How to Use Informational Interviews to Find Hidden Jobs -

How to Use Informational Interviews to Find Hidden Jobs -This article is a part of my series, Hope for Your Job Search. This series is about helping relieve job seekers of the stress and frustration often associated with job searching and to show them that there is HOPE for a successful and short job search.Frustrated with the lack of responses you receive from job boards? Youre bedrngnis the only one. Just this week I heard from an executive job seeker about how exasperated he was with his job search. Hed applied to a few jobs on the Ladders site over the past 30 days and had heard nothing. I really felt for him because I hear the same challenges from so many of you. Youre discouraged and overwhelmed, your job search isnt going as well or as quickly as youd like, and you almost feel hopeless or even powerless as to what to do. But theres good news. You dont have to feel stressed or depressed about your job search prospects all you need to do is look at your job search from a differe nt angle.Last week I wrote about Hidden Job Market Secrets How to Be the ONLY Person Applying for the Job. I hope you read it But if you didnt, I encourage you to check it out. Its packed with great advice on accessing the hidden job market and using a direct mail campaign to find opportunities with little or no competition. This week, however, I want to discuss another method of tapping into the hidden job market informational interviews. Im surprised by how many people have never heard of informational interviewingand even mora surprised by how few there are who use this method.WHAT IS AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW?An informational interview isnt about interviewing or asking for a job. Its about asking for someones advice or getting their expert opinion. Who youre asking and what youre asking are the most important parts of the interview. Your goal is to find experts in the field or punkt you want to be in, and then approach them and ask if you can have 10-15 minutes of their time to ask them for their expert opinion about their industry/position, what they do, and how someone can achieve success in their industry.Few people would turn down such a request I think most people enjoy sharing their opinion on a topic theyre so invested in. Notice how youre not asking for a job? Youre asking for opinions, advice, and information and that is exactly what an informational interview is all aboutasking for information.This article contains mora information and a broad overview of informational interviews.WHO DO YOU APPROACH FOR AN INFORMATION INTERVIEW?You ask people who are currently doing what you want to do or who used to do what you do and now have moved up the ladder. By asking people in the position and industry you want to be in for information on how they got to where they are, how they became successful, and what they do/did, youre networking and making contacts in the industry, learning about strategies for how to be successful in the given industry, and gathe ring other important information you can then use to help find the position you want.Wondering how to ask for the informational interview? Heres a wonderful article from Kristin Johnson with a few examples of how to ask for the interview. Heres one mora that includes scripts you can use when asking for the interview via e-mail-nachricht http//idealistcareers.org/informational-interview-lessons/.Ive had people approach me via e-mail, LinkedIn, and telephone to ask questions and ask for informational interviews. Typically, the requests I receive are from those wanting to break into the resume writing industry, and theyre wondering how I did it and what suggestions I have for them. I think its important when youre asking for someones advice that youre not being too self-focused and making it all about yourself and what you can get out of it. I also think its important to be considerate of other peoples time. If youre sending a message to someone on LinkedIn and youre already asking the questions versus asking for a time to ask questions, dont ask 10 questions in the e-mail. Ask one or two questions, and be respectful of their time. People are busy, and although they may not mind giving a brief response, I dont know many people who have the time to sit down and answer 10 unprompted questions that just landed in their inbox. If you want to ask more than one or two questions, then your introductory e-mail needs to be a request to send over some questions for them to answer when they have time.Informational interviews can be via telephone, in rolle, e-mail, or LinkedIn message. Although meeting with local experts at companies that interest you may be the most powerful and productive strategy for your job search, dont overlook the importance of reaching out to people via e-mail or LinkedIn.SO WHAT DO YOU ASK?Ideally, you want to focus your questions on how theyve gotten to where they are now, what paths they took, how they found success (or what they define as success ) in their industry. By asking these questions, youre gathering vital information that will help to direct your steps in pursuing a similar path. I also found two great articles that list many great sample questions you should ask during an informational interview. The key is to remember that you certainly dont want to ask ALL of these questions. Its a courtesy that the person is taking time to speak with you, and you want to be respectful of their time. Cap your questions to 5-10 minutes maximum. Choose questions from these two lists that are most relevant to your goal for the informational interview.The first article lists questions to ask during your informational interview. This second list is a bit more exhaustive with 200 questions that you could ask during your informational interview. As I stated before, pick and choose those that are most relevant to your goals, and ask those questions first.I am also a huge fan of one of my colleagues, Mary Elizabeth Bradford. Her advice o n networking and informational interviews is always on pointso I want to direct you to an article I recently discovered that actually provides networking scripts that I think will be very helpful to those of you who need some encouragementalong with some examples of how to ask and what to ask when networking and seeking informational interviews. Heres her article Effective Networking Scripts for Your Job Search.REQUESTING REFERRALSOne of the goals of informational interviewing is to ask for referrals. Not necessarily for a job but to others who may also be willing to meet with you. The more you can glean, the better off youll beand you never know when one of your meetings may turn into a job offer or put you in contact with someone who knows of a position. Toward the end of the interview, dont be afraid to ask if theres anyone else the person thinks you should speak to or who may be willing to meet with you.MEETING LOCATIONAlthough Ive read many different opinions regarding where to conduct an in-person informational interview, I personally think the best situation is the persons office. Its professional, typically quiet, and in the familiar setting in which the person works. Lunches out can be too long, budget-unfriendly, and even too loud. By no means am I saying you cant meet up with people in your network over lunch, but if youre conducting a 15- to 20-minute informational interview with someone youve never met, doing lunch is hardly ideal.DEEPENING THE CONNECTIONReady to build your connection, network, and relationship? Offer to help. Ask the person youre meeting with what you can do to help them. It makes the connection less one-sidedand shows youre not just selfishly trying to obtain information for yourself. Even if they dont need help with anything, the fact that you offered will leave a positive impression in their mind.SHOW GRATITUDEThis really should go without sayingbut Im going to anyway. Be gratefuland show it. Thank them, before you end the int erview, for their time and for meeting with you. Then, go one step further and follow up with a handwritten thank-you letter. It only takes a few moments but will make a lasting impression. Who doesnt like being thanked? Everyone loves being told thank you. So take the time to show your appreciation for the other persons willingness to answer your questions via e-mail, telephone, or in person.Above all else, please remember that although youre asking them for their advice and expert opinionwhich most people dont mind givingit still should not be one-sided or come off like its all about you. People dont like feeling unappreciated or that youre just using them for your own benefit. This will damage your networknot grow it so be mindful of this fact when youre asking for and conducting informational interviews.Speaking of networking, why dont we go ahead and connect on LinkedIn? You can send me an invitation here. Id also love to hear how informational interviewing has worked for you, questions you recommend others ask, and job offers that have resulted from your interviews

