​On a recent trip to Panama, my travel companion and I climbed up a volcano in the middle of the night that reached over 11,000 feet in height.

​Rain was penetrating us from all sides, and the flimsy poncho I bought last minute was proving to be insufficient in the face of intense rain and wind. My tights were soaked, my head was cold, my hands were chilled, and I was nauseous and throwing up from alpine sickness.

At the summit, there was nothing to greet us other than more rain and wind – no sunrise was to be seen other than the black sky slowly turning a dark, cloudy grey. We were fortunate to catch a ride back down the mountain in a 4×4 – a serious lifesaver after 6 hours of uphill climbing, unable to retain any food or water.

Back at the bottom of the volcano, we head to Boquete – a cute little expat town we’re staying in for a few nights. At dinner, I order a glass of water, “Una agua por favor.”

I get a weird look from the server and upon a quick look on Google translate, I realize “Un agua por favor” makes more sense – a nuance of the language I could have only learn from getting a weird look.

On our trip, we also visit the tropical islands of San Blas, where there’s over 350 islands spotting the ocean, most of which you can walk the perimeter of in ten minutes or less.

Sitting in a tiny speedboat, with only an overhead tarp to shelter us, I notice my raincoat (that I’d bought specifically for the trip) is soaked through. Apparently not all raincoats are waterproof in torrential downpours?!

Just outside of Panama City, we decide to go for a hike through the jungle in a nearby park. I’ve worn my Blundstone boots with high ankles and low-cut runners’ socks. I quickly realize this is an equation for mad blisters on the back of my calf. (It hurts!!)

Stopping in the middle of a swarm of ants that make it look like the ground is swimming, I bend over to take a video because it looks so interesting. However, it doesn’t take long for the ants to start crawling up my boots, down my boots, and along my legs, biting me in the process. (Again, it hurts!!)

Noticing a theme here?

Lots of mistakes. And a lack of preparedness – because how can we be prepared for the unknown and unfamiliar?

During this two-week trip to Panama, we got a lot wrong. But I wouldn’t change a thing because I’ve learned so much:

• Some basic Spanish
• The importance of having proper rain gear (and that there’s different levels of “waterproof”)
• Alpine sickness can hit anywhere above 8,000 feet (and I’m more sensitive to it than most people)
• If you stop in a swarm of ants, they will crawl up your legs and bite you
• Proper hiking gear is essential and worth the extra space it will take up in your backpack

Ok, so how is this related to career?

It really struck me on this trip how much we learn through mistakes.

If we’d had sunny skies, proper raincoats, and perfect Spanish on the first try, we would have had a more comfortable trip for sure, but we wouldn’t have been nearly as prepared for the next time we travel, hike, and converse in a different country with less-than-ideal conditions.

Now we know how to prepare better in the future AND we feel much more resilient.

It’s the same when it comes to career – or anything in life, for that matter.

There are no wrong decisions because mistakes only lead to greater learning and the knowledge that we can handle the more challenging experiences that come our way.

Imagine this: you get the exact job you want right out of University. You get along with your coworkers, you have a great relationship with your boss, and you excel in your role. You feel confident and on track. Eventually, you’re promoted to Manager, then Senior Manager, then VP – with lots of ease. You like your job, but you aren’t particularly challenged. You aren’t sure you deserve the title you’ve been given and that you’d be able to perform at that level outside of your current company – because you’ve never had to!

Suddenly, you learn that the company is being bought out and your position has been eliminated – how do you feel?

(By the way – I’ve heard this tale many times, from many different clients.)

Now, imagine an alternative scenario: you don’t know what you want to do after college, so you float around from job to job. You try many different things and by the time you’re 30, you’ve had over 30 different jobs. You feel confident in your ability to find and land opportunities, and you know you can kill it in an interview – even if other people look at you as a bit directionless.

One day, you land a great job as a Manager at a company you love. You’re quickly promoted to Senior Manager and shortly after, you find an opportunity as a Senior Manager at another company you’re even more crazy about. You move into a new role, but find it isn’t quite the right fit, so you take a stab at applying for a VP role at a company where you know the President. You’re over the moon when you find that you’ve landed the role!

After a few years, living it up in your dream job, you learn that the company is being bought out and your position has been eliminated – how do you feel?

