Top Questions to Ask in an Informational Interview

An informational interview is not a job interview.  It is a way to get a clear visual of an industry, company, or position to determine if it’s right for you.  When you request an informational interview with someone, it means you are willing to hear their story without pressing your own.

Once you get someone to agree to meet you for an information interview, the next task is developing the right questions to ask.  Make sure to personalize the questions and do research on the person and their work in advance.  Here are some of our favorites.

Tell me a bit about your career path and what led you to the role you are in today?  An informational interview is about them, so this is the best place to start.

What were some of your earlier roles in the field?  Great follow up questions include what did you learn that helps you today? Or, what mistakes did you make along the way? These give you great insight into how linear, or not, someone’s career path was.

What does a work day look like for you?  This will help you determine if you would enjoy the everyday experience of this type of role.

What are some big projects you’re working on now or that you’ve finished up in the last few months?  Projects keep a job interesting, so you want to know what he or she has been working on.

What are you most excited about right now?  What this person enjoys about her work could be completely unexpected and it’s a great way to get the person to open up more.

Is there something that surprised you about the role when you first started?  You may have someone who is willing to be candid about the downsides of their job.  If not, this question is an easy shift to allow them to share something they were unprepared for.

What skills do you think are most important for someone interested in a job like yours?  Take careful note of these, especially the ones you don’t technically have to fill gaps in your skill set before applying for similar jobs.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face day-to-day?  As you listen, do these challenges excite you or do they sound horrible?

What about the biggest rewards?  This can range from the salary to an emotional reward.  Listen carefully to see if the answer resonates with you.

Do you have any recommendations for other people I should talk to or other resources I should explore?  Maybe they’ll introduce you to another contact, but it’s also great to just hear what sites you should be reading or newsletters you should subscribe to.

Are there any questions I’m not asking that I should be? Sometimes you’ve missed a big element of the work simply because you didn’t ask in quite the right way.

Would it be alright for us to stay in touch?  Whether that’s through LinkedIn or through an occasional email, it’s always nice to turn an informational interview into an ongoing networking connection or a potential mentor.

Make sure to wind down the information interview in a timely fashion.  Keep an eye on the time.  Generally speaking, they should be no longer than 20-25 minutes.  If you find you are going to run long, find a logical place to cut yourself off.  Thank them when you are through and following up with a thank you note is also a nice touch.  If you asked to stay in touch, be sure to follow through.  Set a calendar notification on your phone for one month or a couple months out from your meeting to make sure you remember.

When done correctly, informational interviews can help you make good decisions as well as expand your network.

/by

Making a Career Transition Requiring Experience Without the Experience

Whether you want to try something new or developed a passion in a different area than your current career, you may be wondering to yourself, “How do others make this leap?” It’s easy to get frustrated after you receive several letters from companies informing you that another candidate was selected because they had more experience.

STOP APPLYING ONLINE
Putting in your general application is great if you already hold the same title or similar title to what you are applying for or want new challenges within a similar role. Online applications don’t work for transition into a new role or industry because you don’t get a chance to explain yourself.

BREAKING IN WITHOUT EXPERIENCE

Decide what you want to be known for. Find people who are considered thought leaders, influencers, or someone with the same position you are looking for. Discover what they do to really stand out and use that to assess and build your own person brand.

Use Social Media. Take a close look at what you are putting out in social media. Clean things up and then go back to deciding what you want to be known for. Start curating posts and content around your passion topics. Make what others say validate your true interests in securing a specific role with a company.

Network with future colleagues. Look around to find people who could be your potential future coworkers. Where do they hang out? Take a look at professional associations and upcoming events. When you do attend these, make meaningful connections.

Create an online portfolio. This not only allows you to stand out from the crowd, but it also gives a way to be found. Give tangible examples of your work and provide information on what you are passionate about.

