HIRE Experience ! Sacramento Professional Network 1 3 Steps to a Flawless Informational Interview November 26, 2013

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network 2 This presentation displays information extracted from a video presentation by J.T. O'Donnell, founder of The video can be viewed on YouTube.com at: Slide presentation prepared from the video by John L. Mohammed Webinar originally sponsored by

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Job postings are DOWN Job openings are UP Referral potential Shorten hiring process Reduce competition Build your circle of influence Help you stay employable long-term Why Informational Interviews 3 Informational Interviews are the keys to success Companies are not posting jobs because it's a flawed process: They get thousands of resumes from unqualified candidates 80% of jobs are obtained by referrals. Referrals come from your contacts. It takes contacts to make contacts Referrals reduce competition (only a few candidates are referred) and shorten the hiring process (fewer interviews) Constantly building your circle of influence means you will have a deeper pool of contacts who can refer you. ALL JOBS ARE TEMPORARY

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Steps to a New Job Get connected with the RIGHT people. 4 OPEN the door to 'hidden' job market!!! Execute PROFESSIONAL Informational Interviews. Need to target & reach out to the right people (those in a position to refer you) That will open up the hidden job market to you Need to properly execute a professional interview

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Step #1: Research Do HEAVY DUTY RESEARCH! Know Your Contact! 5 WHAT TO KNOW Major Skill Sets Work History Accomplishments Associations HOW TO FIND IT Internet Search LinkedIn Twitter Ask mutual contacts! How have they branded themselves? What are they known for? What are they the go-to person for? Where did they work? Look up the companies where they worked, and know what they are about Make sense of the bullet points in their work profile What did they do? Why is it an accomplishment? What do they choose to get involved in? How do they spend their time?

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Example: J.T. O'Donnell Try a google search 6 Most important information is in the "top fold" (part that can be seen without scrolling)

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Example: J.T. O'Donnell Especially look at their bio (e.g., on LinkedIn or their personal website, if they have one) Read it carefully, and take note of anything that "pops out" at you Things pop out for a reason: ask yourself why you feel connected to them - they represent a source of commonality between you and them, and your ability to build a relationship You want to find commonality to build trust 7

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Don't waste the interviewee's time! Take the time to really get to know the interviewee, so you can ask meaningful questions and build a relationship Use all available materials Find four or five connection points Interview is about making a connection with the person, NOT the company Put your "Journalism" cap on, and tap into mutual contacts 8

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Step #2: Plan the Q&A You asked for this meeting! Come prepared to lead the meeting! Otherwise, you insult the person you're trying to interview This is your chance to impress the person with your professional skills, so Make sure you make a good impression! 9

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Be a Reporter! WHAT TO FIND OUT Professional history Expertise Beliefs Missing Pieces 10 HOW TO ASK IT How did you get into this industry? What is your specialty? What do you think is most important to consider in this profession? What challenges do you see and how should they be resolved?

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Establish their credentials Be specific: "I see that you've been in the media industry for 20 years, and that you started your career at Xyz: Could you tell me how you got into the industry, and share with me the progression of your career to this point" 11

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Determine their Expertise Talk to them about their specialty "I see that your media career has a theme: damage control you've worked with brands that had a lot of image problems, and you resolved them. Is that your specialty? How and why did you develop that? Do you have another specialty that I did not perceive?" Craft questions that are targeted to the individual and show that you've done your homework. 12

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Ask about beliefs Every professional develops beliefs – about their industry, profession, etc Invite the interviewee to share their beliefs: "What do you believe is the most important thing to consider to create a strategy?" "What do you believe it takes to be effective in this profession? "What do you believe it takes to be competitive?" 13

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Missing Pieces Focus on challenges, and how they should be resolved Your job is to solve problems for the company cost effectively You need to know the challenges and pain points that create the problems you will be solving Let's you dialog about the things you want to work on. 14

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Missing Pieces This is the most important topic to get to: it gives the entire interview a meaningful focus and purpose This is where the interviewee gets to find out how knowledgeable you are, and how enthusiastic you are However, you can't get to this part except by leading the interviewee through the first three parts: that's how you engage him/her, and build trust 15

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Summary Planning out your Q&A is imperative! Take the deep research you did in Step #1 and turn it into a meaningful set of tailored questions that follow this process: – professional history – expertise – beliefs – missing pieces 16

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Tell Your Story Well If you gain the interviewee's respect and attention, unless they are completely self- involved they will eventually ask you about yourself This is NOT an invitation to tell your life story! Keep your answer concise, and focused on why you are doing the interview in the first place 17

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Tell Your Story Well WHAT TO SAY What you LOVE to do for companies What problem you have identified that you want to work on Why you feel it's important to talk with experts in the field 18 HOW TO SAY IT I love to... I believe... I think experts are important sources to me because... That's why I'm talking with you today

HIRE Experience! Sacramento Professional Network Step#3: Show your Professionalism WHAT TO DO Dress the part Pay attention to body language Offer your expertise Ask for a referral Request networking protocol 19 HOW TO DO IT Don't be casual! Eye contact, smile, hand shake, thank-you "How can I help you" Based on my goal to learn more, who do you think would be an exceptional person for me to interview? How would you prefer I touch base with you to keep you posted on my progress?