It seems clear that the person in the latter scenario has built more resilience for themselves in their career – but their path and journey has also been much more challenging.

Who would you rather be? Who do you think has a better understanding of themselves? Who do you think has grown and developed more? Who do you think, upon the announcement of an unexpected layoff, will be more equipped to seek out the next opportunity that’s a good fit?

It’s often the wiggly-squiggly path (as opposed to the linear one) that provides the greatest fulfillment. It’s simply a matter of knowing how to connect the dots and be self-reflective along the way so that the most learning, growth, and resilience may be gained.

Uncertainty about the future is always lurking around the corner. It’s only through taking action, trying different things, and making lots of mistakes (and then some more mistakes) that we can build resilience and reduce the fear that lurks in the face of inevitable uncertainty.

If you’re feeling stuck in your career and lacking confidence, try something new. Put yourself in an uncomfortable position. Follow the path where you feel least confidence, and from that, build the confidence that you can handle new situations and challenges.

As I once read on a t-shirt, “Nothing great ever comes from being in your comfort zone.”

We must move through discomfort and a lack of confidence in order to build confidence. Action is key.

Don’t get stuck in the when/then scenario. (E.g., “When I have more confidence, then I’ll go out and start meeting new people.)

As someone who’s had over 30 different jobs before I turned 30, built up a business from scratch with no business experience or pre-existing knowledge, and designed one-on-one coaching programs purely through trial and error – I can personally attest: this shit works.

And let’s not forget all the mistakes that happened on my recent trip to Panama.

Oh, how I love you mistakes – keep ‘em comin’ ?

Ever feel like you have a higher purpose?

Something you’re meant to do with your life—a calling you’re destined to fulfil?

​You’re not alone.

It’s no wonder so many of us feel like this. In this day and age, we’re constantly being fed the message that we must find our calling, our ultimate purpose.

From the philosophizing of public figures like Oprah, Steve Jobs, and Simon Sinek, to college ads, numerous religions, and a zillion online videos, TED talks, and articles…. (phew!), the message that there’s an ultimate meaning or calling to our lives is practically shoved down our throats.

And guess what? That message is gobbled up. In fact, “what is the meaning of my life?” gets anywhere from 100,000 to 1 million searches on Google every single month!

As a career coach, many of my clients come to me frustrated by this idea. They feel inadequate for not having found their calling and afraid of failing to fulfil their purpose.

Even I grew up believing we all have a greater calling to fulfil. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I became a career coach—to help people find that calling.

But what if I told you there isn’t one single thing you’re meant to do with your life? What if I told you there is no greater purpose and you have no calling?

How does that make you feel? Does it take a bit of the pressure off?

A story we tell ourselves…

The more I learn, the more I realize the idea of a calling is probably a fiction—a story we tell ourselves to help us get through the day and make sense of the world.

As we look over the course of history, we can see the types of stories humans tell have shifted and molded over time. What was once considered ultimate truth—such as kings being endowed with divine powers—is now considered to be ludicrous in educated societies.

The same may be true of our belief in a calling. There is no proof of a purpose or a calling in objective reality, so we cannot know it is true.

Of course, believing in things we cannot see isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Believing in stories is one of the reasons humans thrive as the dominant species on our planet—we’ve developed stories around politics, religion, history, and economics that help to create win-win situations for large amounts of people.

However, whether the belief that we have a calling is true or not (which we have no way of knowing), at the end of the day, it is a story. Which means, we should be asking ourselves—is this story helping or hindering us?

The idea of a calling suggests there’s a right way and a wrong way to live our lives. Take the right path, and you’ll serve a higher purpose. Take the wrong path, and you’re a failure.

But with so many career options available, I’ve found this idea has become more of a burden than a helpful tool—which is why I think it’s time to let it go

And let’s be totally honest—are our lives really that important? Do we really matter that much when you consider all other human life, the stars, the planets, the galaxies, and the universe (…or even possible universes)?

Perhaps the idea of a calling is just our egos telling us that we matter more than we do, telling us that we have a higher purpose to fulfil—because the alternative is too frightening.