Certification and online courses. Take your passion a step further, this shows you’re serious. You don’t necessarily need a new degree to make a transition unless it requires a specific level or type of education. Many employers are willing to train the right person, but they need to know you have the basic foundation and the willingness to learn. Learning the language of the new role helps you articulate how your background transfers to it.

Offer to help. While networking, find out how you can help others with your desired position. You can use your help and effort to gain knowledge about the area you want to tap into. The secret is to give more in order to receive more. Or maybe you can volunteer at a non-profit while you are learning your new skills. They will likely welcome the extra help!

Making a career transition is a process. It will not happen overnight, but as you build the foundation with these suggestions, you will be equipped to connect with the right people to lead you to the right opportunity.

/by

Dealing with a Career Identity Crisis

In the past, a career was static, and it was a stable part of your identity.  But times have changed and if is more like this:

“Hi, I’m Molly and I have an undergrad in political science, worked at a tech start up for a couple years, quit to pursue art full-time, and then went into consulting to pay the bills.”

If this sounds familiar, it’s no wonder why you feel confused and you could be experiencing a career identity crisis. Even if you undergo only one or two major career shifts in your lifetime, those shifts can hit you hard. 

Our work doesn’t just feel like something we do; it feels like something we are. This can be healthy or unhealthy depending on your relationship to your career, but the point is that a change in your career signals a change in you. And when that change is uncomfortable, you feel uncomfortable.

When you want to leave an old career for a new career, the question is not just, “How will I do something new?” You also wrestle with, “How will I be someone new?”

Career transitions are the new normal and to be expected.  Careers today are fluid, so it is important to learn how to go with the flow.  Here are some tips to help: 

Schedule a Social Life

While it may be tempting to isolate yourself when you feel like you don’t have it together, it’s important that you have somewhere to be and people to interact with, especially if you’re in a situation where you suddenly have lots of downtime.

Give Yourself Permission to be “In-Between”

You won’t be here forever, so for awhile it’s ok to be uncertain.  For now, you get to not know everything. And don’t worry – you will sort things out and recover. 

Write About Who You Are

This can be list form, stories, notes about your past, or what you’re doing now.  Reconnect to who you are.  You ARE more than your career. Remember who you are—just you, without work defining you. 

Do Things That Make You Feel Like Somebody

It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself when you are in the middle of a career crisis.  To counteract that, you need to do things that make you feel capable.  Maybe it is creating art, helping a friend, rearranging your house, or spending time with your nephew. 

Directly Address Career Issues

Oftentimes when something is off in our careers, we feel that we have no control over it.  So, instead of addressing our careers head on, we tinker with other areas of our life.  We start a creative project, invest more in our social lives, or endeavor to do more self-care.  While these can improve the quality of life, they don’t solve the core problem. Take direct action to resolve the conflict in your career, and you’ll feel powerful and more like you. 

/by

ROI of Career Coaching

 

Career coaching is an investment — of your time, money and energy. Is it worth it? How are you able to determine the return on your investment? While the exact figure varies from person to person, if you put in the work, career coaching will return benefits that far exceed the costs.

Given that you’ll spend between many hours of your adult life at work, according to Jessica Pryce-Jones, loving what you do isn’t a luxury. Pryce-Jones, researcher and author of Happiness at Work, asserts that work satisfaction depends on five critical factors:
• Contribution—the effort you make;
• Conviction—the motivation you have;
• Culture—how well you feel you fit at work;
• Commitment—the extent to which you are engaged; and
• Confidence—belief that you have in yourself and your job.

These factors require alignment between you (your natural abilities, interests, skills and values) and your career.

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF BEING IN THE WRONG CAREER
Working in a career that doesn’t align with your abilities or values impacts your psychological and physical health. You might not be able to focus, or maybe you’re irritable. This stress can morph into overwhelm, especially if you feel like you’re running on a treadmill, stuck in place. And if you’ve risen in the ranks, you may be well compensated, which might make you feel even more trapped.