Finance Beyond FiDi This Company Believes It Can Challenge Borders With Global Investment

Finance Beyond FiDi This Company Believes It Can Challenge Borders With Global InvestmentFinance Beyond FiDi This Company Believes It Can Challenge Borders With Global InvestmentThere is an incredible diversity of cultures, locales, and languages across the globe. Yet that saatkorn diversity is what makes it so difficult for many international businesses to figure out how to tap into far-flung opportunities.Identifying how money might enrich those myriad markets, though, is exactly the business of OppenheimerFunds. The tricky nature of designing investment solutions that work throughout the world is why they hire so many passionate learners and experts.Heres a quick look at the strategy behind how the innovative investment leader operates beyond borders in a global economy.Investment Challenging BordersGlobal trade occurs at the speed of light, says OFs Chief Investment Officer Krishna Memani. There are opportunities in countries and markets all over the world. That, he says, is why you cant box your thinking into one countrys way of doing business.But you cant just snap your fingers and suddenly become successful outside of the United States and other Western financial markets, either. You need to be knowledgeable about each of the different cultures and their needs. OppenheimerFunds has a strategy in place for this, too.Companies that operate in different countries have different cultures. They have different ways of doing business, Memani says. You get to be an expert of those markets by visiting those companies, by interacting with them. OppenheimerFunds is special in this regard, because we have been doing this for nearly 60 years.For example, the OppenheimerFunds Emerging Markets Innovators Fund invests more than $500 mio in businesses and operators in places like South America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. This not only generates new wealth for their clients but also enriches economies around the world to help create better lives for people in all t ypes of situations.Thinking Bigger Than The Big AppleIf your portfolio is only focused on whats happening in New York, then youre only missing out on whats happening in 38 other time zones, Memani says. (Thats a lot of time zones.)OppenheimerFunds has devoted decades toward becoming a leader among financial institutions when it comes to taking serious bets on emerging market economies. unterstellung types of investments have made the firm a trailblazer in asset management and contributed to its global mission and success The company manages more than $250 billion in assets for more than 13 million clients.But it wasnt just profit that fueled OF, Memani stresses. It was the curiosity of the companys employees, who pushed boundaries as they sought to test what they could achieve and how they might operate in new markets. Its that curiosity that leads us to innovative ideas, he says. It also serves as the foundation for forward-thinking projects like the Oppenheimer Fundamental Alterna tives fund, which scours the Earth for technological and business innovators to power portfolio growth.Innovation can come from Calcutta just as it can from Silicon Valley, he says.According to OppenheimerFunds, thats how you beat borders You think beyond them. The reward for doing so is versatility, improving the world beyond your sights, andof coursebeating the market to the next big profit source.Think you can beat the market? So do they.So much of what OppenheimerFunds does is about getting and processing the right information before anyone else can. That means they hire a diverse group of people, from data whizzes to communications experts. What characteristics do they share? Theyre passionate, extremely knowledgeable, and can handle a challenge that races against the clock.If you think you can spot the next big thing before the market does, then you might be the perfect fit for OFs transformational investment platform.Do you want to utilize your passion to shape an investment career? Check out opportunities from OppenheimerFunds on WayUp right now