I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

A distraction that does more harm than good…

I believe the idea we all have a calling does more harm than good. In fact, I believe it’s dangerous, breeding discontent, restlessness, and dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, our search for the perfect purpose, the one true calling, the thing we’re “meant” to do, distracts us from what is already good and meaningful in our lives right now.

Why not take some pressure off, appreciate our reality, and embrace more of life’s possibilities instead?

Freeing ourselves of the burden of finding our purpose allows us to create the space to simply find something that brings us joy.

We can find something that fulfils us, that gives our lives meaning, and that we enjoy—without all the damn pressure.

We can relax, let go, and step into what makes us happy now, and trust ourselves to continue seeking out that feeling into the future.

We can stop fretting about whether or not we’re doing the right thing with our lives and allow for multiple possibilities, multiple careers, and multiple paths.

So let’s try a new way of working…

There are so many ways we can live our lives. There is no right or wrong path. There is no ultimate purpose for our lives. We don’t have a calling.

And that is a beautiful thing. It allows us to apply purpose and meaning to anything we do, rather than frantically seeking some objective purpose or meaning that probably doesn’t even exist.

If you don’t like your job, find one thing about your work that does give you a sense of meaning, no matter how small.

There may not be an ultimate meaning to our lives, but there is an opportunity to attribute meaning to any situation—it could be an opportunity for growth, a stepping stone to something else, or simply spreading small kindnesses to the people you work with.

Do this and I guarantee you’ll be happier.

Even if you do think you’ve found your calling, as soon as circumstances change, you’ll likely feel completely lost again, wondering where your sense of purpose went.

So my advice to you is to give up on finding your calling—there’s no ultimate calling for you to find and fulfil. 

Instead, decide what is meaningful to you, determine what you’re good at, and find work that aligns with those things.

-Rebecca

• Part 1: How to ensure your career is safe from automation/AI.
• Part 2: A look at the jobs of the future.

Lots of white collar jobs are under threat as well, like lawyers, film stars, surgeons, and airline pilots.

If you’re considering a career change, it’s important to make sure the profession you’re moving into won’t be replaced by robots in the next 10-20 years.

So, how do you know if your chosen field of work – or the field you’re considering – is safe?

Here’s the rule of thumb I like to follow: 

A job is likely to be automated if it primarily involves repetitive tasks. A job is unlikely to be automated if it involves strategic thinking, creativity, critical thinking, and/or relationship building.

A lawyer spends a lot of time gathering and synthesizing information – skills that require knowledge, hard work, and commitment, but not so much creativity or strategic thinking.

Are there still going to be lawyers in the future?

Probably, because there are still strategic and creative components to being a lawyer. But, there’s likely to be a lot fewer lawyers if the researching and synthesizing of information – which is a large part of the job – is automated. There will also likely be few to no paralegals.

Things like this need to be considered if you’re planning to become a lawyer, and the same applies if you’re considering shifting into any new career.

Follow the rule of thumb I shared, and you’ll probably be safe from automation.

If you still aren’t sure, do some additional research – talk to people in the field or related fields, join relevant groups online, and most importantly: be honest with yourself.

It’s easy to falsely believe the profession you’re in (or want to go into) will be fine because you want to believe that. So, be sure to take off the blinders and give the situation an honest look before making any decisions.

What if you discover your current or chosen line of work is likely to be automated?

Start researching: are there more creative and strategic opportunities available within the same field of work? What kinds of articles and information is there about automation and AI in the specific industry you’re exploring? 

If you conclude that your current or desired career isn’t a viable option, I’d recommend creeping people on LinkedIn who used to do what you do now (or want to do) and have transitioned to something new.

Check out what they’re doing – does it involve creativity, relationship building, critical thinking, or strategic thinking?

Maybe set up an informational meeting with them if you aren’t sure. Learn how to conduct informational interviews if you don’t already know how.

Here’s to being prepared for when robots take over the world…

What Are the Jobs of The Future?

Now, let’s talk about jobs of the future.

Did you know that 25% of Canadian jobs will be heavily disrupted by technology in the coming decade? (Source.)

We now know that jobs of the future will likely involve strategic thinking, creativity, critical thinking, and relationship-building. But what specific fields are actually going to be fruitful (i.e., provide lots of jobs) in the years to come?