A multitude of factors come into making prudent career choices; giving each of them the proper weight in the big picture requires objectivity and prudence. Attempting to figure it out on your own can be tricky, but fearful of making the wrong choice, you remain stuck. Over time, expending that much mental energy while staying in the same place takes a toll. However, if you’re frustrated, stressed or unhappy at work, career coaching is often the most direct and cost-effective route to resolving the underlying issue.

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR PERSONAL CAREER COACHING ROI
Many people consider “finding a new job” their ultimate goal. In most cases, career coaching ultimately does lead to a change, which could mean a new job, a new company or a new career. The reason: the true ROI of career coaching lies in its power to facilitate an internal change, which is far more powerful. It’s impossible to make any change without doing something differently and career coaching is that catalyst for change.

The good news is that it’s never too late to decide what professional path to pursue. Once you identify the right career, the question no longer haunts you. Knowing gives you a solid foundation. It’s both a relief and, at the same time, empowering to achieve that clarity.

Financial reward — The trajectory of your career exponentially increases when you’re in a career that aligns with your talents and aptitudes. Loving what you do, you’ll expend less energy and achieve greater results.

Increased confidence — Career coaching empowers you to believe that you can do it, whatever your “it” may be. You’re no longer paralyzed or constricted by your insecurities. You develop the self-efficacy necessary to take calculated risks, and to grow.

Accountability — Your “say-do” ratio takes a dive when you repeatedly fail to do what you say you’re going to do. So many people promise themselves that they’re going to make a change, but years later, they’re still in that same job. By taking action, you’re increasing your accountability and trust in yourself.

A shift in perspective — Your thoughts, moods and behaviors all profoundly impact your results, for better or worse. Unfortunately, your blind spots can blur your awareness. A career coach can help you take a step back, examining the stories you tell yourself and, if necessary, reframing them.

Personal brand — Career clarity is foundational to building a strong personal brand. Career coaching can help you articulate your goals and identify your strengths. Your value in business escalates when you cultivate your personal brand in a way that establishes credibility as a subject matter expert or thought leader in your field.

Relevance — If you’re shifting careers, it can be hard to recognize how the current skills can be applied in other roles. An objective career coach can help you find the language to translate these skills and talents.

Strategy — Creating a bridge from where you are to where you want to be involves many critical steps. A career coach can help you create a plan, tailored to your unique situation.

In determining your own ROI of a career coaching engagement, start at the end. How do you want to feel? What plans do you want to have in place? What are those end results worth to you? If you feel like you are stuck in the wrong career, it’s likely due to the powerful force of inertia. Because venturing into the unknown can raise many fears, it might feel easier to simply stay put. But ignoring the stress and dissatisfaction that stems from being in the wrong career will keep you on the same path to nowhere.

/by

Supporting Your Child Through Their Career Struggles

When your child is in pain, you feel it. Watching from the sidelines as your child is struggling with their career can be frustrating. On top of that, it can be painful to watch your child wrestle with self-confidence or self-imposed pressure. You already know that parenting is a balancing act. Providing support while encouraging independence is always tricky. But what is the right amount of support when your child is struggling in this area?

Validate Without Focusing on Your Child’s Emotions
It can be hard to know where to draw the line between offering positive encouragement and setting realistic expectations. If you get swallowed up by negative feelings, you are allowing blame on external factors like the “incompetent college guidance counselor”, “unfair interviewer” or the “terrible job market”. This only feeds negative energy and limits moving forward. Your child will gain more when you encourage them to build their own accountability.

Create and Maintain Boundaries
Empathizing with your child helps you understand the situation from their vantage point. It is important to not get swallowed up in their emotions, however, and find ways to maintain your objectivity. They are looking to you to be strong anchor. Try to not let their emotions activate your own.

