Networking 101
Pre-meeting Preparation
- Know Your Goals:
- In preparing for your interview, it is important to recognize that all meetings are not alike -- your goals for such meetings will change along a General Career Research ---------- Specific Job Research Advice continuum
- General Career Research Interviews:
Your goal is to acquire basic information about work responsibilities, lifestyles, working conditions, educational and experience entry requirements, etc., while accumulating acquaintances in a field or in a particular kind of work environment or organization of interest to you. This type of interview will dominate your early career planning activities. You are seeking information. - Specific Job Search Advice Interviews:
After you know what you want to do, but are unsure of how to achieve it, your goal is to acquire advice on how to break into the field or organization of your choice. In these interviews you will want to be particularly sure to communicate clear ways that you can contribute, while at the same time seeking information and ideas. Though job leads can come from such interviews, it is vital that you not go into such an interview seeking a job. You are seeking advice and referrals.
- Know yourself
- your skills, professional interests, strengths, and weaknesses
- have promotional pieces prepared (resume, business networking card, personal web site)
- Know the person and/or company with whom you are meeting
- Do you have any valuable information that you can share?
- Prepare a list of open-ended questions to ask during the meeting:
- What are the rewards/challenges/frustrations of your work?
- How is your time allocated among your different responsibilities?
- How much autonomy do you have?
- What would you change about your job if you could change something?
- How much of your work is done individually, how much in a team?
- How much of your day/week can you plan, how much of your work comes up unexpectedly?
- In what ways does your job/profession impact your lifestyle?
- How did you choose this profession?
- Would you choose it again?
- How did you get to your current position?
- Is there anything you wish you had done differently to prepare yourself for your current position?
- What was the best advice you received from someone in your field when you were just starting?
- What qualities do you think that successful people in your field have?
- What kinds of things do you do (or can one do) outside of work to enhance your work performance?
- What training and/or degrees are required/recommended for advancement?
- Which schools are most highly regarded for training in your field?
- What changes do you foresee as being the most dramatic in your field in the next several years?
- How is technology impacting on the nature of your work and how you do your work?
- How do you think the prospects for entry-level workers have changed in your field since you entered?
- What do you think are the most common misconceptions that people have about your line of work?
- Do you have suggestions of trade journals or books that I should read, professional associations that I should be aware of, or events that I should attend?
Last updated on Monday, September 18, 06 at 01:41:16 PM EDT.