I’ve done a little research for you. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. Anything STEM-related.
That is, anything related to science, technology, engineering, or math. In fact, technology-related businesses are already struggling to fill these roles. Some people are even saying that the biggest barrier to the growing tech field right now is the current and future talent gap!

Want a high-paying career that will be secure into the future? Go into anything STEM-related. Also, if you have kids (especially girls), you might want to encourage them to explore this field and see if there’s something of interest to them in there. They might be interested in a new program called Symbiosis.

2. Trades
Let’s face it: there’s a stigma around trades. They’re seen as “less than” white collar jobs and assumed to require less smarts and skills. But this simply isn’t true and these assumptions are outdated. In fact, “The idea that skilled trades jobs are somehow less desirable than office jobs, was cultivated in parallel with an expanding post-secondary school system in the 20th century.” (Source.)

Tradespeople, including electricians, sheet metal workers, carpenters, and automotive mechanics have strong critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills – skills that are going to be the most desirable in the future. 

RBC’s Future of Skills Report predicts there will be a LOT of jobs in the trades in the future, and in fact, there’s already a shortage of workers in this area.

3. Green jobs
Assuming policymakers act to keep climate change below 2 degrees Celsius (fingers crossed), there are going to be a LOT of jobs emerging in the green sector. In fact, some people are even saying as many as 24 million jobs worldwide.

Green jobs might be: anything in renewable energy, promoting electric cars, improving building energy efficiency, air and water purification, soil renewal, pest control, protection against extreme weather, sustainability consultants, green architects, urban farmers, green call centre advisors, car mechanics for electrical cars… and many, many more!

With the fast pace of change due to technology and automation, things are going to change dramatically over the next decade. The future is here, my friends. A lot of jobs 10 years from now probably don’t even exist yet – so I can’t tell you about them 🙁

This is why it’s super important to stay on top of trends in your industry or any industry you are considering moving into. Be up-to-date, take free online courses to sharpen your skills, and ensure you are adaptable and flexible with a changing job market.

(Fun fact: adaptability is one of the most desired skills among employers. If you can demonstrate that you’re on top of trends and adaptable to changes, you’re golden.)

Cheers to the future,

-Rebecca

If the person considering hiring me has spoken to someone who used to employ me, they know that person’s probably telling the truth because they have no incentive to lie.
 
How, then, did I get my last two jobs without even needing to provide a resume or references?
 
Because there was already a high level of TRUST established between myself and the person doing the hiring.
 
Now I’m going to tell you about how I got that trust (and how you can, too).
 
Exhibit A: I was hired as a Project Manager Assistant.
 
My friend who worked professionally with the Project Manager at Yoga Alliance knew I was looking for work as a program/project coordinator, and that I was interested in project management. He connected us and after just a quick 20 minute phone chat… I was hired!
 
Exhibit B: I was hired as a Marketing Project Manager.
 
My partner’s friend runs a marketing company and I emailed her to let her know I was looking for work in digital marketing and/or project management. We met up for an hour long coffee and… I was hired!
 
The string that ties both situations together, as you can probably see, is that trust was already established between me and the person who hired me before we even talked. In both situations, I was able to take advantage of the fastest way to build trust – which is through an introduction or referral.
 
When two people have a good relationship and they trust each other, if one of those people introduces the other to a new person, that trust gets transferred over to the new relationship. My guess is, it’s just how we’re hard-wired to survive as a species.
 
Now, you might be thinking that I was just pure, old-fashioned lucky in both Exhibit A and B. Of course, referrals are great if you’re lucky enough to have someone introduce you, right? But what if you don’t have that?
 
Fear not, because there are many ways to increase your chances of getting a good introduction or a referral for a job. Read on to find out how.
 
How I Got Two Introductions That Landed Me the Exact Jobs I Wanted 
1. I was clear on what I wanted to do.
To be able to communicate what we want to do to others, we have to first know what we want to do. It sounds obvious, but this is often the hardest step for people. It’s why I’ve essentially built an entire business around this piece alone.
 
I knew for Exhibit A I wanted work as a project/program coordinator, and I was eventually wanting to move into project management.
 
I knew for Exhibit B I wanted work doing project management and digital marketing.
 
