark's adage no asks for

0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.720
<v Speaker 1>a year. Networking for the long haul means not asking

0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:20.040
<v Speaker 1>people to expend political capital for you when they don't

0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.360
<v Speaker 1>really know you. It can feel draining for people in

0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:27.560
<v Speaker 1>positions of power, but asking for suggestions on how to

0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:32.040
<v Speaker 1>stand out and suggestions for where else to look allows

0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.960
<v Speaker 1>people to share their expertise and advice in a very

0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:39.000
<v Speaker 1>non demanding way. These questions also allow people to be

0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.160
<v Speaker 1>helpful in other ways if they want to be helpful,

0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.840
<v Speaker 1>but there's not as much pressure, and I find that

0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.600
<v Speaker 1>this often encourages people to do more, which in the

0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:54.040
<v Speaker 1>long run is what you want. In the meantime, this

0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:58.400
<v Speaker 1>is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:08.320
<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:11.120
<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.960
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:19.880
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:24.200
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.599
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast. At i

0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.720
<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out

0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.200
<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:41.560
<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.039
<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:49.039
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever

0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:50.440
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.