Process Your Emotions Without Judgment
It might be hard not to be envious of a neighbor whose daughter is climbing up the career ladder and just bought her first house while your child is living at home with a minimum wage part time job. You are human and will have thoughts and emotions of your own. First, find support for yourself, whether a friend, family member or professional with whom you can share your thoughts. Make sure you are maintaining your health and wellbeing. Lastly, ask yourself why your child’s actions are stirring up emotions in you to see if you can reframe the situation.

Offer Support
While there is no magic formula, you can support your child in a variety of ways by picking up on their cues. Forcing a conversation when they are not in the mood to talk will not be productive. However, as a parent, chances are you are resourceful. If your child can’t seem to figure out what direction they want to pursue, offer them to take an abilities assessment or see if your professional contacts would be willing to engage in an informational interview with your child

If your child is receptive to your ideas, help them devise systems that work for them. For example, if your child is a linear thinker, perhaps offering assistance in creating an excel spreadsheet to track her contacts or job opportunities would benefit. Or help your child set one goal a day if they are motivated by progress. If you notice that your conversations with your child have plateaued, it might be time to reach out to a third party for support such as a career coach who can offer objective expertise. Together, you and your child can explore options to decide which makes the most sense to pursue.

/by

Unleash Your Inner Leader

There are 5 key skills I work on with clients in leadership development. Although they are straightforward concepts, it takes a lot of practice to make these skills natural.

Ask For Help
You often offer help to others but may rarely will ask for it. You are probably worked that it makes you look weak or too vulnerable. You may even have the belief that you are put here to help others, but no one can really help you. You are too self-sufficient.

Actually, the opposite is true. Asking for help shows strength, confidence and courage. When you reach out to others, you express a willingness to learn and create an opportunity to develop another by letting him/her do something for you and attempt to problem solve with you.

Helping others is something I hope you continue to do, but great leaders seek opportunities to develop others, and one way to do that is to let others help and advise you in the process. When you shine the light of recognition on someone else, it does not dim your light.

Ask Questions
Somewhere along your career journey, you became convinced that you are supposed to know everything and work hard to be the smartest person in the room. You think this will make you look strong. Or, perhaps you are convinced that you will look stupid because it will confirm that you don’t know something.

Unfortunately, this type of thinking will let opportunities pass you by.

By not asking questions and getting the needed guidance and advice from others, you isolate yourself from the team and limit opportunities to network and build professional bonds. When you ask questions, you invite others in and send the message that you value what they think and show that their contributions are important. As a result, you will usually get much more meaningful feedback and respect along the way.

Speak Up
Are you convinced no one really wants to hear what you have to say? Or you fear that you don’t have anything of value to add?

Unfortunately, the more often you remain silent and don’t contribute to the conversation, the more people will come to believe that you don’t add any value or don’t want to add any. Or worse, they come to believe that you are not interested to engage on the issue at all. This makes you come off as distant, uninterested and not a team player. People begin to overlook you more and more for career opportunities or project work.

By speaking up and providing your thoughts, suggestions and recommendations, you show you are engaged in the process and provides valuable insight to your thought process.

Learn How to Deal with Conflict
You may be convinced that your needs should be the ones that take a back seat to others and overly accommodate the needs of others to avoid conflict. When you choose avoidance or accommodating too often, you cause others to take less and less interest in meeting your needs. By always placing so little value on your own needs, you teach everyone else to do the same, and those around you respect you less and less.
Luckily, there are five different conflict styles (collaborating, compromising, competing, accommodating, and avoiding) and each style is suitable for application during different circumstances. Learning each one and appropriate application will give you the needed tools to move projects ahead and work with people in a more constructive way.

Take a Risk
Change can be scary. Change generally means that you will have to learn new and different methods, approaches, processes and behaviors. After you master something, you are not as flexible to change because secretly you are not so confident that you can master the “new” something. This line of thinking robs you of the confidence to adjust or learn what you need to be successful.

When you fear failure so much, it causes you to resist change and appear inflexible. Instead of asking yourself, “What if I can’t do it? What if I fail?”, ask yourself, “What can be gained if I do this? What if this was a success?”