2. I told everyone.
When you’re clear on what you want to do, it’s much easier to tell people you’re looking for work because you’re able to tell them exactly what kind. The people you tell are also way more likely to have you come to mind when they hear about an opening somewhere, if you’ve been specific in telling them what you want.
 
For Exhibit A, it might sound like good luck that I happened to have a friend who knew someone in project management. But what you’re not seeing in that story is the probably 15+ other people I told I was looking for this kind of work who didn’t get back to me with any kind of connection.
 
3. I conducted informational interviews.
In Exhibit B, again, it might just look like good luck that my partner’s friend runs a marketing company that happened to be looking for someone around the time I needed it. However, what you’re not seeing in that story is that I had already established a good professional connection with the woman doing the hiring months before during an informational interview. Another thing you’re not seeing in the Exhibit B story is the other informational interviews I conducted that didn’t lead to any kind of job offer.
 
A good connection or introduction may not lead to a job right away, but by building up multiple, genuine, good connections, a couple of them are likely to bear fruit at some point down the road.
 
It’s also possible, and very helpful, to initiate a connection for an informational interview. In other words, you don’t have to wait for a connection you have to come across a job that’s right for you, or to think of someone to connect you to – you can be proactive about it.
 
Here are two proactive steps you can take to land an informational interview with someone you don’t know, but with whom you have a mutual connection (thereby increasing your chances of a referral):

1. Search on LinkedIn for any 2nd connections you have that work at one of the places you would like to work at.
2. Look to see who the 1st connection is that connects you to them. If you feel you know the 1st connection well enough, send them a LinkedIn message or email asking for an introduction.

If you like, you can check out this article to learn more about the informational interviewing process (including how to use informational interviewing to land yourself a job).

4. I came prepared to the interview, and was looking for the right fit (rather than just any job).
A referral or introduction can help you to get an interview, and assist with the transference of trust, but at the end of the day, it’s the job seeker that needs to be able to win the employer over during the interview.
 
In both Exhibit A and Exhibit B, I did my research online first, and made sure I had informed questions ready to ask. I also wrote down and had a clear idea of what I thought I would bring to the position.
 
However, what I believe helped me out the most in both circumstances is that I was genuinely looking for a position that was the right fit – I wasn’t looking to mold myself to the job just so I could get it. I wasn’t overly attached to either position before going into the interview, and I was genuinely curious to find out in our meeting if what I had to offer was the right match. (I was fortunate enough in both circumstances to not be in a place where I desperately needed a job – I understand this can be more challenging if this isn’t the case, but this is still a helpful mindset to adopt to whatever degree possible).
 
I hope this gives you some useful insight into how to use referrals and introductions to land your next dream job.
 
Here’s to building new connections, gaining trust, and getting referred into our dream jobs,
 
Rebecca

“People say ‘do what you love and the rest will fall into place,’ but I don’t know what I love.”
​
My initial reaction was to cringe. 

This quote is harmful because it either has people chasing a fairy tale dream that doesn’t actually exist, or it has them thinking they can just paint pretty pictures and make a living.

Let’s look a bit closer at what’s wrong with the first half of this quote: “Do what you love.”

What does it mean to do what we love?

Does it mean hanging out with friends all the time? Travelling the world forever? Eating endless amounts of tacos?

We can’t just do anything we love and get paid for it. (Perhaps with the exception of some social media influencers–but even then it becomes “do what you love + social media.”)

To me, our work shouldn’t be about “doing what we love.” Instead, it should be about being connected to meaning in the work that we do, and contributing our strengths to further that meaning.

This is very different from doing what we love doing every day–a near impossible goal.

Rather than trying to do “what you love”, I’d suggest getting clear on:

• What gives you meaning in your work
• What your strengths are, and how those could contribute to your work

By focusing on these things instead, my hope is that you’ll nix the idea that you should love what you do in your work all the time (and stop chasing that unicorn).

​There are always going to be parts of our work that we don’t love. If you love the day-to-day of what you do even just 60% of the time, you’re doing pretty good!

The thing is, when we’re connected to meaning in our work, it matters less whether or not we love every single aspect of what we do.

For example, I experienced this back when I used to treeplant. The day-to-day of treeplanting can be strenuous to say the least, and I often found myself fighting against the elements—wind, rain, snow, extreme heat, mosquitos, or noseeums.

