I’m going to tell you something that will piss you off.  If you have been spending more than 30 minutes a day searching the Internet job boards, you have been wasting your time.  I know the drill. This evening your wife/husband/mother/etc is going to ask you how many jobs you applied for. You feel that if you haven’t spent time online, and you haven’t actually submitted any applications, then you haven’t applied for any jobs.  You are WRONG! If you don’t believe me, just c0unt the number of responses you got from all those job applications you submitted last week online.

So if applying online doesn’t work, what does?

Networking really does work. The reality is that less than 10% of jobs are ever listed. Anywhere.  Especially online. More than 45% of all jobs are filled by networking.  Some say the actual number is more like 80%. One of the best tools for networking is the informational interview.  Here are some tips for conducting an informational interview.

1. Don’t ask for a job. When you contact someone for an informational interview, you MUST NOT ASK FOR A JOB.  You are looking for opportunities and information.  You want to know what it is like to work at the other person’s company or industry.  You want to know what it’s like to do their job on a day-to-day basis. You want to know what needs they have that you or your network can help them with.
2. Don’t bring your resume to an informational interview. EVER.  Rule number 1 is to not ask for a job.  Bringing a resume to an informational interview tells the person with whom you are meeting tat you have lied to them.  How do you think that will go over?  Will they remember you when a job opening comes along? Will they pass your name along to their company?
3. Find out what you can do for the other person. Networking through informational interviews is about finding opportunities.  You want to ask a bunch of questions to find out what makes the other person tick? What keeps them up at night? What do they love about their job? Who do you know that can help them?
4. Ask “Who do you know that I should talk to for more information about this topic?” In sales this is called a “lead.” When possible ask for an introduction. In sales this is called a “warm lead.”
5. Ask them how they want to stay connected with you. You are not asking for a job now, but you want to get permission to come back to them later when you ARE looking for a job.  Don’t forget to ask them to connect on LinkedIn.
6. Send a thank you note. Do it that night BEFORE you go to bed!

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