Take time to focus on each skill and build on them. As these skills become stronger, your colleagues and supervisors will start noticing and you will start being considered for special projects, career opportunities and even promotions.

 

/by

Ready to Start a Business? 5 Key Things to Know First

When you’re getting into business, everything looks shiny and new.  A start-up offers a lot of exciting opportunities and gives you a focal point in your work-related life, but there are a lot of details to get right, too.  These details tend to be overlooked because of the excitement of being a new entrepreneur.  To make sure that your business is as successful as possible, here are 5 things to know first in order to make it worthwhile.

  1. Figure out your market and focus on their needs: You need to know who is going to buy your product or service in order to make sure that you are successful and that you’re filling a need.  Try to focus on the idea of understanding your audience and remember what their needs are.  Don’t get distracted and lose their interest as a result.
  2. Keep your passion alive: There are going to be hard days coming your way; that’s just a fact. On those days, try to remember what led you to start your business in the first place.  Remember to hold onto that passion and focus on it to keep your positive outlook even on the roughest days. This is why you need to love what you do.
  3. Make sure you have a business account or credit card: One of the biggest overlooked details is that most small companies try to fund their own business.  While some personal investment is typically necessary, you need to make sure that you put together the right success package which will mean business accounts or, at the very least, a credit card.  Separate business from personal, or you risk losing everything if your business takes a bad turn.  This risk will also raise your stress levels.
  4. Don’t try to be a lone wolf: Another big mistake to avoid is trying to do everything yourself.  Do you have someone that can run your numbers?  Answer emails and market?  If you have the funds, make sure that you outsource whatever you can through employees or through independent contractors.  It’ll take a lot of the stress off you and leave you free to focus on your business as a whole.
  5. Invest in the right tools to help you: Whether it’s accounting software, AI, a virtual assistant or just simple furniture, you’ll have to shell out some money on your equipment or tools to help you get off the ground.  Make sure that you focus on the quality and longevity of these items.  This goes back to tip #3.  You will need to have the right support at your side in people as well as tools to give you the best chance at success.

Your new start-up business is going to be exciting, but it will also be functional by putting these tips to use in a proper fashion. Give yourself the best outcome possible by knowing what to do and not to do when starting your own business.

/by

Executive Presence: What is It and How to Get It?

Sometimes it feels like there is a lot going against you when you’re looking to climb higher on the corporate ladder.  The good news is that it is possible if you know the proper tools to put into place to make it happen.  The best tool?  Executive presence.  This specialized leadership skill will give you a quality reputation – the right way – and it will also make you well-liked amongst your higher-ups and coworkers.  Here’s what you should know about it.

What is executive presence?

The best way to define executive presence is to find someone who has it.  This is the person that gets the attention of others in a warm and engaging way.  Without being boastful, they appear they can do a good job at about anything.  Someone with executive presence commands trust, attention and respect.  It’s a special kind of confidence.

How do you get it?

Consider getting executive presence for yourself to reap the benefits and proper yourself into a higher position by doing it the right way.  Take a look at some of these great tips to help you get started.

  • Be prepared and look the part: When you show up to a formal meeting or even just a small casual one, make sure that you are dressed professionally to help you feel confident.  Be prepared with questions and content that is engaging and will show your coworkers that you know your stuff.  It all allows you to exude the confidence that you need to show in order for you to progress.
  • Say your part: If you have questions or comments in a meeting or other professional environment, give them voice.  You need to show those around you that you aren’t just a “yes” kind of person.  You are someone who has an opinion, can share it in a respectful way, and is focused on getting the best result.  This is a quality of leadership that is often under-used, but a powerful option to consider.
  • Treat others with respect: Whether it is a chief executive, a co-worker, or an intern, be respectful.  Compliment them on their work and ask questions.  Get to know them.  It all shows that you are compassionate and will do well in a leadership position.  It also makes you a great person to be around in general.