It was having a clear sense of meaning that carried me through.

There were lots of ways I could have made the same amount of money, but I was there putting trees into the ground in order to challenge myself, push myself to my physical limits, see what I could handle, and hopefully grow from the experience.

If I hadn’t had that sense of meaning, there’s no way I could have done the work. I didn’t need to love what I was doing at all in order to look back on it and say, “That was a great job.”

Now, let’s look a bit closer at what’s wrong with the second half of this quote: “and the money will follow.”

Really? It’s that easy? So I can eat tacos and money will just come to me?

Well, maybe. In fact, I’m sure there’s a way you could get paid to eat tacos if that’s really what you wanted to do.

But you wouldn’t just eat tacos and then expect money to follow from that… that would be ridiculous. The world would run out of tacos!

Instead, you’d have to cleverly brand and market yourself as “the taco eating gal”, actively post entertaining videos of you eating tacos every day on social media, and spend at least 3 years hustling your taco eating before you even make a dime (or some similar scenario).

The point is, we have to do work to get to where we want to go, and that includes a lot of work that we don’t love doing.

Think of someone you know well, who is happy and fulfilled in their work. How long did it take them to get there? How many crappy jobs, failed businesses, rejections, or years of being broke did they have to endure before they got to that point?

If it’s anything like the people I know, it took years of hustle, let downs, challenges, and doing jobs they didn’t love (or didn’t even like) to get to where they are now.

For myself, it took 5 years to build my business to a place where I have a consistent in-flow of clients, and where I can live comfortably just from that. It took 5 years for the money to follow!

So no, the money doesn’t just follow. A lot of behind-the-scenes work has to go on in order to make our ideal career a reality.

If I were to re-word the original quote, I would change “do what you love and the money will follow” to “be persistent in finding and doing work that is meaningful to you… it’s so worth it!”

Here’s to persisting for nothing less than what we want.

-Rebecca

​Did you know that 73% of employers will “Always” or “Often” check you out on social media after receiving your application? This is what I learned after conducting a survey of 60 hiring decision makers including recruiters, HR professionals, and business owners.

Maz from Aughdem Recruitment recommends that you write your profile and experience in the first-person. Share your motivations, story, and your why!  Let your personality come out. People want to hire people they like.

In interacting on LinkedIn, be approachable and helpful. Share information that will be useful to your network. You can share pictures or personal stories if they are relevant to your network. For me, the posts that have had the most engagement have been personal stories and pictures related to my career.

Look to build connection by being friendly. If someone asks you to connect, accept and then send them a welcome message and try to get to know them better. Also, if you are sending connection requests, always customize your request.

Make Your Profile Complete and Neat: There is a balance between too much and too little information on LinkedIn. You need to provide enough detail so that employers understand what you are capable of.  Do not leave any sections blank.

Less is more. Each section (Summary and Experience) on LinkedIn has a 2000-character limit. I advise my clients to aim for approximately 1000 characters per section.

Vanessa, Talent Acquisition Specialist for Hemmera, stated that she looks for candidates to have an organized and tidy profile. This can be easily done by using icons as bullets and space between paragraphs.  

Use Keywords: To be found on LinkedIn, you need to know what keywords to integrate in your profile. Recruiters or hiring managers use LinkedIn like a search engine, often using keywords like job titles, technology, and location to source candidates.

Look at job postings for your ideal position. Make a list of the keywords and then ensure they are sprinkled throughout your profile. It’s very important that you also have them into your headline.

Your Skills and Endorsements section should be a thorough representation of what you want to be found for. Be sure to review this section to make certain it showcases your best skills and knowledge.

Invest in a Good Profile Picture: The number one piece of advice that came from the recruiters and HR personnel I talked to? Have a good profile picture! LinkedIn is your professional web presence and a representation of your personal brand. You need to show up looking professional and friendly.

Be Mindful of Your Actions: Every time that you take an action on LinkedIn, it is publicly broadcast to your connections. Make sure that anything you publish, comment on or even like, is professional. You can easily damage your reputation and dilute your brand message if you are not careful.

And lastly, here’s a bonus tip from Lucas from TEKsystems. If a recruiter reaches out to you on LinkedIn, why not take a few minutes to chat with them, even if you aren’t looking for your next opportunity? Recruiters have a great sense of what is going on in the industry and if you can build up a relationship with them now, it could help you down the road when you are ready to make a career transition.

