3 Steps to Making the Informational Interview Work -

oxthplakh · Starszy szeregowy chodzący paszczak

In talking about interviews, we have to widen the net to include a couple of other topics. These days, the interview process often includes behavioral and skills testing, and people who talk about interviews often focus on the on-the-nose issue of the job interview, to the exclusion of the highly useful and related topic of the informational interview.
But if you're really determined to get the job you want, it may be time to embrace the informational interview as part of a more complete job landing strategy.
1. If you're thinking about changing industries or job functions, embrace the informational interview. Find 3-5 people who have the kind of job you'd like to have, and go for it. You can find tons of advice online about how to conduct informational interviews with a quick Google search. And if you doubt in the natural human capacity for helping polite and interested strangers, then have faith in the natural human need to feel important, to be seen as good at what they do, and want to be listened to.
2. Do your research. Google again, along with social networking sites, can be used to your competitive advantage. It's all about researching the target company, and coming prepared with a few strong questions to ask, to show your interest and demonstrate that you've done your homework. To that, let's also add that the more you can find out about the company's interview process, the better. Ask the person who sets up your interview. Find someone who knows someone who's been through the process. Get every edge you can.
3. Role play. Yes, it can feel awkward and boring and seem impossible for your spouse to authentically embody the thoughts and actions of the person who will ultimately interview you. Allow me to get all "tough love" on you and say "Get over it." Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes, write down the questions you'd want answered if you were the hiring manager, then get used to answering then cleanly and confidently. Movie director Garry Marshall once told a floundering male film student pitching a movie idea, "No one wants to give $100,ed hardy handbags,000 to a nervous man." Same goes for women, same goes for the job market.
And what's even better? This process works for the standard job interview, too. So if you can learn how to work it well when there's "less at stake," so to speak, you'll be in a good position for the real thing.
For us, Halloween was here. Some of the older folks were concerned about tomorrow night, which was really Halloween night. We had been told, "Tomorrow night you are not leaving this house." The story was the same with all of us. There was a conspiracy among the older folks. They had it in their heads to spoil our tricking, but our plans were already made, and we had taken what our folks had said into account. We would do our tricking on this night, the night before Halloween and forget about the treats of tomorrow night.Our plan was for all of us to get out of the house as quickly as we could after supper. If your folks raised suspicions, then you were to sneak out before supper. After all, what is a meal missed when the fun of Halloween was about to begin?
Just before supper, Wizzer gave our signal then hollered for me from outside the kitchen door just like we had planned. Mom never could say no to Wizzer. I had never told Wizzer about this, but one day I had heard Mom say that she felt sorry for him, what with him being a change of life baby and all. It wasn't my intent to spy on her. This particular conversation was overheard at one of her gabfests with her friend Julia. I was only trying to do what I had been trying to do with no luck at all for as long as I could remember. Namely, it was to see Mrs. Wetzel sleeping and doing something that took some watching and being careful. Just now, they was pitting and peeling peaches and getting them ready for canning.