Popular How To Set Up An Informational Interview Kelly KuehnJenna ArcandMay 23, 2024 Bigstock

An informational interview is a great way to learn more about a job or career path you're interested in. It's also a great way to connect with someone who is already doing that job. However, if you've never set one up before, you could be confused about how to do it properly.

Your strategy for setting up an informational interview doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, you should keep it simple so that your intentions for the interview are clear.

Here are three simple steps you can take to set up an informational interview.

1. Identify Strategic People To Interview

Make a list of all of the jobs or career paths that interest you. If there are a lot on your list, narrow it down to the top two or three that you're really excited about pursuing.

Then, identify people in your area or on LinkedIn who work in your selected fields. These should be professionals who work at one of your bucket list companies in your ideal career path.

2. Send A Personalized Invitation To Connect On LinkedIn

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Once you've made your list of people to reach out to, invite each one to connect on LinkedIn using a personalized note.

If you send these people a generic invitation, they'll think you sent an invitation to lots of other people. That can make your invitation look like spam.

Also, if you don't add a personalized note to your invitation, you risk these people ignoring you. Think about it: If they don't know who you are or why you want to connect, they're more likely to brush you aside.

Not sure what to say when connecting with someone on LinkedIn? Just remember to talk about something you two have in common and don't ask for any favors right away. Be curious about their career and the path they took to get to where they are.

In your note, explain that you've never met, but you saw that they worked in your target industry and wanted to reach out to learn more about what they do. Then, simply ask them if they'd be willing to connect.

3. Go In For The Ask

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If someone accepts your invitation, send a follow-up message thanking them for connecting, and tell them you're curious about their industry.

Once you've exchanged a few messages, ask if they are willing to chat more about their work.

They won't always say yes, but it's always worth asking! People generally want to help you out, but people are also busy. It's important to be understanding and respectful of their time.

So, give your contact some options and find out the most convenient time for them. Throw out a few different dates and times. Offer to buy them a cup of coffee, or see if you can set up a quick 15-minute phone or Zoom call.

There are plenty of ways to connect with people to have informational interviews. Figure out what works best for your contact.

Networking plays such a critical role when it comes to landing a job, especially if you're trying to learn more about a career path, job, or company. In order to be successful, you need to be very intentional with your efforts and respectful of a connection's time. The simple strategy above is the best one to use if you're trying to set up an informational interview.

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informational interview Cover Letter Spring Cleaning: 4 Ways To Fix Your Job Search Aaron SanbornJenna ArcandMarch 19, 2024 Bigstock

Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.

In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.

For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.

Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach Bigstock

Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:

• How did I learn about this job?
• How did I apply for the job?
• Did I earn an interview?
• What was the ultimate result?

A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:

Negative Trends

You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.

The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.

One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.

The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.

This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.

Positive Trends

You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.

The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.

The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.

Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.

The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.

Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention Bigstock

Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.

Let's start with resumes!

Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.

The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.

Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.

While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.

As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.

If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.

Build Your Personal Brand

Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.

Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"

Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.

By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.

You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.

Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search Bigstock

Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.

There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:

• Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
• Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
• Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!

Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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