• Gain clarity around what you want to do for your career.
• Land your dream job or contract.
• Stand out and be more successful in your current position.
• Make new friends, and build mutually beneficial relationships.

 
It all comes down to the power of networking—when you connect with other people, endless (and often unpredictable) possibilities arise.
 
According to a recent article published in Business Insider, anywhere from 70-85% of jobs are found through networking—and informational interviews are a great way to network, especially if you’re an introvert (like me!).
 
But let’s be honest—reaching out to someone you don’t know to set up a meeting can be intimidating.
 
That’s why I’m sharing all the steps to follow to successfully and professionally conduct informational interviews, so you can feel confident as you embark on this oh-so-important endeavour.
 
(Psssst… you can read about my recent personal experience with informational interviews in part 2 of the “My Career Change” series.)
 
In this article, you’ll learn:

• What an informational interview is.
• Who you should ask for an informational interview.
• Where to find people to ask for an informational interview.
• How to request a meeting with someone you have no connection to.
• How to prepare for an informational interview.
• How to follow up after an informational interview.
• How to use informational interviewing to land a job.

• If your purpose is to gain clarity on what to do next in your career, connect with someone already doing the thing you might want to do next.
• If your purpose is to get a job, connect with someone who works at a company you would like to work for, who is one position higher than your desired position.
• If your purpose is to make a new connection and see where it leads, connect with someone in your industry, or a related industry, who you admire and look up to.

• Contact Name
• Job Title
• Company
• How I Know/Found Them
• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Other Social Media
• Research Notes (i.e., What did you find in looking through their website and social profiles?)

 
Once you’ve done that, here are some ways to find people (ideally in this order):

1. Start with people you know. You’re more likely to get a “yes” to an informational interview invite from someone you know.  

Brainstorm a list of people you already know who meet your criteria for an informational interview. Also, remember that following up with someone you’ve met an event or conference for an informational interview is a great way to stay in touch.

2. Think of people you know who could introduce you to someone. Again, this increases your chances of a “yes” if you use an existing connection to introduce yourself.  

Reach out to any contacts you have who might know someone in your field-of-interest, or post on social media that you’re looking to connect with people in “X” industry. Facebook or LinkedIn groups are also a great place to connect with potential interviewees, or people who could introduce you to a potential interviewee.

3. Research people on LinkedIn. Research the position, industry, or company you are interested in connecting with, using the “People” tab on LinkedIn’s search tool. Get more specific results by using the “Filter” options on the right-hand sidebar.  
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Someone who is a 2nd connection means you have at least one mutual connection—view your mutual connections on their profile and ask that connection to introduce you if it feels appropriate.
 
If you don’t have any mutual connections with someone you want to reach out to, don’t worry! Cold emails/messages have a surprisingly high success rate when phrased the right way (and I’ve shared a link to some great templates to follow in the next section). Personally, I’ve had an 80% success rate in asking people who I don’t know at all for interviews! If I have any kind of connection at all, that success rate is 100%.

• Position the interviewee as the expert, and yourself as someone seeking advice.
• Make the email all about them (and less about yourself).
• Keep the email about 3-5 sentences in length.
• Show you’ve done your research.
• State how much of their time you are requesting. (Typically, 5-10 minutes for an initial phone chat is appropriate.)

 
If you’re requesting an informational interview from someone you have no connection to:

• Connect with them on social media first, and spend a few weeks interacting with them online before sending an email. Use your spreadsheet to track this.
• Find their email using some of the tips Scott Britton offers on how to find email addresses.
• Send your initial email. Get ideas for great email content from the 50+ “Done-For-You” Email Templates over at Cake Resumes.
• Use HubSpot’s free email tracking software to track whether they’ve opened your email, and how many times they’ve opened it.
• If you don’t hear anything after 2 weeks, and you can see the recipient has opened your email more than once, send a brief follow-up email. Multiple email opens means they’re probably interested, but they may have forgotten to respond!

 
BONUS NOTE: Before reaching out to someone for an informational interview, make sure you’re happy with how your online presence looks—chances are they’ll give you a solid “creep” before they respond.