Executive presence doesn’t have to be a mystery.  It’s just about understanding how to put your best foot forward to progress yourself into a position of leadership the right way.

/by

Keeping Power in Perspective

Becoming a new leader or manager can be an ego boost, but that ego can get out of hand if not self-managed.  There are some basic strategies leaders can use for keeping power in perspective. 

Keeping it Authentic

You were hired or promoted because of your strengths, but don’t change into someone you think you are supposed to be. Learn your personal leadership style. 

Learn Empathy

Power can diminish a leader’s empathy if the leader is too focused on their own thoughts. Understanding another’s vantage point and how it feels to walk in their shoes gives a leader the ability to communicate in a more profound way. 

Accountability

Accountability can be overlooked by leaders. Yet it builds the foundation for productive and engaged teams. Make effective requests and deliver promises to get results and generate trust with your team. 

Comfort with Conflict

Not all conflict is bad and can lead to great progress. However, many leaders shy away from confrontation in fear it will get emotionally messy. Ignoring conflict lets problems fester, snowball and create resentment among your team. Acknowledging and addressing differences in opinion will lead to growth and deeper connection.

Understanding Power

There’s a big difference between dictate and lead. While there are times to be directive in a crisis or when a quick decision is needed, always taking an authoritative stance is the least effective leadership style. You have the ability to teach, inspire and engage people. Now that is true power. And it is a gift.

/by

Leading A Cross-Functional Team

Leading a team is a challenging task, but have you led a cross-functional team? The challenges of leading a team of individuals from a cross-section of your company are manifold. But so are the advantages. Since cross-functional teams are, by definition, made up of individuals with different skill sets working toward a common goal, in order to effectively lead such a team, a leader must exercise superb organizational and leadership qualities. Keeping some strategies in mind will help you avoid some common pitfalls of cross-functional teams.

Keep the Lines of Communication Open

When working with a cross-functional team, make a concerted effort to keep all lines of communication open between team members and between leadership and the team. Set up short meetings to get project status reports and resolve any issues that are holding up the project. Team members should feel comfortable communicating with each other throughout the project timeline as well as reporting any issues that arise. Encouraging effective use of project management software can help mitigate a lack of communication that can happen when team members are working on a wide variety of tasks.

Evaluate and Reevaluate

Cross-functional teams require flexibility to run smoothly. When several people with expertise in different disciplines come together, creative solutions to existing problems can arise. Embrace this unpredictability – it truly is the beauty and benefit of organizing a team of people from diverse professional backgrounds. This unpredictability, however, can sometimes present a challenge to leaders.

When such a moment arises, the entire project timeline may have to be reevaluated. Take the time to think through new ideas and decide whether they are valuable to the project. If they are, rethink the project timeline and individual team member tasks. Then, once the new plan has been in effect for a sufficient amount of time, reevaluate.

Team Building

If you are leading a cross-functional team, chances are team members will not be familiar with each other. Making sure your team members are aware of what other team members’ tasks are can help keep things on track. Team building exercises can help team members get to know one another’s work and help them form bonds that make work more effective. Social events and in office happenings can help to strengthen your team by creating a more harmonious workplace.

Go One-on-One

 Take the time to meet with your team members one on one. This is a great way to ensure that any potential challenges of the cross-functional team are nipped in the bud. Speaking to a team member one-on-one can also reveal any internal dysfunction occurring within the team. Identifying these challenges can help you set new goals and tasks that can help mitigate some of the difficulties found within cross-functional teams.

It is important not to let technology replace face to face communication. Not only will your team members feel appreciated and heard, the team will run more smoothly if leaders get the opportunity to speak in person with every member of the team.

Cross-functional teams are an ideal organizational structure for creative projects and innovative work. Being an effective leader of a cross-functional team can be a challenge that allows you to reap many rewards. Well-led, cross-functional teams can provide a great benefit to the company.

/by