Informational Interviews: Grab A Coffee, Get a Job, and Supercharge Your Career by Graham Wahlberg

Author:Graham Wahlberg
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2016-03-25T04:00:00+00:00

Why is someone going to talk to you in the first place?

When I first started doing informationals, I constantly wondered why anyone would say yes to my request for one. I have been ignored far more than responded to “yes” or “no”. Looking back through a season of lots of interviews, I was only responded to by 30-40% of warm introductions and maybe ten percent of cold introductions. Usually people I’ve asked have never done an informational interview, do not know what to expect, and need to be explained why you want to meet with them.

These barriers are low enough, though, even if the interviewee has his initial objections. Why? People love to help, love to give and it makes them feel good. It strokes their egos, making them feel important enough for someone to ask about their life and to learn from them. Most people love giving advice and offering to help in any way possible. Many just need a reason or forum to do so, but no one has ever asked. I am continually amazed at how many “industry veterans” I meet who tell me: “I love doing these, but I only do a handful each year. I really don’t understand why more people don’t reach out?”

But if this is true, then why was I ignored so many times? I usually chalk it up to 90% busyness and 10% “they don’t want to meet with you.” I now get hundreds of emails per day and it is difficult to give a thoughtful response to non-priority emails. Generally, I often ignore one-off emails from people I don’t know or save them for later. These saved emails often get lost. Busy seasons cause non-urgent emails to be skipped over. Often I may not respond to someone until they have emailed me two to three times so I know they are serious and not just blasting emails to hundreds of people. Persistence is key and you really cannot bug someone too much in our modern “always on” world. The first thing you need to do is ask!

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