• How did you get to where you are? What education or experience helped you to land this job?
• What would you do if you were in my shoes, trying to get work in your field? (you might want to add on to this, if relevant: “with little or no experience in the field”).
• Which skills are the most crucial for performing daily activities and succeeding in your job?
• What does your typical day look like?
• What do you love the most about this job?
• What do you feel are the major rewards of this job?
• What are the major frustrations of this job?
• What are the most frequently recurring problems?
• Is your job better or worse now than it was a few years ago? Why?
• What do you think your job will be like 5 years from now? 10? 20?
• How do you see technological changes impacting your job in the future? (If there is a specific technology you think might impact the job in the future, mention that here.)
• Do you know anyone else whom it would be helpful for me to interview?
• What’s one unexpected lesson you’ve learned from working at ______?

 
Worried the interview might be awkward? Depending on your connection with the person, sometimes that’s just part of the process. However, preparing your questions, as well as making sure you’ve done your research on them ahead of time, will help to ensure a less awkward meeting.

• Interest: Write down an interest that the interviewee mentioned during your conversation, whether it’s related to work or not. For example, if your interviewee mentioned they like to play tennis, and you also like to play tennis, you may want to invite them out for a tennis game in your follow-up email.
• Introduction: Write down a connection you have that would be valuable to the interviewee, who you could introduce them to.
• Industry News: Write down an interesting article, white paper, webinar, or podcast that you could send the interviewee related to your conversation. Bonus points if it’s content you’ve created yourself!

 
When following up with one of the 3 i’s, it’s also a great opportunity to ask how they’ve been doing, let them know you enjoyed your previous meeting, and see if they’d like to meet up again!

However, landing a job using informational interviewing is a long game—it’s not something that’s likely to happen overnight, or even in a few weeks. This is a strategy that typically takes anywhere from 3 months to 1 year.
 
Why?
 
Because informational interviews are about building genuine, authentic, two-way relationships—and building these kinds of relationships takes time!
 
This is one of the reasons it’s beneficial to regularly conduct informational interviews, even if you’re happily employed. As I’ve written about before, job security is on its way out, so pre-emptively building relationships and networking through one-on-one meetings is smart; we never know what might happen in the future.
 
Here are some steps to follow if you want to land a job using informational interviews:

1. Set up at least 20-25 different interviews with people at each of your dream companies. (Avoid setting up interviews at companies that are hiring for the type of work you offer—employers are wary of people trying to skip the queue!)

2. Don’t tell the interviewee you’re looking for a job (just like you wouldn’t tell someone on a first date you’re looking to get married)—instead, let them know you’re seeking their advice on your next career move.

3. Karen Begemann, from Work Matters Consulting, recommends allowing informational interviews to unfold in 3 layers:

Layer 1: Get curious about the interviewee. Ask about how long they’ve been at the company, their role, and their work history.
Layer 2: Ask about the future of their company, and where they see it heading.
Layer 3: Ask what challenges the company faces, or the interviewee faces with their team.

At every layer, listen for the challenges/problems that are mentioned, and where you might be able to help.

4. Once the relationship is well established, and you have a good sense of the challenges the interviewee or the company faces, let them know if you think you can help. Ask if you can pass on some suggestions, and be helpful where you can. 

Begemann emphasizes the importance of not sounding like you’re asking for work at any stage during the informational interview process—employers don’t want to feel like they’ve been manipulated.
 
Again, just build a relationship like you would naturally! People can smell desperation or if you have an ulterior motive. If your hope for a meeting is to eventually get a job, make sure you also want to genuinely connect with the person you’re interviewing, and that you are truly seeking their counsel.
 
So that’s it!
 
Remember: things in the real world don’t always happen in the way I’ve outlined in this article, so tune into your gut and your intuition throughout the process about what feels appropriate.
 
You got this!
 
I can’t help but mention the old dating metaphor, because informational interviewing and dating really do have a lot in common: You’re probably not going to find someone to marry if you ask everyone to marry you on the first date. So take it slow.
 
On that note… how many married people have you heard say they wish they’d just relaxed and enjoyed being single more? So don’t forget to relax, have fun, and enjoy the process ?
 
Hugs,
 
Rebecca
 
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