PSA: don't ask your friends or contacts to take informational interviews

[Anonymous]

I disagree completely with this. Just say no if it bothers you so much.

Otherwise, this is the norm for even the most incredibly successful people. They see all sorts of networking (even with much younger people, including high schoolers!) as part of their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:am i the only one who's never heard of 'informational interview' before?

Yes. Are you very old?

yes. 56.

[Anonymous]

It’s great that people are so willing to offer these, but they don’t sound very useful for the younger person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most wildly successful and busy people I know always have 30 minutes to meet with someone. That's how they got so successful.

incorrect

[Anonymous]

I remember who helped me when I had recently graduated from a top graduate program and had no job during a recession.

It was very meaningful to me those who took the time to talk.

I try my best to pay it forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s great that people are so willing to offer these, but they don’t sound very useful for the younger person.

They can be. My DS did one before college with a person in the field he thought he wanted to pursue and got very good advice about choosing majors, what to do to build up a resume for the industry, etc. I'm incredibly grateful to the two people who suggested the interview.

[Anonymous]

Successful people know how to say no if they don't have time. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:am i the only one who's never heard of 'informational interview' before?

Yes. Are you very old?

yes. 56.

I'm just as old, and I've always known it to be a thing. I've worked in the arts, management consulting, and legal fields.

[Anonymous]

The weirdest one I did was this guy I knew professionally, who I didn't know was romantically interested in me, wanted me to talk to his sister for an informational interview. I was a law student, and she was a law professor at a different school.

I didn't know he was interested in me until this law professor started asking me personal questions like she was vetting me as a potential sister in law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is almost never a good idea. Successful people are wildly busy with zero time. Asking them to speak to someone for whom they have no existing job, is a waste of their time and a waste of the person's time. It also forces them to either be rude to you and say no, or feel over burdened and resentful. Please dont do this.

A better alternative is to ask someone if they ever have need for xyz service, will they let you know, as you have a great contact who you'd love them to meet. That allows them to either say 'sure thing' or say 'oh i'd love to meet them now'.

Totally totally disagree. Part of my role is mentoring others and good for them for asking. I can find 30 Mn

[Anonymous]

Completely disagree. I mean I would t want to do it every day but the odd 20 minute convo here and there w a college friend’s nephew who is interested in my field is a pleasure.

[Anonymous]

I am always happy to do informational interviews. I'm busy like many of us, but always try find time. And it almost always inspires me to meet someone still in school or early in their career who is excited about their future and enthused about meeting a grayhair like me, with no expectation of anything other than hearing my insights. It often brings back nostalgia for my earlier days and gives me hope for our future. I got to meet with older and wiser professionals when I was younger, and never once expecting a job out of it -- to the contrary, I was grateful to get a glimpse of what my future might be like. It also helped give me another layer of understanding with the field I was asking about and helped me feel more confident the next time I interviewed for an actual job.

It seems a little Scrooge-like for someone already fortunately enough to have been employed a long time to expect the world not to ask you for such a tiny act of kindness. The job market is so depressing right now for many students and new professionals, no matter how enterprising they are. If they can't even find someone willing to talk informationally, I worry it could just exacerbate the despair they might already be feeling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am always happy to do informational interviews. I'm busy like many of us, but always try find time. And it almost always inspires me to meet someone still in school or early in their career who is excited about their future and enthused about meeting a grayhair like me, with no expectation of anything other than hearing my insights. It often brings back nostalgia for my earlier days and gives me hope for our future. I got to meet with older and wiser professionals when I was younger, and never once expecting a job out of it -- to the contrary, I was grateful to get a glimpse of what my future might be like. It also helped give me another layer of understanding with the field I was asking about and helped me feel more confident the next time I interviewed for an actual job.

It seems a little Scrooge-like for someone already fortunately enough to have been employed a long time to expect the world not to ask you for such a tiny act of kindness. The job market is so depressing right now for many students and new professionals, no matter how enterprising they are. If they can't even find someone willing to talk informationally, I worry it could just exacerbate the despair they might already be feeling.

They’re not excited about the future. They’re excited about you slipping their resume in front of someone who can hire them or dropping your name to get a leg up.

[Anonymous]

If you spend less time here, you may have time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am always happy to do informational interviews. I'm busy like many of us, but always try find time. And it almost always inspires me to meet someone still in school or early in their career who is excited about their future and enthused about meeting a grayhair like me, with no expectation of anything other than hearing my insights. It often brings back nostalgia for my earlier days and gives me hope for our future. I got to meet with older and wiser professionals when I was younger, and never once expecting a job out of it -- to the contrary, I was grateful to get a glimpse of what my future might be like. It also helped give me another layer of understanding with the field I was asking about and helped me feel more confident the next time I interviewed for an actual job.

It seems a little Scrooge-like for someone already fortunately enough to have been employed a long time to expect the world not to ask you for such a tiny act of kindness. The job market is so depressing right now for many students and new professionals, no matter how enterprising they are. If they can't even find someone willing to talk informationally, I worry it could just exacerbate the despair they might already be feeling.

They’re not excited about the future. They’re excited about you slipping their resume in front of someone who can hire them or dropping your name to get a leg up.

Ok if that’s the worst, so what??